Learn to sail dinghies at our Discover Sailing Centre in St Kilda, Melbourne
Dinghies are small yachts perfect for learning foundational skills and beginning your journey in sailing!
The Dinghy courses total 12 hours over 3 days, typically 3 consecutive weekends. Groups of 4 allow us to go ahead with the proposed dates and as sailing is weather dependent some flexibility may be required for participants to accumulate the knowledge and skills to complete the course. Upon completion of any of these courses, participants are entitled to 4 free sail passes.
Are you looking for personalised training that suits your schedule? We offer private training at any skill level. Click here to see more details.

Festive Season
Hey, Hey, Hey! Santa Claus is on his way, and he started his trip with us at RMYS.
He enjoyed the milk and cookies we left out so much that he left us many gifts for this Festive Season.
All Santa’s elves are happy to share our new exciting opportunities to sail dinghy with family, friends and/or colleagues.
We have worked hard to create:
- Family Dinghy Sailing Day: friends and family share the same boat in the morning for 4 hours
- Dinghy RAID: let’s go to have freedom for a long trip in the bay. 8 hours of navigating to a nice beach to have lunch, it’ll be a full day of fun and adventure.
- After work Happy Dingy Hour: HO! HO! HO! It’s Friday night, let’s have a sailing time after work. From 6pm to 9pm, have fun sailing a dinghy with a sausage sizzle and drink afterwards!
For more information, press the HO! HO! HO! button above
Dinghy Start Sailing 1
Would you like to join the sailing community? What better way to do that than enrolling for an Australian Sailing accredited course at our Discover Sailing Centre? This course syllabus introduces you to foundation sailing skills, build your confidence, and have fun on the water with friends! This 12 hour course is run over three consecutive weekends. Our experienced Sailing Instructors will guide you through theoretical knowledge and on water activities to begin your lifelong journey of sailing. Sailing is a fun, safe, accessible and affordable sport that welcomes participation from people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities—no need for prior sailing experience. We will teach you everything you need to start and help guide you on your voyage.
Dinghy Start Sailing 1 will cover topics such as
- preparation for sailing, including appropriate clothing
- understanding and sourcing information about weather
- parts of the boat
- rigging (setting up) small sailing vessels
- launching and returning to shore
- tacking and sailing a short course
Our accredited instructors will prepare you with the relevant theoretical knowledge and, under their supervision, get you to the water to put that knowledge into practice.
Course fee: $280
This short video gives you a small taste of what it’s like on the water in our dinghies! Safe and fun for the whole family. No sailing experience is required!
Dinghy Start Sailing 2
Did you enjoy your foundational dinghy course and want to go further? Why not enrol for Dinghy Start Sailing 2. This syllabus will dive into the refinement of your foundational skills and introduce you to advanced skills to take you further on your voyage! Sailing offers a pathway for participants to develop skills, experience and confidence. This 12 hour course is run over three consecutive weekends. The benefits of attending a course at an accredited Discover Sailing centre include: Quality assurance – we deliver nationally recognised courses at the highest standard. Consistency – the sailing pathway we provide ensures progressive skill development. Safety is our highest priority. Our instructors ensure the appropriate risk assessments are carried out to ensure you learn in a safe environment, which is imperative to your success. Upon completion of our course, participants receive a nationally recognised certification.
Dinghy Start Sailing 2 will cover topics such as:
- rigging your boat for sailing
- tying knots useful when sailing
- performing a capsize recovery in water
- launching small sailing vessels
- being able to helm and crew on all points of sail
- gybing
- sailing a triangle course
- use of tiller extension
- perform a heave-to
- understand the basic rules of sailing while racing
- in-depth understanding of wind direction and strength and what impact that will have on your sailing adventure.
Course fee: $280
Discover sailing in stronger winds as you develop the skills required to get maximum speed from your dinghy.
Your sailing journey will greaten as you experience the thrill of trapezing and using the spinnaker. This 12-hour course is run over three consecutive weekends. The benefits of attending a course at an accredited Discover Sailing centre include quality assurance and consistency, as we deliver our courses at the highest standard to ensure progressive skill development. Safety is our highest priority. Our instructors carry out the appropriate risk assessments to guarantee that you learn in a safe environment, which is imperative to your success. Upon completion of our course, participants receive a nationally recognised certification.
Better Sailing will cover topics such as :
o Rigging
o Roll tack and roll gybe
o Sail control
o Sailing backwards
o Weather forecast
o Sailing rules in a course fleet
o Launch and recovery from an inverted boat
o Trapeze and spinnaker
Course fee $350
Click the button to enquire or email training@rmys.com.au
SOYOD: Sail On Your Own Dinghy
The Sail On Your Own Dinghy (SOYOD) course will give you the chance to hire a boat, sail at your own free will and make your own choices out on the water. Developed for people that have already completed the Start Sailing 1&2 program and have been endorsed by one of our coaches. SOYOD is the perfect program to build your experience and have fun on the water. You decide the boundaries of your sailing area whilst sailing on your own for 4 hours, under the supervision of the coach that will be there for your safety.
You can have access to this course under the following conditions:
- Being one of our current financial RMYS Members. Your crew are not required to be a Club Member, on the condition that every non-member registers for a Sail Pass at the office.
- Good dinghy sailing experience is required for all the participants. You will be required to do a 2-hour session with a coach to sign you off. The cost is $160, or you can complete the Dinghy Starting sailing 1&2 course for $280 instead.
- The coach will decide whether you may or may not take the boat out based on your level of experience correlated with weather/sea conditions.
- You have booked your session and signed the Terms & Conditions form at the office.
Personalised training for groups or individuals that covers the Australian Sailing syllabus for dinghy training on our boats. Sessions are a minimum of 4 hours and can run with anywhere from 1-4 participants. There is limited weekend availability.
Please use the button to email your interest or click here to email us now: training@rmys.com.au
Private training cost: $100/hour (4 hour minimum session)