Course Requirements

1. Membership

All participants must be members of Mayo Sailing Club to comply with IS & insurance requirements.

2. Boat Requirement

All participants need their own boat or a share in a two-person boat. Parents/Guardians should ensure the boat they supply is in good repair for the full duration of the course.

  • a. All boats have to be maintained in a safe condition before they are let on the water.
  • b. Boats have to have a launching trolley.
  • c. Boats must be fully insured against 3rd party and public liability claims before they can be used on the course.
  • d. In the event of any damage on the water both parties must establish liability for repairs and have the boats ready to continue the course.
3. Boat Selection
  • a. For entry level modules Taste of Sailing, Start Sailing, Basic Skills and Improving Skills we recommend Laser, Pico, Mirrors, RS Tera, Toppers, Topaz, RS Feva or Optimist.
  • b. For advanced modules such as ABH and Racing we suggest RS Feva, Toppers, Topaz, Lasers, Laser 2 or 420. For Kites and Wires boats must have the appropriate equipment such as trapeze and spinnakers. Adventure Courses requires a two-man boat.
  • c. For all advanced modules, participants must have their own boats or a boat to share.
  • d. A limited number of Topazs are available for use on the entry level modules. Rates are at a charge of €70/week per sailor. These are allocated on a first come first served basis with priority given to the earlier levels.
4. Sailing Equipment and Clothing requirements
  • a. All sailors must have a sailing buoyancy aid type of life jacket.
  • b. All sailors must have suitable water wear i.e. wetsuits, sailing booties (not sandals) and wind & rain protection gear.

Checklist of Equipment for Junior Sailing Course
All items need to be clearly labelled with your child’s name

  • Buoyancy Aid
  • Wetsuit
  • Booties
  • Togs
  • Rash Vest
  • Cag – windproof jacket for over wetsuit
  • Hat
  • Suncream
  • Towel
  • Packed Lunch
  • Stationary for Theory Sessions
  • Weather Resistant Coat for land based activities when weather is not appropriate for sailing
  • Trug – plastic bucket for containing all items and for transporting wet items
5. Age and Water Confidence requirements
  • Taste of Sailing and Above Minimum 9 years Old
  • Parents or guardians of any junior sailor participating on a course at MSC need to ensure that their child has a degree of water confidence sufficient to prevent them panicking or becoming distressed should they enter the water through any eventuality while participating in activities on the  junior sailing course.
6. Safety and Certification

Mayo Sailing Club is an IS approved centre. All our instructors are IS qualified instructors and experienced sailors who have been Garda Vetted. A strict safety ratio of juniors to instructors and safety boats is maintained on and off the water.

It is normal for some modules to take two years or more work to meet the appropriate skill level. We value the professionalism of our instructors. To achieve certification participants must fulfill all IS requirements for that module. This is assessed throughout the course by our instructors and they must have the final decision in this regard.