How will Scottish sailing return?

A question we’re all asking at the moment is when can I go sailing again?  In Scotland it is a while off yet for organised courses and RYA training but what will it look like when Scottish yacht cruising returns?

One of the problems with training courses is that your average course has an instructor and 4 or 5 students arriving on Friday or Sunday night from different parts of the country and spending the next few days together on a relatively small yacht. Social distancing will be hard in this situation so what can we do?

Firstly groups that sail together when lockdown allows should be close family groups or people who are already in each other’s social bubble. This skippered charter limits interactions with outsiders apart from your instructor.

Good government advice should be followed onboard. This involves regular hand washing and washing down the boat regularly. This is nothing new however and has always been encouraged on our yacht, it will just happen more regularly and become part of the daily routine. Face covering is another tool in our quiver which again onboard is easy with many sailors in Scotland wearing a scarf for most of the year anyway, just a bit more care will be needed.

Your course route will be tailored accordingly. Small villages and towns are often the destination for Scottish sailing courses. Understandably we may find that these small areas aren’t as happy as normal are to be greeted with a boat of strangers and we must respect that. For that reason initially the plan is to visit some really remote anchorages. Scotland and the Clyde is full of them! If there are people ashore we spend our time in the evenings onboard the yacht. For many, this is one of the attractions of Scottish sailing.

Another option is to return to base each night and day sail. This removes the overnight element of sailing and will make it an outdoor activity only.

With common sense and following guidelines Scottish sailing is starting to look a little bit closer.

If you and your family or close friends are interested in getting on the water with Sailing InTuition please submit an enquiry to Daniel.smith@sailingintuition.com