Almost 30 years on, Chris Cousins fondly looks back on his time at Rockley, where he was first introduced to sailing and discovered a passion that would stay with him through adulthood. In his own words…..
The photos below were taken in April '96 when completing my RYA Stage 2 course at Rockley Point Sailing School. We stayed onsite at the caravan park for the week. My Dad and I enjoyed the sailing side of things so much, my parents booked for us to come back again at the end of August for another week (and to do RYA Stage 3!). Unbelievably, I still also have the original certificates!
It’s amazing what you can remember from the most enjoyable moments of your life. The photos are no exception to this. I always remember jumping into my Oppie to be towed out to the sailing area, thinking what a great adventure all this was at the age of 8 years old! Of course, all this was going on whilst Dad was out doing his RYA Adult Level 5 (remember that!?) in Laser 2s in another group. A true family learning experience.
It would be amazing to know who the instructor was, and learn where she now is in the world/her involvement with the sailing industry today. Also, to thank her for the bug/passion she instilled in me at this early age. It really goes to show what impact an instructor has on their students from very early on.
I can genuinely say that the course at Rockley spurred me on to take up sailing as a permanent hobby, eventually leading to me working three seasons for Sunsail overseas in my later teenage years/early 20s. In my mid 20s this then led to me setting up my own freelance training brand (Cousins Sail Sports), and eventually becoming an RYA Dinghy Trainer in 2013 (or Coach as we were called at the time…)
Becoming a trainer, has of course, enabled me to support the next generation of Dinghy & Senior Dinghy Instructors coming through the network, and so the circle completes itself…
It’s been a hell of a journey, and there’s still more to come yet I’m sure!
It certainly demonstrates what extending reach the brand has and how many people it has inspired and encouraged to take up this amazing sport.
I’ll have to arrange a time to come back at some point - maybe for some updated ‘then & now’ photographs?