Moving On

So you’ve done your training and put your certificates on the wall. What next? You might well not have a boat or a windsurfer of your own and you might not have the confidence to go on the sea or join-in with racing. What pathways are available to move you on?

Firstly, you could go and buy some sort of vessel, and berth it at Piddinghoe or Seaford, for which there’s an annual fee. You only need to pay for one berth and that allows you to keep your vessel at the home-site of your choosing and to move it to the other site for berthing on a free visitor-berth.

The second option is to hire boats. Hire boats are available at both sites for a fee (currently £8 per day). Day-hiring is dependent on someone being around to open sheds to allow you to get at the equipment. You can also hire a dinghy on an annual basis (£100 per year). If you joined the club after attending the Dinghy Level 1 & 2 course, or after the RYA Youth Sailing Course you can hire a boat for the rest of the season for free (unless you choose the option of not having to pay the club joining fee, £25, instead). Having the annual hire gives you access at Piddinghoe to boat-store combination locks so you can take a boat out at any time. Boat hire (daily or annual) is available to buy through Webcollect.

Now you’ve a boat (bought or hired) how do you go about getting on the water? Members can sail at Piddinghoe at any time, whether there’s a safety boat out or not. Such free-sailing requires some self-reliance so maybe you’d prefer to sail in a more assisted way. On Saturday mornings, once the weather’s turned for the good, there’s Assisted Saturday Sailing at Piddinghoe from 10am to 1pm. A safety boat will be in attendance and unofficial advice and guidance available. Contact the training director if you want more information: trainingnssc@nssc.org.uk.

On Thursday evenings we have WOW at Piddinghoe. Despite what that stands for (Women On Water) it’s open to men as well. See the WOW page for more details: WOW . It’s a great opportunity to try-out your new-found skills and get informal coaching.

Want to move to the sea? You can sail on the sea off the Seaford club-house whenever we’re holding race sessions. You can either free-sail or join in with the races, but you must be able to demonstrate sufficient skills and experience for the conditions. There’ll be safety boats at hand.

Want to practice your windsurfing skills? Come along to our Windsurf Club on a Saturday. It’s from 10am to noon and is for club members to join in and practice their skills. Board hire is available. Contact the windsurfing team for more information: windsurfing@nssc.org.uk.