Sailing club
We sail locally as well as nationwide, offering a great opportunity to travel
UPSC sail dinghies and yachts and both are open to people of all abilities, whether you are an experienced racer or a complete beginner. We see Portsmouth differently from most sports clubs, we look at it from the water. We’re a friendly club, joining is a great way to make friends and come along to our amazing socials. We sail locally as well as nationwide so you have an opportunity to travel to some great locations with a great bunch of people. Keep an eye on our website and social media pages for details on our upcoming sessions. Membership to the club offers the opportunity to get involved, travel and competitions are an additional charge.
Our club is inclusive to all individuals regardless of their sailing ability, gender or sexuality.
There are opportunities for all individuals to represent UPSC in BUCS competitions.
We welcome everyone to our socials, events, yacht weekends & sailing ability.
Dinghy sailing
We have a fleet of six Fireflies that we sail from Spinnaker Sailing Club for weekly team training. Social sailing happens from Old Portsmouth, Portsmouth Sailing Club, where beginners are welcome.
Simply pay the club membership fee for the year, and then safety boat fuel costs whenever you decide to go out on the water.
More experienced sailors can enjoy intermediate social sessions, take part in the annual frostbite series, or try out for our dinghy team.
Our dinghy team regularly attends events all over the country, including the BUSA Fleet racing nationals and the BUSA team racing qualifiers where we have often qualified for the national BUSA team racing finals.
Yacht sailing
If you’d rather sail something a bit bigger we charter 36ft - 39ft yachts and regularly sail all over the Solent as part of the yacht team or our social yacht weekends. Every year we also go on our “Summer Sail Week” and sail chartered yachts in the Mediterranean. It’s a great way to travel a bit with like minded people during the summer.
For Yacht Team racing we enter BUSA Yacht Nationals, which is often hosted in the Solent, local to Portsmouth.
2023/24 Memberships
- Compete (Dinghies and Keelboat): £200
- Compete (Dinghies): £145
- Compete (Keelboat): £145
- Play: £115
Plus top-up fees based on certain competitive races;
- BUCS match racing: £100 top up per person
- Yacht Nationals: £150 top up per person
- Yacht weekend: £140 top up per person
Training sessions
- Wednesday 12.00pm - 4.00pm: Team Training - Spinnaker Sailing Club
- Weekends various times: Beginner and Intermediate sessions
Competitions
Weekend competitions will take place throughout the course of the year at various locations.
Memberships to join our clubs for the 23/24 year are now open. Please note: for some clubs you need to attend trials before purchasing a membership. Contact the club for more information.
Play Memberships
Lots of our clubs offer Play Memberships, a more casual way to play without committing to a year membership. Most Play Memberships are £65 for the academic year (with some exceptions).
The sports included are:
LGBTQ+ sports club guidance
We welcome all students to take part in non-competitive sports and we recognise the health and wellbeing benefits of being active. Competitive sports are bound by specific policies governed by the sport's National Governing Body which may be less inclusive. Please find below inclusion guidance for our club.
| Mixed-gender Club | Trans-gender Club | Non-binary Club | Gender-queer Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Transgender or non-gender confirming individuals can compete as long as each team fills the required gendered requirements. Individuals are advised to contact the club to discuss how they can compete. Individuals may be unable to compete in the separate Men's and Women's Championships but this can be discussed. In some cases, team selection may be dependent on weight due to the nature of the sport. | |||
Play: Sailing does not participate in our Play programme.
Train: Inclusive - Team selection may be dependent on weight.
Compete: Inclusive - Individuals may be unable to compete in the separate Men's and Women's Championships, in some cases, team selection may be dependent on weight.
Yacht weekends: As a member of the club, you will have the opportunity to pay to go on Yacht Weekends around the Solent. Anyone can go on these weekends and try out yachting. Please email sailing@port.ac.uk for more information.
Check out the full guidance on RYA.