Southampton Water Activities Centre

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Reviews

1. Rosie Turtle ★★☆☆☆

   Visited SWAC for a keelboat endorsement course over two days. Was very happy they were running one, and Julian the coach ran the course extremely well despite the circumstances he had to deal with. The whole first day was land based due to SWAC not putting the keelboats into the water in time before the tide was too far out (I understand it had been quite windy the day before but they had not informed us or more importantly Julian who was running the course!). This was obviously not ideal as we had driven quite far and were semi in our sailing kit. The promise of going out in the water was continued throughout the whole day, meaning we stayed in our quite uncomfortable sailing kit. After a full day of land based activities were we were taught how to reef a sail, despite it being rigged wrong, on a dinghy not a keelboat due to not having them available. Day two was better as we were finally allowed to go sailing. However, the boats were not set up to be sailed, they’d not been checked over or ready to be rigged properly. We had to re rig a lot of the boat ourselves (eg jib sheets in wrong pulleys). As well as this, the SWAC members of staff seemingly disappeared during the rigging time (they were on the course too) and reappeared once we were done). Around lunchtime we wanted to have a very quick lunch on the boats so we could catch up from all the sailing we’d missed the day before, but some other people on the course who were employees of SWAC kept alternating going in for breaks meaning we couldn’t continue until they were done. Overall, I did really enjoy the course as I believe Julian ran it very well and the other people on the course did some very good presentations, but I would recommend doing a course here later in the season so they are a bit more prepared. One other note was the use of a phone while driving a powerboat.

   1 year ago
2. Leo Rees ★★★★★

   The staff are very friendly, with an excellent selection of courses and boats. The atmosphere is great and the paddle boarding sessions are very fun. Very good for beginner sailors.

   almost 2 years ago
3. Wendy Denny ★★★★★

   My kids started out nervous, but the staff are very welcoming and soon made them feel happy. They had a brilliant week and now love sailing. I felt very happy leaving my kids with the staff very professional and security was tight. I knew they were safe and having a good time. Worth every penny

   almost 3 years ago

1. Natasha ★★★★★

   I'd highly recommend SWAC. I have zero experience of being in boats, am in my late 50s, and was quite nervous about doing the 2 day RYA Level 1. The instructor, Jen was excellent...unfailing patient, completely calm even when we capsized it a fair few times. We were taught theory and and tried out boats with 4 of us in, as well as by the 2nd day, we were sailing our own dingys. We're were supplied with everything we needed, from wet suits, spray jackets, etc. There were changing rooms and showers on site. An excellent course, but you do need a decent level of fitness, as you work your legs a lot from constantly changing positions, as well as pulling boats out of the water....we were really knackered at the end of the day! I'd recommend SWAC for their friendly instructors, facilities and variety of crafts.

   almost 3 years ago
2. Phil Samuels ★★★★★

   Had a very enjoyable 2 days on "Power boat 1 and 2 course. I had no previous experience so was a bit nervous but needn't had worried as the instructor was excellent..

   almost 3 years ago
3. Tom Forbes ★★★★★

   Had a really good weekend of level 1 training. The equipment and experience of Abi were great, I learned so much. The content was presented in a way that was easy to digest and we had lots of time on the water to have a play with what was taught. Can't fault the place and the people but would have been nice to have a shower on site.

   almost 3 years ago

1. Nick ★★★★★

   Completed my Powerboat level 2 course here. The staff were very knowledgeable and friendly. All equipment such as waterproofs/life jackets was provided. The RIB we used was about 7m long and with a 200bhp outboard it had more than enough poke. There were 3 of us on the course which allowed everyone to get a lot of time driving and with such a small group the instructor could really focus on each aspect of what we needed to learn so nothing felt rushed. Overall a really enjoyable experience.

   almost 4 years ago
2. lanie mitchell ★★★★★

   We booked a two hour sailing session for my husband and my best friend's little girl - as her Christmas present - and it was absolutely brilliant. I've never seen her beam so widely seeing her get off the boat after an amazing session. The instructor was brilliant and both of them were pumped with adrenaline afterwards chatting about everything they'd learned. Highly recommend.

   almost 4 years ago

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