WJS COMMUNITY PROGRAMme

PROVIDING BOATING OPPORTUNITIES TO ALL FOR OVER 100 YEARS

WJS (WEDNESDAY JUNIOR SAILING) STARTED OVER 40 YEARS AGO!

WJS is a recognised RYA Onboard Centre providing weekly access for just £1 to water based activities for all youngsters, from any and all backgrounds.
The Wednesday afternoon sessions run from April to September and are hosted by a passionate and friendly army of volunteers. WJS regularly attracts 150+ children each week!

100+

New members this year

500

Participants in club events

99+

Social and sailing events

100%

Client Satisfaction

Discover the Adventure of WJS

WJS is a community based sailing scheme open to all 8 to 18 year olds who live or go to school in the Lymington area. No previous experience is needed to participate or to volunteer.  Our aim is to let children have fun on and off the water while learning valuable life skills.  Over the years, several WJS novices have gone to become Internationally recognised professional sailors, after finding their passion early on.

WJS IS GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY:

Children sail for two hours every Wednesday between April and September. Sessions are either from 14:00 to 16:00 or from 16:00 to 18:00. The cost is £1 per session, and children are expected to stay for the whole session.

Children must be registered at least 24 hours before their first session. Registration is only required once a year. WJS operates on a first-come, first-served basis on the day, as on some occasions we may need to limit the number of sailors.

2024 Program Schedule

During 2024, WJS will start on Wednesday 24 April and run through to Wednesday 25 September. There is no WJS during Youth Week, which runs from 19-22 August.

OTHER COMMUNITY PROGRAMmeS & MORE INFORMATION

Royal Lymington Yacht Club welcome all to take part within a framework of safe and fun learning.  We also run several other events during the year for local sailors.  Click below for more information.

Frequently asked questions

Here are some frequent questions about participating in our community programs
Can my child participate if they have no previous sailing experience?


The completed application together with the required supporting documents should be returned to the club office marked for the attention of the Membership Secretary. It is useful to include a letter to the Membership Secretary explaining your reasons for wishing to join the club.

Do children need to bring their own sailing equipment?

We are a family-oriented club, and candidates are encouraged to bring his/her spouse or partner into membership as a Full or Family Member.

Family Members aged 40 years and over pay an entrance fee on election but do not have voting rights. Should your partner/spouse (or either gender) require voting rights, then they need to apply for Full Membership. If this is successful then a 12.5% discount is applied to the cost of 2 x Full Memberships living at the same address.

Candidates should be aware that spouses/partners who do not become Family Members will be deemed guests whose use of the club will be limited to no more than six visits per club calendar year (1st October - 30th September) and would need to sign the Visitors Book each time.

What are the session timings?

Not at all, if every member was a boat owner, there would be nobody to crew!

We welcome those looking to start boating

How do I register my child for the program?

Full Members with a minimum of two years standing may act as proposer or seconder in support of Full/Family membership applications.

Members must not propose or second a candidate for membership if a professional or business relationship exists between you/them (Article 6.8) nor shall both proposer and seconder have a close family relationship with the candidate.

The proposer/seconder should complete the appropriate form, giving as much detail as possible including particulars of the applicant’s boating experience. It is often useful to include a covering letter to provide further relevant information not covered in the proposer/seconder form. The proposer and seconder sign the proposer/seconder form as a declaration and a recommendation for membership.

If you do not know any Club Members well enough, please ask about the Provisional Membership route. This gives you an opportunity to experience our club for one year before committing to Full Membership.

Child Protection and Safeguarding

We believe that sailing and powerboating should be enjoyable and safe experiences. We are dedicated to safeguarding children and young people, ensuring they feel safe and are treated with respect. If you ever feel unhappy, worried, or unsafe, or if you have concerns about someone's behavior towards you or others, there are resources available to help. For confidential advice, you or your parents/carers can contact our Child Welfare Contact, Maria Shannon, at membership@rlymyc.org.uk, or refer to our "Safe and Fun" poster for more information.

Regular Social Events

heard what our members says

Great night last night in particular the junior supper was a huge hit. Lots of great feedback on the lasagna, a good-sized portion, tasted delicious and well presented. Please can you pass on to the chef and his team!

On 3rd August we held our Red Fox Annual General Meeting and Annual Dinner at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. The whole event was a great success. Within days of appointing a new chef you produced an excellent menu for the dinner and arranged facilities for our AGM. You and your staff were always very efficient and friendly, and it all made for a very enjoyable evening. We showed our appreciation by doubling the normal gratuity.

We had an excellent Sunday lunch. Please warmly congratulate Darren, your new chef!

On behalf of myself and my family, we just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone involved in my father’s wake on Friday. It was utterly perfect, and I truly think he would have loved it. Please pass on our thanks to the lovely staff and yourself who made it run so smoothly. The weather was simply stunning, and the drinks went down a little too nicely!

The Burns Night was brilliant!  Many thanks to yourself and the team for doing a huge amount of work to make it a great success!  Everything was perfect!

I thought I would drop you a line to say 4 of us had very delicious sandwiches at the Club on Friday lunchtime. They were perfect for what we required – having popped into the Club for a glass of wine and a quick bite to eat.