Junior Courses

At Davey's Bay Yacht Club, our Junior and Youth Sailing Programs emphasise fun on the water for the next generation of young sailors.

Davey’s Bay Yacht Club Sailing Academy has a substantial fleet of nine Poly Ozi Optis, which are shared amongst the beginner sailors and seven racing fibreglass Opti’s for more advanced Tackers. Twelve Pacers, a couple of Lasers (ILCAs) and a Sabre are reserved for sailors progressing from Junior classes. All programs are run by qualified Instructors and Assistant Instructors.

Weekly Tackers

For junior sailors aged 7 to 16 we offer the two Tackers learn to sail programs on Friday evenings (16:30-19:30) and on Sundays mornings (09:00-12:00). Friday sessions start on 31st Jan and Sunday sessions start on 2nd Feb.

Tackers 1 is designed to be the first step into sailing for kids and is filled with fun games and activities. The sessions focus on building water confidence and teaching sailors how to rig, tack and sail across the wind.
Tackers 2 is the next step. Having fun is still the priority but sailors are also introduced to gybing, getting out of irons and sailing around a triangle course.

See our available dates and make a booking here.

Once sailors have completed Tackers 1 and Tackers 2 courses they can choose to either continue praticing their skills in adventure sailing or start racing on Sunday afternoons.

Weekly Little Tackers

For children aged 4-6 years old we are offering a Tiny Tackers program on Friday evenings (16:30-19:00).

This session focuses on games and building water confidence and is a great option for those kids not yet ready to join the full Tackers program. Sessions will include introduction to sailing, playing games on the beach, enjoying powerboat rides and more.

See our available dates and make a booking here

Weekly Adventure Sailing

For junior sailors who have graduated out of Tackers sessions we offer adventure sailing on Sunday afternoons (13:30-16:30). Sessions run 2nd Feb till 9th March.

This session is designed for those who have attended a Tackers 1 and Tackers 2 (or Out There 1 /2) course and now want to get out on the water to practice their skills! Tackers 3 / Out There 3 certificates will loosely be worked towards, but experience on the water and adventure "destination" sails will be prioritised. This session will include more indepth sailing theory and concepts, and therefore sailors must be aged 10 or above.

See our available dates and make a booking here

Weekly Race Training

For junior sailors of all ages we offer a Race Training session on Sunday afternoons (13:30-16:30). Sessions run 2nd Feb till 9th March.

This session is designed to introduce sailors to racing. Sailors will be taught how to have a great start, how to get around the course quickest and how to use the sailing rules to their advantage! This session is run at the same time as club members racing and the goal is to have junior sailors racing with club members by the end of the course.

If interested, please email [email protected]

Holiday Tackers Courses

Each year in January school holidays Davey's Bay runs Tackers courses for kids aged 8+ and Tiny Tackers courses for kids aged 5 to 7. Please stay tuned for our 2026 dates.