Dinghy Sailing lnstructor Fast-track - Australia

Product Details

With courses from two to 16 weeks and a range of sports from traditional dinghy sailing to the adrenalin-packed surfing, the Sail and Board Sport (SBS) courses make the most flexible gap year possible. Get qualified then take advantage of the free Flying Fish careers advice and job placement service to get work all over the world for the rest of the year.

We follow the sun and wind around the world, travelling to some great training locations. From October to May we're sailing, surfing and windsurfing in Sydney, Australia. From May to October we're based at Vassiliki, Greece, for sailing and windsurfing.

Course content

This course is designed for confident, intermediate sailors with good boat handling ability.

The first two weeks provide intensive foundation training, including personal performance coaching, first aid and rescue boat driving. You are working towards passing the RYA's 'pre-entry' assessment, a test of your sailing skills.

Weeks three and four are devoted to instructor training and assessment, focusing on the coaching skills needed to train beginners and improvers in single and two-handed dinghies. You will develop an imaginative approach to teaching safe and efficient sailing, as well as the theory that underlies it. We make sure you have time to learn and practise the necessary teaching techniques before being examined.

To gain the instructor qualification you need to demonstrate good communication skills, an understanding of the training scheme, in-depth theory knowledge, group management ability, safety awareness and an effective coaching style.

The course takes place at Middle Harbour Yacht Club and Balmoral Sailing in Sydney from October to May and at at Club Vass and Wildwind, twin high-performance centres at Vassiliki, Lefkas, Greece from May to October. Training follows the Royal Yachting Association's well established scheme and there is the opportunity to race high performance Hobies, Lasers and RS dinghies.

Multi-sport options

We offer several multi-sport courses combining windsurfing with dinghy sailing and surfing . If you want a different combination you can create an individual programme by bolting together two or more single sport courses. Many people think beyond an SBS Traineeship and go on to International Yacht Training, Professional Snow Sports or Professional Dive Training.

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Mining Engineer, 26 year old Tom, was looking for a complete change of career and a "prolonged period of fun". He took his dinghy and windsurf instructor tickets at Vassiliki in May and went on to take a Level 3 Windsurf Instructor upgrade at the end of that Summer.

The next two seasons found him working for Wildwind in Vass, teaching on Hobie 15s, 16s and 17s, one of his moments of glory being the first Hobie 16 over the line in the Ionion Regatta!

This Summer, Tom is working for Club Vass teaching windsurfing. "The Vass environment is great. When you do the Fish course you get to know all the instructors working at the centre so the contacts have already been made and it's easier to get a job once you've qualified.

Working in the watersports industry has made me much more relaxed - you have to be prepared for anything. I spend time actually getting to know people and I don't take everything so seriously!"

Tom went out to Perth for the winter to go and work for Pelican Point. His closing words of advice? "Life's too short, don't mess around."