ADVENTURE SKILLS | Summer Sailing

Passage Making. Navigation. Adventure. Leadership.

Designed for sailors who are in Level 3 Improving Skills and/or already completed Level 4 Advanced Boat Handing, Adventure Skills Week is our most exciting youth programme of the summer.

This course follows the Irish Sailing Adventure Skills syllabus while bringing the learning to life through real adventures on the water.

Rather than sailing around a training area, sailors will plan journeys, navigate to destinations, interpret weather forecasts, make decisions as a crew and undertake longer passages around Lough Gill.

Throughout the week sailors will develop skills in:

• Passage planning and navigation
• Chartwork and pilotage
• Weather forecasting and weather routing
• Anchoring and towing
• Safety and emergency procedures
• Boat preparation and seamanship
• Leadership and crew management
• Decision making on the water

Activities may include:

• Voyage planning challenges
• Longer sailing expeditions around the lake
• Navigation exercises using charts, compasses and GPS
• Swimming sessions (weather and conditions permitting)
• Shore-based campfires and outdoor cooking
• Team challenges and leadership exercises

Who is it for?

Suitable for sailors working towards the Irish Sailing Adventure Skills certificate and those looking to develop greater independence, leadership and seamanship on the water.

By the end of the week sailors will have planned voyages, navigated independently, developed weather awareness and gained the confidence to undertake real sailing adventures with a crew.

This is more than a sailing course.

It's an expedition.

Campfire Expedition

A highlight of the programme is a fully supervised camp fire cookout + expedition on the shores of the lake. Should the need arise, parents or guardians can be contacted and reach the site directly.

Sailors will work together to plan and undertake a passage before sailing to mainland campfire area on the shores of Lough Gill. This will be facilitated by a Sligo Forest School tutor and fully supervised by our team of instructors.

For safety reasons No sailing or rib rides takes place after dark. All water activities are focused on campcraft, group activities, navigation discussions and campfire cooking.

What to Bring

Come prepared for Irish conditions:

Warm outdoor layers
Waterproof jacket
Old runners or boots with grip
Suncream, sun glasses or sun hat
Lunch and a drink (please note* energy drinks like RedBull and Monster are banned from WWS courses, it is our experience that the sailors learn more without them)

No wetsuits required — we sail larger keelboats.

There are no changing facilities at the Lake Base, so please arrive dressed to sail.
Toilets are available before and after sessions and at lunchtime.

Bring your own buoyancy aid if you have one. Spares are available.

Session Times

Morning Session:
09.30am – 12:30pm
(No supervision before 9:30am)

Supervised Lunchbreak

Afternoon Session
1:30pm – 4:30 pm
(No supervision outside these hours)

Prompt drop-off and collection is essential.

Phones

Phones and speakers are not permitted on the water.

They may be left in your child’s bag in our secure lockup ashore.
Wild West Sailing accepts no responsibility for lost or damaged items.

Course Structure & Policy

The course runs over five consecutive days. Swapping of weeks is not possible as we are only running this one week at this level.
If strong winds prevent sailing, sessions move to structured theory, ropework and powerboating. We use the time productively.

Refunds are not issued due to adverse weather or illness.

Cancellations must be made at least 7 days before the course start time.

Refund requests must be submitted in writing to:
info@wildwestsailing.com
For the attention of Centre Principal, Dave O’Connor.

ADVENTURE SKILLS | Youth Driven Sailing | Level 4 and under