Hampton Pier Yacht Club
Sail Training at HPYC
HPYC has a fantastic team with many years of sailing experience at Club and National level, some are RYA certified instructors, but all are volunteers - without them there would be no training! Mostly our training is free to members, and we aim to cover the RYA Level 2 syllabus, however as we are not an official RYA training centre we cannot issue certificates. We will do our very best to accommodate your needs, but please be aware of what we “do“ and what we “don't do“.
Throughout the season we will also include shore based training on the Winch, Race Tower, and VHF Radio. Additional training opportunities will be advertised, so keep your eye on the eNewsletter and the Club noticeboards.
The Club has 4 Toppers, 2 RS Visions and 1 RS Fusion, so don’t worry if you do not have your own boat, for training purposes they are free of charge.
What we offer
Our objective is to encourage and develop Club members to allow them to participate in the Club activities of dinghy sailing and power boating (for the safety boats). Training is primarily aimed at newer Club members and will cover basic skills such as rigging, launching, sailing in all directions, capsize recovery and essential safety knowledge.
What we cannot offer
At this time HPYC has no direct links with any RYA RTC (Recognised Training Centre), this means that while the instructors can train you in sailing skills as per the RYA methods, and to the RYA standards, we cannot offer formal certification.
- We are not paid to provide training.
- We do not provide training to the public, only for the benefit of Club members.
- Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that you will be successful in learning to sail!
When does training happen?
Sail Training for novices happens during training sessions and general sailing sessions (marked in the sailing programme). For 2023 the number of days dedicated to sail training has been increased significantly.
- General sailing is also a session where any member can go sailing and there is no race, so a great time to chill out and enjoy your boat!
- General sailing is also an informal opportunity to receive tuition from our volunteers and Instructors, to help you learn to rig your boat and sail.
Spa Esplanade
Herne Bay, Kent, CT6 8EP
