COBNOR WEEKENDS (suitable for those aged 13 to 19)

Twice a year (Spring and Autumn) we take a group of around eighteen students to Cobnor Activity Centre in Chichester Harbour. These weekends are very popular with both the young people sailing and the instructors and powerboat drivers who come along to help. As most of the them have learnt to sail on our small lake, this is an important part of our programme, as it allows young sailors to understand and experience sailing on much larger tidal waters.

The centre is located in a quiet, sheltered area of the harbour, surrounded by fields on the land side and with easy launching on site. It consists of a dining hall, drying room and sleeping accommodation in a log cabin. We sail large dinghies called Bosuns, large enough for two students and an instructor, some of these have spinnakers fitted. We also take along the clubs Magnos and one of the Laser 2000 to allow the young sailors to experience the thrill of planning asymmetric dinghies with a trapeze (great fun!)

We take the clubs two sea ribs, which enables our ‘safety boat' and PB2 qualified drivers to improve their skills in a tidal situation.

Several parents come along and ‘mastermind' the food logistics for the weekend and everyone is expected to help with washing up and cleaning duties during the stay.

During the weekend we visit various parts of the harbour depending on tide and weather constraints and are on the water for most of the day.