Our Participant Stories: Daniel Jeram

It was quite scary at first as I had never sailed in a small boat before, and I didn’t understand all the words the instructors were using! However, as the weekend went on, I became more confident as I started to make friends with the other kids on the course and I started to learn about sailing. The best bit of the course was on the Sunday afternoon when we got to capsize the dinghy on purpose, although it was hard work getting them the right way up again.

Since that weekend in August, I have been to nearly every Saturday morning sailing club. We have been out in bright sunshine, freezing cold and very breezy conditions. Sometimes we go out in the dinghies in pairs, sometimes I am on my own and occasionally we go out in the Yellow Fun Boats which are great fun. I enjoy my Saturday morning sailing (especially when it’s very windy because we go really fast!) and feel that I learn something new every time I go out on the water. Each week I can practice my tacking, my gybing and my points of sail. The hardest part is getting the dinghy out of the water at the end as they are quite heavy, and it is a steep slope. I think I have learnt enough to try and do my Stage 2 qualification early next year and I am looking forward to getting back on the water, especially when the sun is shining or if its really windy!