The RYA has launched a digital timeline and video marking key moments in the 50 year history of its world-famous training schemes.
The first RYA courses were introduced in 1970 to provide clubs and sailing schools with a national training programme and standardised method of learning to sail – with qualified instructors, inspections and safety requirements.
Now, 50 years on, more than 270,000 people undertake some form of RYA training each year, with courses encompassing everything from personal watercraft to the inland waterways.
Richard Falk, RYA director of training and qualifications, said: “The timeline celebrates key moments in the very broad and diverse history of the RYA’s training schemes, starting with the launch of the National Sailing Scheme back in 1970. This year, the RYA has been encouraging members, instructors and students to share their RYA training stories, showcasing the real impact it has had on the lives of so many.”
RYA instructor and 2020 Vendée Globe competitor, Pip Hare, is one of many who has been involved with the campaign and said: “Learning, and later teaching, as part of the RYA training scheme gave me the skills and confidence to feel comfortable, first as a crew, then a skipper. It gave me the platform I needed to start on the path to international offshore racing.”
“The first steps into sailing are always the hardest to take and so whenever someone asks me how to get involved, I tell them to find a sailing school and book on to a course.”
Visit www.rya.org.uk/go/50years to view the timeline, watch the video and find out more about the last 50 years of RYA training.
www.rya.org.uk/training
