LTS Zero to Hero 3-6 January 2025 9am-4pm. Weather contingency dates 7,8 January.

Based at Wanaka Yacht Club on lakeside road, this 4 day course will cover everything on the Learn-to-Sail (LTS) 1 and LTS 2 syllabus, with a maximum of 6 attendees. 

The focus is on gaining all the skills required to sail competently on your own.  We will weight practical experience highly and sail as much as possible, in a range of craft, learning as you go. 

Of course there will be some classroom time too!  By locking in 4 back to back days, we typically find greater levels of progress than two 2 day courses separated by weeks or months. Get stuck in and lock in those skills! 

Of course there will be wind limits and we dont want to start calendar searching for alternative weather days should the weather be unsailable.  For that reason we are locking in the contingency dates 7 and 8 January as part of the course booking.  The course will be run on the first four sailable days of the window 3-8 January 2025.

The course will be run by qualified YNZ coach Roger North and his daughter Mabel, also YNZ qualified.  Roger voluntarily runs many regattas, training sessions and Sunday races throughout the year. He practically lives on the lake in summer. He will help you beyond the course by encouraging you to explore some of the many pathways the club offers beyond this course.

Mabel volunteers many hours per week as a coach weekly too, and beyond her school years plans on chasing her dream of being a sailing professional - recently coming 3rd in NZ in the female 19 laser "youth champs" and last year being the skipper who won the sailGP Feva competition.  Despite only being 15 she is a skilled and experienced coach and will immediately put you at ease when you sail together in two person boats.

All the sailing will be undertaken in Wanaka Yacht Club dinghies, such as Quests, Fevas, 420's Starlings or Laser.  Some are two person boats, some are single handed.

We are often asked: will this be of use if my plan is to sail a larger keelboat?  Overwhelmingly "yes" Small dinghies are typically harder to sail and teach you the most. You can get away with more in most keelboats. This is why so many top international keelboats are skippered and crewed by ex dinghy sailing champions.  Of course its not about racing to most folks, but the basic skills on this course would be identical at this level, irrespective of your ambition.

You should really have fun on this course and be proud of just how far you've come! Typically you'll become able to sail wherever you want to go in sensible wind strength.  By the end of the course you should have a really good idea of your own competence limits, learn plenty of sailing lingo,  and hopefully, develop a lifelong passion for sailing! 

You should also leave with a good understing of what and how you can further your sailing at Wanaka Yacht Club, perhaps without the need to own a boat.

We provide bouyancy aids. Please bring sunscreen, hat , windproof gear, towel, change of clothes, packed lunch and preferrably a wetsuit to wear underneath.  We will break for an hour lunch each day.