Great memories sailing BC waters and wanting more!

Oct 11, 2018

As the 2018 sailing season winds down it is time to reflect about all those fantastic days on the water with family and friends. Sailing out of our home port has been made up of day sails with a few overnight stops at marinas. I have a desire to take on longer trips and really see more of the islands and anchorages that British Columbia has to offer. My crew (family) would like to do the same however they are hesitant to go farther afield as they do not feel totally comfortable and rely on my skillset when on the water. I think I have found the perfect solution to give my crew the confidence for our next big adventure.

The Surrey Sailing Club is a casual, friendly club located on Blackie Spit at Crescent Beach in Surrey.  The club accommodates a wide range of water activities including sailing lessons, casual day sailing, racing, kayaking and paddle boarding. Active members range in age from pre-teens to senior citizens. For many members, the club provides the perfect venue for a family day at the beach, complete with picnic tables and a barbeque.
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The Surrey Sailing Club’s CANSail training program has learning to sail to intermediate level courses for those wanting to brush up on their sailing skills.
 
The Surrey Sailing Club is a CANSail training site registered with BC Sailing and Sail Canada. All of their sailing courses are taught by Sail Canada certified instructors with a very low student to teacher ratio. Courses are conducted in our fleet of training dinghies.
 
They also offer day camps for kids of all ages throughout the summer.
 
The Surrey Sailing Club offers a wide variety of evening and weekend courses for teens & adults and summer day camps for kids. They are a CANSail training site registered with BC Sailing and Sail Canada. Our instructors teach CANSail levels 1 through 6, starting with basic skills for beginners and progressing to more intermediate sailing skills. All of our sailing courses are taught by Sail Canada certified instructors with a very low student to teacher ratio. Lessons are open to the general public and club membership is not required. Registration includes the BC Sailing and Sail Canada profile program fee.
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Evening courses run for various durations from May through September, with daytime lessons available in July and August only. Evening lessons are generally aimed at adults but are open to all students able to manage themselves in a mixed age group.
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Courses include some classroom time, but the focus is on-the-water training in our club-owned boats –
C420s, RS Fevas, and RS Teras. This is a wonderful way to be introduced to the joys of sailing on the expansive waters of Crescent Beach. Most of the time is spent on the water using the club’s fleet of training sailboats. Certificates are awarded to all successful students.

If you want to sail when it is convenient for you and you don’t own a dinghy then the Surrey Sailing Club Co-op program has the answer by allowing members to use a number of communal sailboats. These communal sailboats are available for the exclusive use of co-op members. The Co-op currently consists of three Pirate-class sailboats.
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Co-op members must be 18 years of age or older to use the club’s boats. Junior Co-op members may be considered on a case by case basis.
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Prospective Co-op members are required to have achieved their CANSail 2 certificate. If the course has been taken at SSC within the last two years, they would be able to join without having their sailing abilities checked by staff. If a prospective Co-op member has taken their course at SSC prior to the last two years, or at any time at another club, they would have to have their sailing skills checked out by one of the SSC instructors prior to joining. Co-op members are required to fill out waivers each calendar year and carry their own liability insurance (usually a home insurance policy will supply adequate coverage).
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Co-op members must satisfy the SSC Co-op Captain of their sailing proficiency before being permitted to use the club’s boats. SSC instructors are available to help with this process.

For complete information on the Surrey Sailing Club go to: https://www.surreysailingclub.bc.ca/
To find a CANSail program near you go to: https://www.sailing.ca/cansail-dinghy-s15683