Last evening I went along to the annual Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Instructor/Examiner Briefing in Southampton. As our governing body, the RYA provide us with guidelines and standards for operating within, what is now the most  respected and recognised sail and power scheme in the world.

What was great to hear, is that through this unsettled economic climate there remains a steady and increasing number of people who want to learn to sail and to keep progressing to RYA Day Skipper and upwards through the Scheme.

It just goes to show that sailing offers one of the greatest escapes from our hectic lives and you just can’t beat that feeling of being away from it all, doing something physical and ending the day with a really healthy glow!