Useful Sailing Internet Links

Sailing's Governing Organisations

World Sailing is the overall body that runs sailing all over the world. Look here for Racing Rules of Sailing (free, down-loadable PDF) and Olympic details.
The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is Britain's controlling body, and organises Training standards, Portsmouth Handicaps etc. Personal members can get discounts on sailing related good and services.
RYA Cymru Wales (RYA.CW) is the RYA Regional organisation for boating in Wales. They assist in the allocation of grants, run local training, Youth Squads.

(Northampton) Sailboats is an excellent online source for dinghy sailing clothes and boat bits. Most things arrive one working day after you order them. Break a bit on Sunday, sailing again on Wednesday!
RS sailing Store are linked to the makers of the RS boats. They have a wide range of generic boat parts and clothes as well as RS specialist bits. Discounts available to RS Class Association members.
Purple Marine are a Midlands based shop and online presence. Again, excellent, speedy service
Marine Scene are located in Bridgend and have provided the club with quite a lot of “yacht tackle”. Our mooring equipment for example comes from them.
Coast Watersports is an online chandlery specialising in sailing clothing
and equipment for the dinghy sailor and watersports enthusiast.
Force 4 are located on the Penarth Road out of Cardiff, as well as on line and throughout the south of the UK. They sell a lot of dinghy equipment and it can be useful to fix something urgently when even good on-line shops are just not quick enough.
Rooster is the chandlery and equipment store of Steve Cockerill. From non-tangling ropes to fancy layers of clothing, and tips and coaching hints, its all there!
Wet Suit Outlet provide discount prices on wetsuits and drysuits. Prompt delivery.

Garland Sails Bristol; They specialise in boat covers but do repairs
RJ Sails Clevedon, may be able to do “while you wait” repairs
Fast Sail Repairs, Uk Penperllini, north of Pontypool, on the way to Abergavenny. Jon Iliffe has been linked to the club for a long, long time!

Noble Marine specialise in dinghy insurance. Your Class Association may provide a discount scheme.
Craft Insure is a low cost specialist boat insurer
Bishop Skinner are another marine insurer. RYA membership gives a discount
Newton Crum can be one of the cheapest insurers. Make sure that you sign up for the policy option that suits you. They do not seem to cover RS800 and International Canoes! Options include LIMITED racing cover which may suit social sailors
GJW claim to be the UK's largest Direct Boat Insurer. They offer free on line quotations for a given class of dinghy and its easy to sign up.
Nowadays there are many Internet based insurance companies that offer keen prices. Some can be a little slow in paying out on claims

The Tall Ships Youth Trust incorporating the Sail Training Association, is a registered charity dedicated to the personal development of young people aged 16 to 25 through the crewing of Tall Ships.

Plas Menai in North Wales is an excellent place for training. It is partly funded by Sport Wales and in the winter sometimes offers value for money club training.
Boatshe d has a collection of weather forecasts, including the Met Office. Its worth learning what you can find on the more complex pages
Llandegfedd Watersports is based at Llandegfedd and is the commercial operator on the site. (was Gwent Adventures) They offer training and hire for windsurfers, dinghies, paddleboards and canoes.
Yachts and Yachting is one of the leading UK sailing magazines. They have a monthly magazine and an online presence with Open Meeting results, informative articles etc. Consider a subscription, it is much cheaper if you are gong to read it regularly They also have a Classified Adverts section for buying and selling boats
Sailworld UK has a lot of interesting news and views on line.
BBC Weather provides a good summary of the weather and lets you see the forecast over a number of days.
Windguru provides weather and wave forecasts around the world. There is a variety of different forecasts and the information can be displayed in alternative ways. average and gust speeds shown.
XC Weather was originally set up for Cross Country gliding. It provides a good summary of the weather and lets you see the forecast in particular places for a week. Gust strength shown as well as average speed and temperatures.
The Met Office is of course the gold standard for forecasts.

Cardiff Bay Yacht Club might be tricky to find as the road alters by the season, but it has Junior Optimist training and a licensed club house. Winds variable with the city building up around it.
Tata Steel (Margam) Sailing Club has welcomed our sailors to many an Open Meeting and offers winter sailing. Situated by the M4 Junction 38 next to the Steel works near Port Talbot
Llangorse Sailing Club on the way to Brecon. We used to have an annual Youth challenge. Now that we have re-started our Youth Squad we will have to see whether we can start this again.

2ndhanddinghies is your really local sailing dinghy repairer (and can also find you a good second hand boat) Pete Vincent is based in Lydney. 30? (and counting) years experience; leading marine insurers approved repair centre. They are members of LLSC, are an approved repair centre for all the main dinghy insurers and can collect/return boats to the club. Contact Pete Vincent at the club, or 07813 899043, or via email.... Pete Vincent
Apollo Duck is the current Go-To web site to find or sell a second hand dinghy. The key is to use the search with a dinghy class name.
The Boat Repair Centre is run by Jo Line south of Bristol. Jo can repair any method of construction from wood to epoxy kevlar composites - although she has specialist knowledge of the RS range and the Fireball class.

Mark Warner have a number of centres mostly around the Mediterranean to go sailing with the family. Tennis is often featured for those who don't sail much
Sunsail has fleets of modern, well-maintained yachts, Watersports of every kind and family-friendly beach clubs in 39 stunning locations around the world.
Minorca Sailing offers a specialist sailing holiday in Minorca. The sailing and windsurfing centre, based at Fornells Bay, is one of the best equipped in the Mediterranean.
Wildwind is based in Vassiliki, Greece, famous for its fabulous wind conditions, lighter in the mornings and strong cross shore winds most afternoons. For more advanced sailing in higher performance boats, including catamarans