Hi,

I was after some suggestions for a class of boat to get my kids (under age 10) into sailing and racing.

I remember as a kid starting off in the Mirror class which was good for a couple of kids racing together, but as a tall adult I'm not sure whether they are going to be the most comfortable choice to get back into.

Any suggestions for a class that's not too big, reasonably comfortable and pretty quick to rig & would be appreciated.

Thanks

I agree with what Ramona said.

Not sure what classes that clubs up there train in, but here in SA, holdfast trainers, international cadets (which has the opportunity to take their sailing to an international level if you wanted to go that far) and herons.

I started off sailing with my Dad on saturday afternoon in trailer sailors, I loved it and am now training in lasers and 125's (which is my profile picture). I've also moved onto a Sydney 38 which is a keelboat. So taking them with you on saturday afternoons does get them into it (well, it did for me anyway) if you just wanted to keep it simple. If you do go down that path though, it would be best to get them as hands on as possible.

I believe NSW has a tackers program for junior sailors? That would be a perfect way to get them into competitive sailing.

Just go down to your local yacht club and ask about their youth programs

PS, when they're teenagers get them onto something with a trapeze! So much fun!

Why not just keep it nice and simple for the "Mini skippers"???

I started off sailing Sabots . I believe that Optimists are now alot more popular these days and are quite similar to Sabots.

From my experience with kids learning to sail it is a mistake to try and teach them to sail and race bigger boats or "powered up" dinghies. They need to be able to controll a smaller boat first , get the core fundamentals of sailing and then have a look at a more exciting class / fleet .

As for your / thier height , thier not going to be over 5'5 by the time they are 14 are they???

When it comes to racing , personally I think the biggest part is rules knowledge. Tactics is also important but that will come with experience.
Most people only know about 5 rules but if you know your stuff then you can really controll the fleet . Here is a really great site / simulator that the kids will have fun with and learn the racing rules of sailing demo.expertusone.com/

Hope this helps Matt , let us know how you get on.

Kearnsy

Matt, I'm assuming by your comment of being a tall adult that you will be sailing with them.
If so, you could consider something like a Pacer, which is really just a big Mirror, very simple rig. The 125 is very similar, but quicker, with more rigging.

Mono's
Flying 11
Tasar
NS14
MG
125

Cats
Windrush
Maricat 4.3
Mosquito
Hobie 16
Taipan 4.9

Port Kembla sailing club has an excellent training scheme as I mentioned above. They start off with these small boats donated by BHP. They also have Sabots and a F11. The first racing class is the very active Flying Ants and these kids in this club dominate on the national scene.

It all starts here;

Ramona said...

Port Kembla sailing club has an excellent training scheme as I mentioned above. They start off with these small boats donated by BHP. They also have Sabots and a F11. The first racing class is the very active Flying Ants and these kids in this club dominate on the national scene.

It all starts here;

there you go Mattn, those little trainers are the go !!! Spot on Ramona!!

Having had 3 kids so far starting sailing my advice is to get them into an Optimist via a tackers programme at a club. This class of boat is quite cheap and the boats are readily tradable, they are great for learning how to sail and kids can progress to quite an advanced level if they want to eg nationals and even represent Australia at the worlds!

The centreboard group at the RPAYC has a tackers programme which has three levels for kids and a fleet of optimist sailing each sunday.

Ramona said...
Its one of the best clubs around, not too far from Randwick, nicer class of people than Sydney clubs and they have the best hamburgers on the coast.

I'm not knocking PKSC (which has some great people I enjoy hanging with at regattas) but claiming that they have "a nicer class of people" than the Sydney clubs is one hell of a big call, considering the number of different people who sail at different Sydney clubs from Port Hacking to Pittwater.