East Lothian Yacht Club Training

ELYC Gift Voucher

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 18:05:25 GMT

ELYC Gift Voucher

Not sure what to buy for the person with everything, what about a year of sailing?

We have launched a ELYC Gift Voucher. To be used to purchase a club annual membership and a RYA Learn to Sail Course.

There are 3 different vouchers to chose from:

Cadet Voucher
Full Adult Voucher
Young Adult Voucher (17-27yrs)

RYA training courses run at East Lothian Yacht Club in North Berwick in the summer months. Adult Courses run over 2 consecutive weekends in June and Cadet 5 day long summer courses run Monday-Friday in July.

To buy a voucher follow the relevant link to the voucher of your choice on our website here

For more information please contact training@elyc.org.uk

2025 Training Course Dates

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 17:58:54 GMT

Our 2025 Training Course Dates are now on our website.

Bookings for courses open from 6th January 2025.

Have a look at the calendar on our website for more information.

February - RYA First Aid Course
March - RYA VHF Radio Course
June - Adult Learn to Sail Courses
July - Summer School Cadet Learn to Sail Weeks
Power Boat Level 2 Course weekends - dates spring/summer TBC

SAVE THE DATE!

If you have any questions please email training@elyc.org.uk.

RYA First Aid & VHF Radio Courses

Sat, 30 Mar 2024 06:26:10 GMT

Our 2024 Training Course Calendar is now open!

RYA First Aid Course is running on Sunday 28 April.

RYA VHF Radio Course is running on Sunday 8 June.

All courses have limited spaces and are now available for members to book on our website.

If you have any questions please email training@elyc.org.uk.

Learn to Sail & Powerboat Courses Available to Book

Sat, 30 Mar 2024 06:22:55 GMT

We have launched our popular RYA Adult & Cadet Learn To Sail courses for 2024.

This year we are running an Adult Course over 2 weekends in June and Cadet courses over 4 weeks in July and the start of August.

Spaces are limited so if you are interested please book early before spaces are filled.

We also offer RYA Powerboat 2 and RYA Safety Boat courses to members to support club activities on the water. These are run periodically on demand.

Courses are open to members only, and are offered at competitive rates, to enable members to get on the water with their initial training course, and to continue to develop their skills in a supported safe environment with rescue cover and access to club boats, facilities and on and off water events and activities.

Please note if you are not yet a member you will need to take out a club membership when you book your course.

All course information and booking info. can be found on our website.

If you have any questions please email training@elyc.org.

Tall Tales & Tell-tales

Bruce — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 08:46:41 GMT

Tall Tales & Tell-tales

by Ainsley MacLaren

Early on Sunday morning, just as the rain stopped and the sun started to come out, a group of 12 of our Laser sailors arrived at the Clubhouse to participate in the second of the Laser “B” Team training session. Sunday’s session was lead by our own Jim Sinclair and Robbie Lawson, ably assisted by Martin Baillie and Ben Hay on safety.

The age range and experience level of the group was wide. For some, it was the first time out on the water in a couple of years. The objectives of the day were threefold, to improve our sailing, to have some fun, and to eat tea and cake. At least, those were the sailors objectives, Jim had other plans.

Our briefing in the Sail Loft was to get ready and launched as soon as possible and meet at the start line. Our instructions were then to sail in a line on a beam reach, harden up on the whistle and then tack every time Robbie blew the whistle. Oh, and to take a deep breath and relax every time before we tacked. Similar instructions were given for the downwind leg. Well, that seemed straightforward enough…...Suffice to say we all had fun, even if the exercises were not completed entirely as Jim had hoped.

A return to shore for lunch in the wet lecture room with the members of the “A” team and lots of tea and cake.

After lunch, another quick briefing session the abiding memory of which is of Jim doing physical impressions of a tell-tale (really!). Then out to a full bay to play some games and improve our close quarter sailing technique. At least, that was the idea. Adding a small round football for the purpose of playing dinghy netball to the mix seemed to put all thoughts of sailing out of our heads. We returned to shore as the wind picked up and the mist closed in, having indeed had fun.

The day rounded off with a de-brief, and you guessed it, more tea and cake!

Thanks to everyone who ran the session and to all those who took part.

Coaching day for the Laser ‘B’ team*

Bruce — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 07:15:31 GMT

Coaching day for the Laser ‘B’ team*

by Fiona Nightingale

The ‘B’ Team included a mix of 12 ELYC’s Laser sailors, including some fairly new to Laser sailing, recent returners, new club members with less experience of sailing on the sea (let alone with a hearty North Berwick swell), and those seeking to better their sailing through a class-specific training opportunity.

During an introductory session in the Sail Loft (nice gentle start to a Sunday morning, thank you John) John Wilcox gave the group a couple of key points to consider, which at the outset seemed simple enough, but as the day went on and we took our learning afloat further discussion and on-the-water tuition added breadth and depth to those points.

A lunch of hot soup and filled rolls prepared by Catrina followed by mounds of cake provided by Alison and Emily gave everybody their second wind and we headed out for two races in the afternoon. I definitely heard it suggested sotto voce that providing an abundance of cake was a deliberate ploy to sabotage the competition via excessive carb intake!

The sea state had kept most of us on our toes in the morning and now the swell picked up not allowing anybody to rest on their laurels. Our start line could be described as either ‘competitive close-quarters sailing’ or ‘mayhem’ depending on one’s position as they crossed the line however, we all made it round the course with the honours being shared after two races. At the final debrief there was no hiding from the video evidence which illustrated both sailing idiosyncrasies and new-found skills, reinforcing the key points John had returned to throughout the day.

*The ‘B’ team was undoubtedly the blossoming team. We banked new knowledge; our skill-levels burgeoned; our sailing became bolder; we came off the water buoyant, beaming and full of baking…. followed by bonding and banter in the bar.

Brimming with excitement for part 2 in October!

A huge thank you to John and David for giving up an entire day to coach other club members and to Jeanette, Harry and Andrew for assisting. It was a braw day.

Fiona Nightingale

Old Dogs, Young Pups, New Tricks

Bruce — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 18:04:44 GMT

Old Dogs, Young Pups, New Tricks

By Bruce Millar

In collaboration with the UKLA, East Lothian Yacht Club were lucky enough to secure a day of Jamie Calder's time to come along and coach some of our Laser/ILCA sailors.

Jamie has a number of sailing accolades to his name already, including winning the RYA Youths is his Laser Radial in 2016. More recently he finished 3rd at the recent ELYC hosted RS400 Nationals, and that's to name just a couple of highs. When the opportunity comes along to learn from these guys, you must take it!

Nick, Emily, Alistair and myself did just that and in the early hours of Sunday morning we headed to the club to get our boats ready, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the man with the skills to convert the four of us into world beaters.

Upon my arrival, early signs of us reaching world beating level were not good, as I discovered Nick slouched on the bench outside the club. Clutching a can of Irn Bru and looking worse for wear, it was easy to jump to the wrong conclusion. Had he enrolled in the Tennent's School of Physical Training? Thankfully, he hadn’t been on the lash the night before. He had however, just cycled down from Edinburgh and was embracing the healing properties of Scotland’s other “Water of Life”. Good warm up Nick, well done.

Having helped Nick up off the hangover bench, we filed into the wet lecture room to meet Jamie for a briefing and discussion about what the day would hold. It's easy to feel a little anxious at these sorts of events if you aren't used to them, like me. It probably comes from not wanting to make a fool of oneself. Leave these fears on the quayside because nobody is judging and everyone wants to help. A good coach will very quickly help a group relax and with some light-hearted banter and getting-to-know-you chat, Jamie did just that.

We were asked about our experience levels and what specifically we would like to get from the day's coaching. "Make me go faster" is always a common theme but because we sail at North Berwick, "wave technique" was a topic which came up quickly!

Jamie asked us all to think about the key aspects of the two common sailing maneuvers, namely tacking and gybing and the processes we go through during each. I have to be honest, I struggle to describe to someone the specifics of what I tend to do during these moves, if asked. No doubt it involves lots of bad habits, some muscle memory and the occasional lord's prayer position when it goes wrong.

There were a number of key aspects which Jamie bullet-pointed for us as they came up in conversation. When tacking, keeping the mainsheet block to block throughout was highlighted as key. When gybing, 3 big handfuls of mainsheet to encourage the sail over early, was the order of the day.

With lots more listed on the whiteboard we were advised to pick just one or two points to work on during the morning session. For me, it was the block to block aspect that was of interest. However, as I hobble into the throws of middle age, I could immediately see a couple of issues with this approach. First of all, the boat is likely to spin through the tack faster. This is a good thing and very much the aim. But in turn, this means I also need to be faster across the boat. I refer you to my previous middle-aged statement.

The second issue I could see was the height of the boom when sheeted block to block. It's quite low. No problem for young pups like Emily or Alistair, I'm sure. I won't speak for Nick, (too late) but how would I get under it at a quicker pace than normal? I'm not known for my limbo. However, Jamie to the rescue. He expertly described the moves and positions to follow to get under a low boom, aided by some great action shots of Tom Slingsby (Aussie Olympic Gold Medalist) in mid-tack. I won't go into too much detail but it involves, obviously, getting very low, stretching and swiveling. I probably looked perplexed as I considered the fact that not even my neck swivels these days. All that being said I took the approach of trying to forget what I thought I knew and would try to start afresh. So off we went to try it in anger.

The format the sessions took were excellent. Jamie would slowly motor the RIB forwards while we formed up in a line astern, at an angle well below close hauled, sails flapping as if lining up for a start. A 3 second countdown, sheet in and head up wind. When the whistle blows, tack. What this allows Jamie to do is get behind each boat and take video footage of each sailor as they go through the maneuvers. An exceptionally useful thing to see played back. After five tacks we would reset and repeat. It's amazing how much this gets the heart rate up. As club racers we are sometimes guilty of tacking for all the wrong reasons. Sometimes it’s just for a rest! Here, there was no argument to be had and while the goal was always to execute a tack which involved the aspects you wanted to focus on, it was never necessary to crash into a tack simply because the whistle blew. Take your time, think about it and focus on what you're trying to improve. I must admit to capsizing upwind during a tack but I almost take that as a positive as I was trying hard to do things using the prescribed method, rather than my previous age-appropriate tacking style. It was bound to end in a wobble at some point.

Rinse and repeat downwind for the gybing sessions. Line up astern, 3 second countdown but this time head downwind on the whistle. Gybe on subsequent whistles. Once again there were key items to focus on, once again Jamie would capture footage of us in all our glory and once again, I capsized. But if you don't capsize you aren't trying hard enough. Said nobody, ever.

We broke for lunch and for me this was a real highlight. Not because my tummy thought my throat had been cut, but because there was a 12 strong group of club Laser sailors also being treated to some internal coaching from a team led by John Wilcox. We all gathered for lunch and to have 16 club laser sailors gathered in the wet lecture room refueling on soup, bacon rolls and cake, all the while talking about their morning entertainment, was a sight to behold. Happy days.

Once lunch was in the books the 12 strong group headed back out for some racing. But before the fantastic four were allowed back out Jamie took us through the footage he had captured during the morning session. It can't be overstated how useful it is to see what your maneuvers look like versus what they feel like. It's quite telling (and a wee bit disappointing when you discover you don't look anywhere near as slick as you thought). Jamie showed footage of each of us and this promoted useful discussion on what was good and perhaps not so good in each case. All focus for the next session!

The afternoon sessions followed the very same format as before and a chance to process what we had seen in the lunchtime videos, to see if we could improve. By this time the wind had shifted to the east, which provided some waves to either surf or avoid, depending on direction of travel. Jamie commented on how much fun the waves looked so I invited him to have a quick shot in my boat so he could at least claim a "I've surfed NB" t-shirt. It was nothing to do with me wanting a lie down in the RIB for a rest. This was actually a very useful few minutes for me as I followed him closely in the RIB, watching his movements as he tacked. Effortlessly, I would add and excellent to see a pro at work. Although I will refrain from mentioning the tiller drop he suffered during one tack. Oops, too late.

After another couple of upwind and downwind sessions it was safe to say that we were all starting to feel some battery drain. We were treated to a great final run home as we surfed and gybed our way towards the fairway, before meeting in the sail loft for our final video review. Improvements all round and in various different areas to boot. More importantly though, I think we all have a good idea how things should be done and how to get there. Practice, practice, practice.

To those registered or thinking about registering for the second event in October, you are in for a treat. A big thank you specifically to Jamie Calder for giving up his Sunday, sharing his wisdom and being an all round top bloke who we look forward to welcoming back to the club for the second session.

2022 Training Curriculum is Live

Bruce — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 15:08:47 GMT

Learn to Sail Camps and Improver Courses for 11yrs-Adults @ https://elyc.org.uk/training

Have an amazing summer learning a new skill, make new friends and see the puffins on the Craigleith up close. The class this weekend was even joined by our resident dolphins for an hour or so.

Book Now Spaces Limited.

Summer School Training

Sat, 26 Jun 2021 12:03:04 GMT

We are down to our last few spaces in this summers' Training programme, and an extra Cadet Learn to Sail week has been added due to huge demand - book now to avoid disappointment!

The available spaces are;

Winter Race Training - 8th November

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 19:01:06 GMT

A hardy group of 12 sailors gathered at the second Winter Race Training on Sunday, in a bracing (though short lived) Force 3, from the East.

We briefed then headed out into a pleasant breeze, though slightly overcast. The session began with a simple windward/leeward exercise, focussing on the upwind leg, and keeping in mind the 3 key aims, designed to help us maintain speed and our position on the upwind leg;

5 Essentials
Tacking
Rules of the Road

About half an hour in, the breeze died completely. Luckily we'd managed to get in some great coaching before this and were already seeing improvements in sailing!

The breeze began to fill back in shortly after, though it was swinging from SE to SW, with no more than 5 knots. When the breeze eventually settled in the SE, the course was relaid and a start attempted, only for the wind to die completely about 30 seconds after the gun! Shortly after this, the decision was made to head back in and debrief on the beach!

While the session wasn't ideal - wholly due to the lack of breeze - there were still valuable lessons learned and everyone improved!

Thanks to everyone for coming down and to Robbie and Steven for their expertise. We look forward to seeing you again on the 13th December!

RYA Scotland Topper Academy at ELYC

Alison — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 17:29:22 GMT

RYA Scotland Topper Academy at ELYC

If you are a cadet member and sail a topper this is a fantastic opportunity to receive excellent training!

The RYA Scotland Class Academies are designed to support sailors of all levels and ages along their sailing journey. In a non-covid scenario there would be 6 training sessions delivered over the winter by their expert coaches focusing on racing skill development, supporting sailors both new to racing and those involved in further performance programme teams. The programme brings sailors together from all over the country within an environment that offers challenge, fun and friendship but most importantly time on the water all year round.

Due to the situation we are now in, RYA Scotland are trying to reach as many clubs as they can and run a series of single sessions for club-based sailors over consecutive weeks across October. The idea being to keep sailors local to their club. These sessions will be class specific and lead by experienced RYA Scotland coaches for sailors of all abilities.

We are delighted to announce a Topper Academy consisting of 3 sessions will be run at ELYC, for members only, on the following dates:

4th October 2020 12pm to 4pm

11th October 2020 9am to 1pm

18th October 2020 12pm to 4pm

If you are a cadet member and sail a topper this is a fantastic opportunity to receive excellent training from experienced Topper Academy coaches. As said above, this is for all levels. The cost of the Academy is £60 for the series. Club toppers will be available to hire at a cost of £10 for the series.

If you would like to take part, please register. Please note by booking you are registering for all 3 sessions. You do not pay at this point, except if hiring a club boat. Further instructions regarding the event and payment will be issued once registered.

Winter Racing Training is a GO!

Alison — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 16:03:36 GMT

I am happy to let you all know that we will once again be running Winter Race Training this year, albeit with some changes. The on the water element of the training will be largely similar to previous years, focussing on one element per session and consolidating this through races.

The shore based elements have invariably taken a knock due to COVID. Details for this are still being finalised, but will be circulated upon booking. It is likely that the safety briefing will be a virtual one, with finer details being covered on the day. This reduces any need for unnecessary time spent ashore and as such helps us maintain our COVID security.

The dates for race training are as follows:

11 October
18 November
13 December
10 January
7 February
14 March
11 April

All sessions run from 9am -1pm with the exception of 11 October which will run from 2pm-5pm.

Booking for these sessions will open on the Monday before the event is due to take place.

Club boats will be available to hire: 4 Club Toppers, 4 Zests and 2 Club 2ks.

In addition to needing a keen group of sailors, we also need volunteers to help this event run! If you can volunteer, please do so on Dutyman.

Best,

Will Derries

Chief Instructor

ELYC - Race Squad!

Bruce — Sun, 03 May 2020 12:17:55 GMT

Although the club is closed at the moment, we just wanted to let you know about an exciting new initiative we will be launching as soon as we are back sailing......

ELYC Race Squad

This squad will be open to cadet members who have progressed from Go Racing and who show:

Enthusiasm
Drive
Talent
Commitment

The aim of the squad will be to:

develop our young sailors' dinghy racing skills
create a team environment in which to learn and race
provide support to team members if competing at travelling events

Entry will be by application and selection. The selection dates will be announced as soon as the club opens and sailing re starts.

The squad will be restricted to a maximum of six (minimum of four) sailors meeting monthly on a Sunday for a full day's coaching by one of our members, Sam Grimshaw. Sam is a qualified RYA Race Coach and as a youth sailor was a member of a Zone Squad and competed at national and international events. Sam will also support the team at away events.

Membership of the squad will be under frequent review with the possibility to join through the year. For cadet members that don't make the squad at first there will be ample opportunity for continued development through our involvement with RYAS Development and Performance team.

The RYAS Development and Performance team fully support our initiative which is in line with their vision for youth racing and have agreed to supply additional coaches if required.

All applications are welcome and will be considered from cadets who have completed one year of Go Racing (or equivalent). Any interested cadets should complete the application from and return by 7^th June 2020. We will hold an information evening as soon as the club opens but if you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

ELYC Race Squad Application Form

ELYC Race Squad

email : racesquad@elyc.org.uk

Roo Wins Class Academy Sailor Award!

Bruce — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 18:37:10 GMT

Huge congratulations from everyone at ELYC to Roo Purves, who has been awarded the Class Academy Sailor of the Year award by RYA Scotland.

Roo is one of a selection of talented young sailors who have risen through the ranks in East Lothian Yacht Club's excellent sailing curriculum, which includes everything from entry level basics to a variety of coached racing sessions which provide a gateway to full on Club racing and beyond.

Roo was able to share his thoughts in a short interview.

“Amazing and quite a big surprise when my name was called out, I was quite shocked.”

“It was really cool to see my coach Robyn (Phillips) also win an award on the night.”

“It’s amazing, Topper’s are the best boats to start out in and I beat my dad for the first time last week in a club race, which was cool.”

The next generation of ELYC Training...

Wed, 24 Apr 2019 19:13:14 GMT

On the 17th, 18th and 19th of April, 7 Assistant Instructor hopefuls set out on their journey to becoming certified as RYA AIs.

Three Senior Instructors; Jon Shaw, Matt Gibbons and Will Derries ran the course, helped out by Ben Wilcox (Training Principal), Iona Robson and Lizzie Farmer (Child Protection Officer), drawing on shared and individual experiences and skill-sets to give our candidates as solid footing in the training world as is possible.

The two and a half days started out with a breaking swell in the fairway on the Wednesday evening, and the decision was taken to keep our candidates ashore - though a few intrepid club racers did venture out. Nevertheless, a productive session was had on shore, covering rigging and reefing a 2000. We then went into the classroom and had a group discussion about what a good Assistant Instructor should possess.

Thursday dawned, and we were straight into the classroom. We had a session on hopes and fears of the group, as well as good qualities and skills for an Assistant Instructor to have, we had a site tour to familiarise the candidates with passcodes, stores and SOPs. We were then back into the classroom for a very interesting learning styles (VARK) talk, delivered by Jon. Once again, we escaped the classroom and covered RYA method land drills. We then all disappeared for lunch and reconvened after we'd taken on some nutrition. The afternoon was set to be a tad sporty, with a building easterly and substantial swell. We went out reefed, and the group did a triangle adhering to the 5 Essentials, as well as some boats carrying out MOB excersizes - a vital skill. We then carried out the RYA Scoop capsize drill - Will volunteered for this one, much to his dismay.

Thursday evening entailed mid-course debriefs from Ben and Will, along with a chat about Child Protection (Delivered by Lizzie Farmer) and a brief talk on professionalism.

Friday dawned and we were into the last day of this brilliant course. The candidates delivered one short theory session each, and the standard of these was exceptional. All demonstrated Dinghy Instructor level knowledge and technique - needless to say the instructors were all very impressed. We then went for lunch and the club was bustling due to the RYA filming our Good Friday sailing. We were straight on the water after lunch, making use of the filling bay we perfected our tacking and gybing, did backwards sailing, as well as rudderless sailing.

We then headed out toward Craigleith, practising MOB and speed control using a follow-my-leader. Jon went for a swim, Will sailed Jons boat. Both enjoyed themselves.

Friday evening entailed a chat about expectations from each other as instructors, as well as expanding on professionalism. We then presented the 7 new Assistant Instructors with their certificates and went home!

Safe to say - the future of ELYC training is in safe hands. Well done Milla, Rosie, Josh, Sam, Emily, Grace and Rebecca! We look forward to working with you!

Powerboat Level 2 Course

Ben — Sat, 30 Mar 2019 08:14:34 GMT

The club is running a powerboat level 2 course on the 13/14th April. This is an internationally recognised qualification and is required to drive our club RIBS. Our next powerboat courses will run in July.

For further information and to sign up, please click on the following link: https://elyc.org.uk/event-3213102

First Aid Course

Ben — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 18:48:01 GMT

The club will be running another first aid course on Sunday 24th March. To sign up please click here to go to the event page.

Iain McGonigal - RYAS Coach of the Year!

Bruce — Sun, 20 Jan 2019 09:09:17 GMT

Congratulations to Iain McGonigal for winning the RYA Scotland Coach of the year Award! Iain has put in a huge amount of time and effort running our successful Go Racing sessions over the past number of years and has helped many sailors to gain more experience and confidence to get them racing. In his speech at the RYA Scotland Annual Awards he thanked the club and the Go Racing team, including Nick, Steve and Angus, for making Go Racing such a success!

Iain started sailing in keelboats (with Gerry Hughes if we remember correctly) after he got his first teaching job at North Berwick High School in 1981. Over the past 15 years, Iain has volunteered his time to run the Go Racing novice coaching evenings. Taking place generally over 16 weeks in the main sailing season from May to August, he has been able to bring new sailors on from ‘beginners’ to competent racers who give the club racers a run for their money. He is a fantastic coach who takes the time to get to know each of the participants and help work with them on and off the water.

Iain commented. “The programme, called Go Racing, which we run at ELYC is very much a team effort. I simply enjoy attempting to pass on the fun and enjoyment I get out of dinghy sailing, particularly racing. The club has long acknowledged that it is getting harder to encourage our novice sailors, youth or adult, to make the step from learning to sail to joining the main club racing programme. Our 'Go Racing' midweek programme simply gets relative novices or less-confident sailors out on the water and aims to teach the basics of racing while improving their sailing skills and experience in a less frenetic environment that the club fleet startline!”

Well done to Alastair Macintyre, Will Derries, Ben Wilcox and the club for being shortlisted for other awards! We have all enjoyed a fantastic evening in Inverkip.

To find out more about becoming a race coach or simply developing your coaching skills visit:

https://www.rya.org.uk/scotland/training/Pages/race-coaches.aspx

Adult Learn to Sail - Bookings now open!

Ben — Sat, 12 Jan 2019 11:01:16 GMT

Our first adult learn to sail course of 2019 will run over two weekends in May! To sign up and for further information, please check out our adult learn to sail page in our training section.

Easter Junior Sailing Camp

Ben — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 17:34:30 GMT

Bookings are now open for our Easter Sailing Camp! Running from the 8th - 12th April, this is a great opportunity to get out on the water ready for the summer! To sign up and for more information, click here.

Photos - Adult OYTS Voyage

Bruce — Sat, 29 Sep 2018 10:52:06 GMT

Ruth Mileham kindly forwarded on some excellent photos of the recent Ocean Youth Trust Scotland Voyage which 24 ELYC members took on 21/09/18.

Ocean Youth Trust Scotland - Cadets Voyage

Bruce — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 18:18:19 GMT

Not content with exploring the wonders of Loch Tummel just a few weeks ago, East Lothian Yacht Club's intrepid Cadets headed across to Greenock to set sail on an Ocean Youth Trust Scotland voyage aboard Alba Venturer and Alba Explorer.

Cadets Callum Williams and Lucy Robson kindly provided us with their takes on proceedings!

Callum Williams -

Despite the Scottish weather, ELYC’s Cadets enjoyed their weekend aboard Alba Explorer starting with a short night sail from Greenock to Holy Loch.

The following day after learning how to use the witches and after an exhausting sail hoist we had a relaxed sail to Tarbert. On the final day, the wind picked up and Alba Explorer was speeding back to Greenock averaging 10 knots upwind!

Throughout the trip Alba Explorer achieved an impressive 95 nautical miles. Overall, it was a very enjoyable weekend and a brilliant introduction to the world of yacht sailing.

Lucy Robson -

When coming aboard Alba Venturer our group of twelve cadets from ELYC where met by our lovely instructors for the weekend.

After a brief tour of the boat, we set of from Greenock and headed for the Holy loch! We got there at around midnight and tied up for the night.

In the morning, to my dismay, we were awakened bright and early by the cheery face of Struan who thought we should all get up at 6:30am, but it was okay as we all laughed about it later. After managing to get one more hour of sleep in, we set off for Tarbert. On the way there the winds were good and we had some waves, although in comparison to the size of boat you couldn’t really notice them! For most of the journey some of the other cadets and I sat up the bow inside the pig pen (storage for the extra sails)

Once we made it to Tarbert we were greeted by a delicious meal cooked by our skipper. Then after dinner we took a walk up to Tarbert castle which had an amazing view down to our boat.

Once we had gotten back down from the castle we all settled in quickly for the night as we had a long sail back to Greenock the next day.

On Sunday morning, we woke up to be greeted by the sound of the engine as the boat left the harbour. We then prepared for the long sail ahead. Unfortunately on the way back there where continuous showers of rain. Once we got back to Greenock we had our last debrief and then cleaned the whole boat before our finial departure.

Thank you so much to all those at OYT Scotland by making this an amazing adventure or alba venture!! We learned so much about yacht sailing, all the differences between dinghys and yachts. We learned the importance of teamwork and made some good friends along the way. A final thank you to all the people who made this trip possible, the parents and Alan.

Again, huge thanks go to Alan Stewart for giving our Cadets the opportunity to experience this level of sailing! A selection of photos have been uploaded here!

Our Cadets have set the bar very high on this voyage and the pressure is now well and truly on our adult crews to do just as well when they set sail on a similar voyage towards the end of the month!

Cadets head to Loch Tummel!

Bruce — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 17:48:15 GMT

Well done to all of our cadets who made the journey to Loch Tummel on Saturday 18th August for the Scottish Club Trophy!

Big congratulations to Sam Cowan and Rebecca Kinnie who brought home some medals! We think some of the older hands will need to watch out for this crop of youth on the start line, very soon.

A big thank you to our instructors, Will, Ellen and Eilidh, who went up for the day to support the team and the event. Thanks also to all of the parents for providing ELYC 'team buses' to get everyone there and back again safely!

Judging by the photos, everyone had a great time! Even Simon!

Race Camp 2018

Bruce — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 12:31:23 GMT

This year we are running a 3 day race camp from the 30th July to the 1st August.

Head over to the Race Camp page for further details.

Photos - Junior Training Week 1 (6 July 2018)

Bruce — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 08:23:55 GMT

Junior Training Week 1 - pictures taken on 6 July 2018 by Derek Braid and, Ellen Clark (on the water).