A question I get asked a lot in the shop is something along the lines of ‘My son is starting sailing lessons with the school, what does he need to wear?’ Well assuming that the lessons aren’t going to be taking place in the middle of winter, here are a few tips on what to buy….

1 A Wetsuit

Let’s start with the wetsuit. A 3mm thick wetsuit is ideal. Unless it’s the height of summer and we are experiencing a heat wave then this should have long legs and either have short or long arms. Long arm suits are more readily available for kids and are fine to learn in, but a lot of sailors prefer to wear short arm suits as they offer freer arm movement. Having long legs on the suit also helps prevent knocks and bruises whilst moving around in the boat.

Junior full and short arm wetsuits can be purchased from around £35. Be wary of purchasing ‘motorway service’ or ‘supermarket’ type suits as although these may be cheap they are usually not made of neoprene, so have little stretch and poor thermal retention properties. They are usually poorly designed with seams under the arms and behind the knees which also make them uncomfortable to wear.

2 A Buoyancy Aid

Buoyancy aids start at around £30. All our buoyancy aids are CE approved which means that they provide the correct amount of buoyancy for the size.

With very young children a life jacket style would be recommended as they have crotch straps and also a grab handle at the back of the neck – the crotch straps stop the child falling through the suit when you hoist them out of the water. This style is shown here or in detail here 

The alternative for adults and larger children is the traditional buoyancy aid which comes in a variety of styles with front zip, side zip, over the head, with pockets, without etc, and even more colours. Again prices start at around £30

3 Wetsuit Boots

To start sailing a pair of 3mm wetsuit boots or shoes with decent soles should be worn. You will be doing a bit of walking around on land and maybe helping launch boats so they need to have a decent sole that will provide some grip. If you decide you like sailing and decide to progress then boots designed specifically for the purpose can be purchased. Hiking boots have extra grip and padding on top of the foot where the toe straps would be rubbing. Trapeze boots don’t need that protection and they are generally lighter weight with thinner soles to help your feet grip onto the side of the boat. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry as to start with all you need is a basic pair of boots, once you’ve been a few times you will know what I mean by hiking and trapezing.

That’s the essentials. If you have those 3 items then you will be able to get on the water.

Buy a Package

A lot of these items can be bought in a package. Neil Pryde have just released their Startline range aimed at kids who are just starting to sail. The package includes a wetsuit, spray top, boots and a buoyancy aid all for only £103.50

 

 

Optional Extras

Here are a few of the optional extras the you may need, depending on the weather and if you want to progress further.

4 Hat / Visor / Sunscreen

On sunny days being out on a boat affords very little protection from the sun. Not only do you have direct sunlight from above but also the reflected sunlight off the sea.  You will burn a lot quicker on the water sailing than you will on land. So lubing up with sunscreen is essential, as is a cap or visor which should be secured with a retainer to stop it being blown off into the sea.

 

 5 Spray Top

Spray tops can be worn over a wetsuit to provide additional protection from the wind and sea. Nowadays they are virtually all waterproof but the more expensive ones are breathable too. If you are going to be wearing one over a wetsuit then you don’t need a breathable one as the wetsuit isn’t breathable either. Wear one of these to keep that little bit warmer on colder windier days.

 

6 A Pair of Shorts

Yep, any old shorts, just wear them over the top of your wetsuit and it will help your wetsuit last longer as sometimes when sliding around the boat on your bum, it can catch on some of the fixtures in the boat and make holes in it. Just wearing a pair of shorts will mean that the shorts will catch and not the wetsuit.

7 A Pair of Gloves

Worn predominantly to protect your hands from blisters when pulling ropes, sailing gloves come in a variety of options. Full length fingers, half finger, 3 finger, summer, winter and disposable. Personally I don’t like full finger gloves and I like to have at least my thumb and forefinger uncovered as many a time you will need to untie knots that have tied themselves in sheets and you can’t do that quickly with your fingers and thumbs covered with gloves. Junior sailing gloves can be found here

8 Hydrophobic Fleeces

On really cold days you can add extra layers under your wetsuit to keep warm. Hydrophobic fleeces do just that. They are fleeces that keep you warm but they don’t retain or absorb water. They start at around £22 for children and upwards for adults.

 

 

That’s it really to get going, don’t forget you can always drop me an email or give me a call if you’d like to discuss anything.