Junior Sailing at Cam Sailing Club
Give your child the chance to discover confidence, adventure and a lifelong love of being on the water. At Cam Sailing Club our Junior Sailing programme welcomes young people of all abilities — from absolute beginners to ambitious racers looking to take their skills to the next level.
We hope in the future to offer support to juniors in youth based organisations such as working towards a Duke of Edinburgh award.
A Fun, Safe, Confidence‑Building Environment
During Optimist & Youth Topper Training Week our RYA‑qualified instructors and volunteer helpers create a supportive space where juniors can learn at their own pace. Through games, challenges and hands‑on coaching they quickly grow comfortable handling a boat, working with others and making independent decisions on the water.
Learn Skills for Life
Junior sailing is about much more than knots and tacking. Children develop focus, resilience, teamwork, problem‑solving and the joy of spending time outdoors. Many of our young sailors go on to take part in club racing, RYA courses and regional events — but just as many simply love the fun and confidence sailing gives them.
All Levels Welcome
Whether your child has never stepped into a boat before or is already keen to race, we have sessions tailored to their experience. Our fleet of junior friendly boats makes it easy for youngsters to learn safely and progressively. A selection of dinghies are owned by the club for use by members free of charge including Optimists and Toppers. See Club Boats for more details.
A Friendly, Family‑Centred Club
Cam Sailing Club has a strong family atmosphere, and parents are always welcome to get involved — from helping on shore to joining in adult sessions themselves. Many families find sailing becomes a shared passion and a brilliant way to spend weekends together.
Why Juniors Love Sailing Here
- Exciting, active sessions on the river
- Supportive coaching from trained instructors during our training week
- A chance to make friends and belong to a team
- Progression routes to RYA qualifications and club racing
- Plenty of fun both on and off the water
- Free use of Club Dinghies
Ready to Get Started?
Come and see what junior sailing is all about! We offer regular informal weekend training and seasonal courses. New families are welcome year‑round.
Join us on the water and let your young sailor’s adventure begin.
Contacts for Junior sailing at Cam Sailing Club:
Julie Wood – Junior Sailing Leader
Katy West – Optimist Flotilla Leader
Lorna Cole – Sailing Secretary
Junior Club Dinghy Racing
There is junior racing in Optimists and Toppers most Saturdays during the season. These sessions usually include some training before the race.
There are also junior races as part of the regular Sunday programme during most of the season. Any boat normally permitted to race at the club may be entered, but participants must be under 18 years old. Either the young helms:
- have separate races starting 5 minutes after the adult ones, or
- take part in the same race as adults, but with separate junior prizes
- Young members also take part in adult races, either competing on equal terms, or crewing for adults in two-person dinghies or in cruiser races.
Lastly junior members compete in opens and inter-club events, such as the Cambridgeshire Youth Sailing League comprising of several local sailing clubs (Cam Sailing Club having great success over the years) CYSL and the National Schools Sailing Association regattas NSSA
Optimist & Youth Topper Training Week
The Optimist & Youth Topper Training Week at the start of the Summer holidays is the main training week for the Cam Optimist & Topper Fleets. Successful students will be awarded a RYA certificate.
The aim is to train, be coached and then involved with the Cam Optimist & Topper Fleets sailing and racing sessions. ‘Time spent on the water’ consolidates what has been learned, improves sailing standard and produces good sailors.
There is a minimum age of 8 years for all children applying and there are three levels of training:
The Beginner Group is for children with little or no sailing experience, or for children just needing to gain further confidence afloat. This is restricted to 12 children sharing the 6 Club Optimists. Member’s children will be accepted in line with the following criteria:
Club member at time of sign up and gone through Committee,
Age 8 or over
Siblings in the other groups
Discretion of the committee
Intermediate group. Preference will be given to those who attended the previous year’s Training Week.
Advanced group for those who have regularly raced in the Club.
For both of these two groups, the child will need to provide an Optimist or Topper dinghy for the week.
The Training Committee will look at all applications before children are offered a place on the course.
More details and application forms can be found on the Training Page.
LEARNING TO SAIL: A YOUNG MEMBERS PERSPECTIVE
“The benefit of learning to sail on the River Cam is that you are never more than a few meters from the bank or the instructors so it feels safe and unintimidating. All the instructors and volunteers have a lot of experience so they are able to clearly explain sailing techniques and run engaging teaching activities. I did my first optimist training week at the Cam Sailing Club when I was nine and really enjoyed learning to sail. I quickly started joining in with the weekend children’s races which really helped me to improve my sailing skills and gain confidence. Then as I got older, I moved on to doing winter training and racing at both regional and national levels. I have taken part in nine different training weeks at CSC so far, initially in an Optimist dinghy, then in a Topper and for the last few years I have been volunteering as an instructor. The sailing club has a very welcoming environment and it is nice that many young sailors who have grown out of the training week come back to help run it instead. During my A level studies I wrote a children’s learn to sail book, ‘Beginning Sailing: A Children’s Guide to Optimists and Toppers’, which is aimed at young sailors who want to sail more regularly and remember key information from their first RYA training course.”
Above is the Amazon link to Keah’s book.
Some more useful links:
Also WiSH sailing club has a useful set of simplified racing rules:
https://www.wish-sc.co.uk/simplified-rules-of-racing