Q&A Fact Sheet for Shropshire Sailing Club, Whitemere, Ellesmere Introduction Shropshire Sailing Club aims to provide affordable access to the sport for beginners, keen racers and those who just enjoy messing about in boats. Whitemere offers novices safe sailing in attractive surroundings. It is located just outside Ellesmere off the A528 at Spunhill. The club and its members are very proud and cherish the recognition afforded to the location of Site of Special Scientific Interest and being part of the Cheshire and Shropshire Meres Ramsar Wetland. We ask and hope that all visitors will respect and enjoy the beautiful surroundings as much as we do. Lots of information can be found on its website http://shropshiresailingclub.co.uk/index.php and their Facebook site https://www.facebook.com/pages/shropshire-sailing-club/1421516964783432?fref=ts Facilities In the main clubhouse there is a large social area, a galley and the ladies changing room and showers. Other buildings house the gents changing room and showers, the toilets and club equipment. Is Shropshire Sailing Club a recognised RYA (The Royal Yachting Association) Training Centre? Yes we are... RYA recognition means that children will be taught by an RYA instructor or experienced skipper aboard a seaworthy, safe and, well-maintained and suitable craft. The courses that the children will follow are within the RYA s proven National Training Schemes. Each RYA recognised training centre is inspected annually to ensure that training craft and instructors meet the high standards of the RYA. The RYA carries out spot inspections to ensure that the level of tuition and the condition of the equipment remains consistently high over time. The RYA is responsible for administering the recognition system and ensuring standards of training are maintained. All RYA recognised training centres are required to produce a safety policy and operating procedures and to carry out a risk assessment. The RYA does not set safety rules in stone but rather provides guidelines for the recognised centres. This is because recognised training centres operate in a wide range of different conditions, with different hazards and levels of risk. The Principal of the Training Centre therefore carries out their own risk assessment to make sure that they are not subjecting instructors, staff or pupils to unacceptable risks. The RYA provides guidelines on the risk assessment that follow HSE advice. For or further information on the RYA please visit http://www.rya.org.uk Does Shropshire Sailing Club have an Adventure Activities (AALA) Licence? Yes it does. Provider Reference Number: R2296. Confirmation and further details can be sought by contacting the Adventure Activities Licensing Service. Tel: 029 2075 5715 or through its website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/aala/
What will my son/daughter learn? The six sessions will be taught at the Marches Academy (sessions 1 & 2) and at Shropshire Sailing Club (sessions 3-6) by RYA instructors, to a national syllabus; the RYA National Youth Sailing Scheme, which provides young people with continuity and progression. The proposed Session Plan for this sailing opportunity is included for your information and consideration. If your son/daughter attends all six sessions and successfully completes all the activity requirements they will be awarded an RYA Youth Stage 1 award. How will my son/daughter travel to Shropshire Sailing Club? The Marches Academy will be using one of its own minibuses to transport your son/daughter to and from the sailing club. Do I need to buy any special equipment or clothes? No. Shropshire Sailing Club will provide all the boats, kit and safety equipment. All your son/daughter will need to bring with them is: Waterproof coat A woolly hat Change of warm clothing Towel Swimming costume and an old tee shirt to wear under the wetsuit Some old trainers that you don t mind them getting wet. My child has glasses / contact lenses. Can they wear these for sailing? Yes they can. However you may wish to consider that they wear their back-up pair of glasses and/or purchasing a glasses retaining strap. For contact lenses yes again not a problem, however please check with your optician for advice. *Please note these items are the responsibility of the individual and Shropshire Sailing Club cannot be held responsible or liable for their loss or damage. My child uses a hearing aid. Can they wear it whilst sailing? It is recommended that your child does not wear their hearing aid when sailing. They are not waterproof and can become dislodged and lost whilst performing a sailing manoeuvre or in a capsize situation. *Please note these items are the responsibility of the individual and Shropshire Sailing Club cannot be held responsible or liable for their loss or damage. What if my child has Special Needs? Please alert and discuss any requirements that your son/daughter needs with their adult group leader / teacher. Also record them on your parent consent form so that they can be considered by Shropshire Sailing Club. The overall aim being they can be kept safe and enjoy themselves whilst attending the sailing sessions. If my child doesn't like the activity and wants to stop, what will be arranged for him? In the safety brief at the beginning of each afloat session, each member of the group will be asked to make it known immediately if they are feeling unwell, too nervous or dislike the activity to carry on. They will be brought ashore a.s.a.p. and placed into the responsibility of the school team leader accompanying the group.
Does my child need to be able to swim? Everyone who goes sailing has to wear a buoyancy aid even if they re a very experienced swimmer! It makes you float if you fall in and keeps you safe. Yes, it s helpful if you can swim, but most importantly of all, you need to be confident in the water. How wet will my child get? Your son/daughter will be launching and recovering their sailing dinghies from a beach like foreshore on Whitemere so they will be getting at least their feet and lower limbs wet. If the wind is light (and we hope it will be) they will get away with a few splashes. However, if it s windy, they will probably get quite wet. This is when a wetsuit is a good choice because it helps to keep you warm even when you re soaking wet. What happens the first time my child goes afloat? Your child will sail a small boat by themselves or with a friend and an instructor nearby. In the first two sessions your son/daughter will be shown the kit, safety equipment and boats they will be using. They will practice rigging the boats, learning the names of the main parts of the equipment in the boat and their usage by demonstration and performing simple land drills. When they go afloat they will be familiar and gain the most value and enjoyment from the experience that will hopefully be the start of a new lifelong sport for them. Will the boat turn over? There is always a chance that the boat will blow over (capsize). For the first few times the instructor will make it easy for the boat to stay the right way up. At some point during the four sailing sessions your son/daughter will fall in and get wet. When they do, one of the land drills they will have been shown explains to stay with the boat and how to get it upright again. Does Whitemere suffer from blue-green algae? During the summer of 2015 Whitemere has not suffered from blue-green algae blooms. Whitemere, as previously stated, is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is part of the Cheshire and Shropshire Meres Ramsar Wetland. Its water quality is monitored closely by Natural England. Bluegreen algae are natural inhabitants of many inland waters, estuaries and the sea. If the water becomes enriched with nutrients and we have calm, sunny and warm weather conditions, then the growth may become excessive resulting in algal blooms that can form scum-like on the water surface producing a musty smell. An RYA guide and fact sheet is available to teachers and parents if further information is required. Important information. Shropshire Sailing Club is an amateur sailing club and RYA Training Centre, run in its entirety by volunteers on whom we rely for the club's provision of training. Both the club and the volunteers providing training take their responsibilities very seriously, and endeavour to minimise the risk of injury to our members, and those attending training courses, whilst on our premises. Whilst we can minimise obvious risks, it is impossible to make sailing, in whatever size of boat, risk-free. It is the responsibility of parents, and organisations arranging courses to be provided by the club, to notify us, in advance of a course which has been booked, of any specific condition, or physical impairment which might not be immediately obvious to our volunteer
trainers, in order that appropriate adjustments, if any, to the course, can be agreed with the club, to try and ensure those attending keep safe, and enjoy themselves. Help us to achieve this aim, please. Other Information? If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact Jo White at The Marches School on 01691 66440
The Marches Academy Sailing Sessions with Shropshire Sailing Club Aim: Through these introductory dinghy sailing sessions, the young person will gain a basic understanding of how a boat sails, and some experience of steering and handling a boat. On successful completion the young person will receive a Stage 1 award laid down in the RYA Youth Sailing Scheme Session 1 3.00pm-5.00pm Session 2 3.00pm-5.00pm Session 3 Session 4 SSC Squad Session 5 Session 6 22 nd September 29 th September Wednesday 30 th September 6 th October Saturday 10 th October 13 th October 20 th October The Marches Academy The Marches Academy Shropshire SC Shropshire SC Shropshire SC Shropshire SC Shropshire SC Introduction and site familiarisation Clothing and equipment Life Jackets, s (able to fit correctly themselves). wetsuits, drysuits. Revise Session 1 Put a Wetsuit and on. Paddle boats (afloat). Feel how steering works Invitation to join in with Shropshire SC Squad afternoon 2.00pm 4.00pm Times approximate. Get kitted up. Wetsuit & Rigging a boat. SSC will provide one or two Topper dinghies. Name basic parts of the boat. Rig boats unaided. Name parts of the boat Knowledge of Wind Direction Explain / demonstrate no-go zone. Points of sailing. Tacking Land Drill Revise tacking manoeuvre. Explain lying to and getting out of irons Sail out a short distance around a buoy and back. (Reach) Repeat exercise to consolidate Explain and demonstrate Port/Starboard rule. Introduce a 2 nd buoy to sail around singularly and then together (Reach to Reach) Understanding the effect of the dagger/centreboard. Set a simple course to sail Play a simple game to consolidate sailing control skill Able to assist with being towed by a powerboat. Set a simple course to sail. Play a simple game to consolidate sailing control skill catch a float Celebratory BBQ with club members, school representatives and parents. Award RYA Youth Stage 1 certificates.