RYA-accredited training centre · Cowes, Isle of Wight
From a first afternoon in a dinghy to a Yachtmaster ticket. Twenty-two boats, eighteen instructors and twelve thousand four hundred sailors taught since 2004 — on one of the busiest, best-behaved stretches of water in Europe.
4.9 / 5 from 1,183 reviews · British Marine member
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Sailors trained
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Boats in the fleet
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Qualified instructors
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First-time pass rate
01
Maximum eight students per course and one instructor per two boats. You will be on the helm within the first hour — not watching from the pontoon.
02
Dinghies teach feel in the hands. Keelboats teach crew work and tide. We run both, so you graduate with the skill the syllabus actually asks for.
03
The Solent gives us sheltered flat water in the morning and a proper 18-knot breeze by four. We sail in it, brief it, and debrief it over coffee.
Course levels
Every level is a separate, bookable course with a defined syllabus, sea time and certificate. Most students take two to four levels in their first year. You can start at any one of them — we will place you with a short on-water assessment if you already sail.
No experience
01
RYA Dinghy Level 1 · Stage 1
Your first weekend in a boat. Rigging, points of sailing, tacking, gybing and how to right a capsize without swallowing the harbour.
£285per person
2 days
Beginner plus
02
RYA Dinghy Level 2
Take charge of the boat in a breeze. You will helm solo, work as crew to someone else, and read the wind on the water instead of guessing.
£420per person
3 days
Confident crew
03
RYA Dinghy Level 3
The level that turns sailors into skippers. Heavy-weather technique, spinnaker work, passage planning in miniature and decision-making when it pipes up.
£465per person
3 days
Race pathway
04
RYA Start Racing · Level 4
Coach-led racing on the Solent: starts, laylines, boat speed, fleet tactics and the rule book you actually need on the water.
£340per person
2 days
Skipper pathway
05
RYA Yachtmaster Coastal prep
Live-aboard training on a 27-foot cruiser-racer. Navigation, pilotage, night hours, crew management and a 60-mile qualifying passage.
£1,180per person
5 days
Tell us what you have sailed and where. We will place you, or book you a free 30-minute on-water assessment in the harbour before you pay for anything.
Reply within one working day
The fleet
Every boat in the school is owned and serviced in-house — no hired hulls, no borrowed kit. Sails are replaced each season, and each class has a dedicated instructor who knows exactly what it is trying to teach.
12 in fleet
Junior & family trainer
The boat most of our students learn in. Forgiving in a gust, fast enough to be exciting, and rigged for two so nobody sits out.
14 in fleet
Singlehander
Fourteen identical hulls and one design sails, so the only variable in a race is you. The fastest way to learn sail trim and balance.
6 in fleet
Family & adult beginner
A stable three-person platform with a furling jib and asymmetric kite — where most of our adult beginners and family bookings spend their first two days.
4 in fleet
High performance
For the juniors who have outgrown the Feva and want planing downwind. Trapeze, twin trapeze wire and a proper appetite for wind.
3 in fleet
One-design keelboat
Four crew, no hiking, and real tactical racing. Where dinghy sailors learn to talk to each other — and where adults learn that sailing is a team sport.
3 in fleet
Cruiser-racer
Our live-aboard training yacht. Berths for four students, a proper chart table, and enough sea-keeping to make a night passage to Cherbourg feel like the real thing.
Plus two 6.5 m coach RIBs, a rescue RIB and a full workshop on the pontoons — safety cover is never shared between groups.
Enquire about the fleetInstructor team
Eighteen qualified instructors, all of them currently racing or cruising their own boats. Four lead our programmes and set the standard every other coach is trained to.
27 yrs
Chief Instructor · RYA Yachtmaster Instructor
Founded WindRider in 2004 after a decade of delivering yachts across the Atlantic. Still runs every Level 5 passage personally, and still sails his own Contessa 32 on Sundays.
14 yrs
Senior Dinghy Coach · RYA Senior Instructor
Former ILCA national squad sailor. Wrote our capsize-confidence programme, which is the reason nervous beginners stop being nervous somewhere around the second morning.
11 yrs
Race Coach · RYA Race Coach Level 2
Runs the Junior Race Squad and the Saturday Solent series. If you have ever wondered why the boat next to you is faster, he will tell you in about four minutes.
9 yrs
Keelboat & Theory Lead · RYA Yachtmaster Offshore
Coaches the J/70 fleet and teaches the winter navigation theory courses. Has a talent for making tidal vectors feel like a puzzle rather than a punishment.
Certification programmes
We are an RYA Recognised Training Centre and a World Sailing accredited school, so every certificate we issue is internationally recognised — for chartering in Greece, racing in Auckland, or getting a commercial endorsement.
The core progression for under-16s and adults learning in dinghies. Certificated at each stage, with a logbook signed by your instructor and countersigned by the chief instructor.
Crew work, seamanship and skippering on the J/70 fleet. The natural route for adults who want to charter or join a racing crew rather than own a dinghy.
Exam preparation, mileage building and the qualifying passages. We take the exam booking, the boat and the crew — you take the responsibility.
Dinghy Instructor, Senior Instructor and Powerboat Level 2 pre-requisites, plus the MCA commercial endorsement paperwork for working skippers.
RYA VHF/SRC radio licence, sea survival, diesel engine and first aid — the short courses you need before any RYA exam or commercial ticket.
Inspected annually against RYA standards — instructor ratios, boat maintenance records, safety equipment and syllabus delivery. Our centre number is printed on every certificate.
Recognised for youth training and race coaching. Useful if you plan to race abroad or move into a national squad pathway later.
Passed your assessment? You leave with your certificate, your signed logbook and a digital copy emailed the same evening. No post, no chasing.
| Certificate | Level | Prerequisite | Duration | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RYA Dinghy Level 1 | Start | None | 2 days | On water |
| RYA Dinghy Level 2 | Basic | Level 1 or equivalent | 3 days | On water |
| RYA Dinghy Level 3 | Improver | Level 2 | 3 days | On water |
| RYA Start Racing | Race | Level 3 or race experience | 2 days | Coach signed |
| RYA Keelboat Level 2 | Basic | None (adults) | 3 days | On water |
| RYA Day Skipper (theory) | Theory | Basic sailing knowledge | 5 evenings × 4 wks | Written paper |
| RYA Yachtmaster Coastal prep | Skipper | 50 days sea time, 800 nm | 5 days + passage | MCA examiner |
| RYA VHF / SRC radio | Support | None | 1 day | Exam & practical |
Seasonal schedule
The Solent season runs from March to November, and we move the school south to the Algarve for the winter months. Courses run in fixed weekly blocks, so you can plan a year around them.
Spring
March – May · Cowes
Freshen up after the winter. Adult beginner weekends, the first dinghy courses of the year, and Wednesday evening keelboat sessions on the J/70s once the clocks change.
Summer
June – August · Cowes
Peak season. Five-day junior academies, family sailing weeks, and the Tuesday night Sunset Sails for adults who want two hours on the water after work. Cowes Week fills the harbour — book early.
Autumn
September – November · Cowes
The best wind of the year and the quietest water. This is when we run the race squads, the J/70 autumn series and the Yachtmaster preparation passages with night hours.
Winter
December – February · Vilamoura, Algarve
We move three boats and four instructors to the Algarve for warm-water winter training, while the Cowes classroom runs the full theory programme: Day Skipper, Coastal/Yachtmaster and VHF.
Before you book
None at all. Level 1 assumes you have never been in a sailing boat. Wear clothes you do not mind getting wet, bring a change of shoes, and we supply the boat, buoyancy aid, spray top and instructor.
Eight years old for dinghy courses and the youth academy, with a parent or guardian present at sign-in. Fourteen for keelboat courses, sixteen for Level 5 and theory programmes.
We sail in most conditions — that is part of the training — but the school reserves the right to cancel any session where wind or visibility is unsafe. Cancelled sessions are rescheduled at no cost, or refunded in full if we cannot offer an alternative date.
Yes. Gift vouchers are valid for eighteen months, cover any course or level, and can be used against the taster sail. We can post a printed card or email a PDF the same day.
On Level 5 courses you live aboard the training yacht. For all other courses we have partner B&Bs within walking distance of the pontoon, and we will book them for you at our rate.
Enrolment
Tell us what you would like to sail and when. We will come back with available dates, the right level for you, and a place confirmed — usually within one working day.
No payment now. We confirm availability and level first.
