OnBoard is the RYA's children's sailing and windsurfing programme which 'offers young people the opportunity to try watersports through their local club or centre in a safe, fun and structured environment.' At Rockley, we are passionate about encouraging young people to develop a love for the water and hope to inspire a future generation of RYA sailors.
Our Saturday Onboard Sailing Club, which operates from Easter through to November, aims to facilitate this with sessions designed to engage and develop young sailors, and allow them to become part of a vibrant community of sailing enthusiasts.
Following a memorable sailing holiday around the Greek Islands, Marek Winter wanted his son, Thomas, to develop his own true love for the sport and hoped that Rockley’s weekend sailing club would provide the perfect opportunity for this. Thomas joined the RYA Onboard Sailing Club in 2024 and has signed up to attend again in 2025. We spoke with Marek to discover how sailing regularly with Rockley has benefitted his son, both on and off the water.
WHY SAILING?
Many moons ago I was fortunate enough to have sailed with friends around the Greek Islands. I wanted Thomas to experience something like this one day. Thomas had never sailed before until he started at Rockley.
HOW DID YOU FIRST HEAR ABOUT ROCKLEY'S RYA ONBOARD PROGRAMME?
We found out about Rockley‘s RYA on-board programme after Thomas attended one of their RYA Level 1 courses. Due to poor weather, Thomas was unable to carry out some of the skills on the course and needed to demonstrate these as well as make some improvements. Thomas’ instructor suggested he join the RYA Onboard programme at Poole Park Lake.
WHAT WERE THE MAIN REASONS YOU DECIDED TO ENROL YOUR SON IN THE RYA ONBOARD SCHEME?
It looked like a lot of fun in the brochure and we thought that it was exactly the kind of environment we wanted Thomas to learn to sail in. Good surroundings, good people, good instructors and a good organisation to be a part of.
WERE THERE ANY SPECIFIC SKILLS OR EXPERIENCES YOU HOPED THOMAS WOULD GAIN FROM THIS PROGRAMME?
We wanted Thomas to learn to work with others and to challenge himself. We also wanted him to come away feeling happy and with a strong sense of achievement in himself and his abilities. We always knew Thomas was made for watersports. It just needed the right environment for him to do this.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE ROCKLEY'S ONBOARD SCHEME?
We did look at alternatives but ultimately decided to choose Rockley instead because of the range of RYA courses.
HOW HAS YOUR SON'S EXPERIENCE BEEN SO FAR?
Thomas has had a great time and we cannot thank the team at Rockley enough at. He has completed all his youth RYA Stages from 1 to 4 by going along every Saturday to the Onboard sessions. It has really taught him how to sail well in both Poole Park and Poole Harbour.
WHAT ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAMME DO YOU THINK HAVE BEEN MOST BENEFICIAL TO YOUR SON?
Probably sailing in Poole Harbour as it’s more challenging.
HAVE YOU NOTICED ANY CHANGES IN YOUR SON'S CONFIDENCE OR SKILLS SINCE THE PROGRAMME?
Thomas is a lot more confident about his own abilities. Achieving his stages has made him realise what he is capable of doing.
HOW DO YOU THINK THE SKILLS LEARNT IN THE RYA ONBOARD PROGRAMME WILL BENEFIT YOUR SON IN THE FUTURE?
Thomas wants to one day become an RYA Dingy Sailing Instructor at Rockley. RYA is the natural progression towards achieving this.
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS PROGRAMME TO OTHER PARENTS?
Yes, we would. We recommend it to a lot of friends and people we meet at my son’s clubs. It’s one of those things - you’re either in to it or you’re not. You have to be tenacious, wilful and determined to succeed in sailing. Your RYA certificates aren’t just given to you, you have to earn them. Sailing isn’t for everyone but it definitely has worked for Thomas!