Northern Ireland Sailing Clubs Benefit From RYA OnBoard Programme

7th October 2022

Children sailing in a Laser Bahia dinghy as part of the RYA OnBoard programme

Nine venues across Northern Ireland are part of the RYA’s OnBoard programme which seeks to make sailing and windsurfing easier to access for 8–18-year-olds Credit: RYA

Three sailing and boating clubs in Northern Ireland have been benefitting from a whole range of new resources after their clubs were accepted on the Royal Yachting Association’s OnBoard programme.

Strangford Lough Yacht Club, East Antrim Boat Club and Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club all joined the programme at the beginning of 2022 sailing season.

OnBoard is a grassroots programme which seeks to make sailing and windsurfing easier to access for 8–18-year-olds. Launched in 2005, the programme has helped introduce nearly a million young people across the UK to sailing and windsurfing.

Talking about the benefits of the programme so far, Jack Kennedy, training captain at Strangford Lough YC says: “The OnBoard programme has meant that we are able to deliver more structured training as part of our Sunday Sailing school, which now acts as the perfect stepping stone to our RYA Youth Sailing courses.

“With over 80 children signed up to our Sunday Sailing school, it’s fantastic to be able to introduce so many new people to the sport of sailing.”

Kevin Baird from Royal North of Ireland YC says: “The OnBoard resources have really helped us structure our children’s sailing activities. It's got us off to a great start after two very disrupted years and given us a great foundation to build on for 2023 as numbers build up again.”

Debbie Hanna, who sits on the training committee at East Antrim Boat Club, says: “We have had a great summer welcoming new sailors to our Onboard Bright Night sessions which has been great for the club, our instructors and volunteers to be so active after the last few years.”

Over the summer RYA Northern Ireland grew its OnBoard fleet and welcomed Carrickfergus Sailing Club and Strangford Sailing Club to OnBoard. The organisation is looking forward to seeing the clubs progress with the programme.

RYA OnBoard operations officer Hannah Cockle said: “It’s great to welcome the clubs to the OnBoard programme. Getting out on the water has a huge amount of benefits which go way beyond just learning a new skill. We look forward to working with them and the local community in the future.”

RYANI OnBoard venues are as follows:

Ballyholme Yacht Club
Carrickfergus Sailing Club
Donaghadee Sailing Club
East Antrim Boat Club
Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club
South Lake Sailing Club in Craigavon
Strangford Lough Yacht Club
Strangford Sailing Club
WaveRides in Enniskillen

If you would like to know more about how to become an OnBoard venue or how to get involved as a participant on the OnBoard programme, get in touch with [email protected].

Published in RYA Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Waters

Published in RYA Northern Ireland

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About the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Northern Ireland

The RYA is the national body for dinghy, yacht and motor cruising, all forms of sail racing, RIBs and sports boats, windsurfing and personal watercraft and a leading representative for inland waterways cruising.

The RYA is recognised by Government, the media and opinion formers as the representative body and voice for the activities that it represents. It continually fights for the rights and freedoms of its 112,000 personal members.

The RYA has more than 1,500 affiliated clubs and classes, which represent some 350,000 boaters throughout the UK. It is estimated that 4 million people in the UK take part in boating activity annually.

The RYA also sets and maintains recognised standards for training for both leisure and commercial boating through a network of more than 2,400 RYA Recognised Training Centres across 58 countries. More than 250,000 people per year complete RYA training courses.

The RYA is responsible for one of the UK’s most successful Olympic medal-winning sports. Our coaching and development schemes actively support 800 of our country’s top sailors, from talented juniors to Olympic and World champions.

The RYA is committed to promoting all forms of boating and making them accessible to everyone. For more information please visit www.rya.org.uk.

The Royal Yachting Association Northern Ireland (RYA NI) acts for the RYA in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Chairman of RYA NI is invited to join the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) Policy Review Committee.

You can find the RYA Northern Ireland at Sketrick House, GE8, Jubilee Road, Newtownards, BT23 4YH.

RYA NI is a company limited by guarantee – Registration number NI 51945

Contact RYA NI: Tel: 02891 827154 email: [email protected]

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