Sailing is an increasingly popular sport at Monmouth School.  Students with an interest in sailing meet every week at a local reservoir where the school keeps several Lasers. 

Monmouth School Sailing Club

Tall Ships Sailing

10 boys crewed a 100 foot Classic Sailing Trawler for one week. The crew joined the boat "Leader" in Brixham and then took the vessel through extremely bad weather to Dartmouth, St Peter's Port (Guernsey), Alderney and Dartmouth (again) before finally returning to Brixham.  The boys were given responsiblity for the setting of sails, helming, cooking and cleaning. All the boys were working towards an RYA competent crew certificate and had to complete the theory and practice of navigation, tides, weather and knots. The sea passages involved crossing the shipping channels and this required some care. There were many high points including:

Causing a large German freighter to change direction dramatically - it was our right of way Sailing alongside a school of 30 juvenile dolphins Exploring Guernsey while storm bound for one day

The crew all earnt their Competent crew certificates and plans are already underway for next year.

Summer Sailing School  

Over the summer holiday, 18 boys attended two weeks of sailing school with the Monmouth School Sailing Club at Llandegfedd Resevoir, Usk. The weeks were split into a beginners course and an advanced course. Both courses were for the Third form and above and were run as full Royal Yachting Association training courses. The beginners were taught the theory and practice of sailing and by the end of the week were all able to sail safely. The instructors were extremely impressed with the boys attitude and ability and this was reflected in the number of boys achieving an RYA Adult Level 2 qualification. The advanced course was working towards the RYA Seamanship qualification. This course is aimed at teaching the ability to 'move efficiently and safely around a course'. Even with the intensive level of the courses there was still time for a regatta, prize giving and a barbeque at the end of each week.   In all the boys collected the following awards:RYA level 1. 2 awards RYA level 2. 12 awards RYA Seamanship. 4 awards

We have several promising sailors in the school. Miles, a member of the third form, is a skilled Optimist sailor and by virture of his National Ranking, was selected to train with the Great Britain Squad, earning a place in the Volvo Musto Junior Optimist team.