Buddy Sailing

BUDDY SAILING

Are you
– new to boating, and wondering what it’s like to sail on the sea?
– a dinghy sailor who’d like to try sailing on a bigger boat?
– new to the area, and wanting to find out about Newhaven Yacht Club the practical way?


Newhaven Yacht Club’s buddy sailing scheme is designed to give you a taste of sailing in small to medium-sized yachts, off the coast of Sussex. You don’t have to join the club just to have two or three trial sails. If you like the experience, you’re welcome to join the club, and continue to receive invitations to go sailing (club membership is about £50 a year).



















The scheme is informal. Skippers in the buddy scheme are happy to take people with a wide range of experience, including none at all, and will tailor the sailing trips accordingly. You’ll be asked to join in sailing the yacht, by helming, trimming sails, etc., but always within your current levels of skill and knowledge. When you join the scheme, we’ll send you a handbook with some basic information to help you, mostly about safety. Sailors take safety very seriously, which is why sailing on yachts is such a safe pastime. When you go onboard a boat, you’ll be given a safety briefing, so you know about the key items of safety equipment, such as lifejackets and the ship’s radio.


You’ll usually need to wear at least one more layer of clothing than you think is necessary on land – the wind that keeps the boat moving also cools you down. In sunny weather, you’ll need a liberal covering of sun cream, because sunshine reflects off water, so you get a bigger dose of UV than on land. When rain is forecast, or on windy days when spray is likely, an outermost waterproof layer is ideal, but there’s no need to buy expensive sailing gear at this stage.


Buddy skippers have boats moored in Newhaven Marina, Brighton Marina, and Sovereign Harbour (Eastbourne). It’ll be your responsibility to get to and from the the appropriate marina.

If you’d like to try buddy sailing then do contact us, and we will put you in touch with our buddy skippers (if demand is high, we might have to put you on a waiting list for a while).