2025 was Nepean Sailing Club’s third consecutive year of providing Dinghy Skills Training. It was a glorious summer, a huge thank you to all the volunteers!
There is a real gap between completing your CanSail 2 and participating in NSC’s weekly Dinghy Race nights. There are multiple hurdles to overcome; owning your own boat, knowing other dinghy sailors, and having the experience and confidence to race.
NSC’s Dinghy Skills program ensures that new dinghy sailors have the opportunity to practice their sailing skills in a weekly, low stress, coached training environment. The primary goal is to provide a supportive environment for new sailors to gain the all-important time on the water. A secondary goal is to get to know other dinghy sailors. Boy, are they a fun bunch!
There are tall ships and small ships, but the best ships are friendships.
Support Boat volunteers were integral to making the program a success. A huge thank you to Ted Ceelan, Neil Knudsen, Andrea O’Brien and Eric Massicotte. Race Bosun Siqi supported the sessions in June. The July and August sessions were led by our intrepid instructors Ryan Davis and Jacob Livingston.
Approximately 10 – 12 boats participated every evening; including a Catamaran, Lasers, Club 420s, Albacores and a 505.
Feedback from the 2025 Dinghy Skills survey included:
- “I learned a lot, met other dinghy enthusiasts, had a chance to practice out on the water, had a chance to help other participants. Love love love this program at NSC.“
- “Thanks for all the effort in pulling this together, a great example of volunteerism at NSC!”
- “Please, let’s do it again next year!“
Looking forward to continuing this program in 2026!
