Welcome to Wellington Ocean Sports
We have boating education courses for all levels from beginners to experienced boaties. We’re based in the heart of the city at Clyde Quay boat harbour. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to drop us an email or give us a call (please note office hours vary – we are often in our natural environment … on the water!).
Sailing courses
Our keelboat sailing courses will take you from a complete novice through to cruising on the ocean waves, sailing in yacht races or owning your own boat.
Courses begin with the introductory 'Learn to Sail Keelboats' course, then move into courses such as 'Racing Crew' which starts you down the action packed racing pathway or 'Cruising Crew' which takes you down the more leisurely cruising path.
We provide the knowledge, the yachts, the wet weather clothing and the safety gear - you simply provide the enthusiasm!
School programmes
We have sessions available to help Wellington school students experience a range of ocean sports and gain safe boating knowledge.
We have risk management plans for each of our sailing, kayaking and stand up paddle boarding programmes. We will provide you with the appropriate RAM forms for whichever of the options you choose.
At all times students will be under the guidance of one of our ocean sport instructors. All our instructors are qualified with their respective sport.
Harbour sails
This is a great way to spend time with friends, colleagues or family learning a new activity and a great introduction to sailing if you are considering taking a course. These are great outings for visitors. and if you do have a group we can accommodate you with your own time and booking.
You don’t need any experience, just some warm clothing and a pair of sports shoes. We provide the sailing jackets and safety equipment. If it is fine then there is no place more beautiful – if it's windy there is no place more exhilarating!
A hands-on course that introduces people to sailing on keelboats.
No experience is necessary. We will teach you all of the principles needed for your journey to become a great sailor. You just need to be aged 16 years or older.
On successful completion of the course participants will be awarded a Yachting NZ Level 1 Introductory Keelboat Sailing Certificate. From here we can help get you involved in club sailing to add to your skills and experience as well as offering you follow on courses such as Racing Crew and Cruising Crew.
The course covers the following topics:
- essential safety skills
- boat parts, rigging & boat terminology
- knots and rope work
- all crew positions including helming
- tacking, gybing and sail setting
- reefing
- man overboard drills.
The course is 28 hours long and involves both classroom and on-the-water elements. Courses run in a variety of formats – 4 consecutive weekend days, 4 day block courses (usually over public holidays), or evening courses two nights a week for five weeks.
Upcoming Courses:
The Cruising Crew course follows on from the Learn to sail Keelboats course.
As this is a level 2 course, completion of a level one Learn to Sail course is a pre-requisite.
The course forms part of the Yachting NZ National Sailing Scheme and on completion participants will be awarded a YNZ National Sailing Scheme Level 2 Basic Skills (Cruising Crew) Certificate.
New skills taught include:
- coming alongside
- anchoring
- picking up moorings
- making fast/towing a dinghy
- basic chart work
- sail handling
- preparing a boat for sea
- safety at sea
- engine maintenance
- night sailing
A two-day course designed to refresh and upskill participants for racing and regattas concentrating on 2 sails – Main and Jib.
Participants must have completed a Learn to Sail course or be referred by someone that can be verified by Wellington Ocean Sports for minimum sailing knowledge and experience. The training provides an opportunity to revise and consolidate the knowledge and skills you have already gained, and introducing you to yacht racing.
You will put into practice the following key elements:
- crew roles, role rotation, teamwork & communication
- sail tuning & boat handling
- wind awareness
- race starts
- racing rules
A three-day courseto refresh and upskill participants for racing and regattas using all three sails - Main, Jib, and Spinnaker.
Participants must have completed the two-day Entry Level Race Training course or be referred by someone that can be verified by Wellington Ocean Sports for minimum racing knowledge and experience. The training provides an opportunity to further increase your skills with special emphasis on the Spinnaker.
You will put into practice the following key elements:
- crew roles, role rotation, teamwork & communication
- sail tuning & boat handling
- spinnaker hoists, gybes, drops
- wind awareness
- race starts
- racing rules
This program runs as two 90-minute sessions with all students doing both sessions.
One session is a sailing session that sees students get out and experience sailing on board our purpose designed keelboats.
The other session starts with a safe boating lesson and then students get the opportunity to try stand up paddle boarding and kayaking.
Frequently asked questions
While sailing (especially) is not without some risk, we do everything we can to manage that risk responsibly.
Our people, equipment, gear and training are all top notch. Our two purpose built training yachts (Port Nic 1 and Port Nic 2) are managed under Maritime New Zealand’s Maritime Operator Safety System (MOSS) and our instructors hold relevant Yachting New Zealand and Coastguard Boating Education qualifications for the courses they teach.
Lifejackets are mandatory for everyone on board (including our instructors) at all times.
We keep a close eye on the weather. Just because its cold, wet, or windy doesn’t mean we wont go out, but we may tailor the day’s programme to account for the weather conditions.
Who are the instructors?
We have an awesome team of experienced and qualified instructors. They all hold relevant Yachting New Zealand and Coastguard Boating Education qualifications for the courses they teach. Their job is to get you on the water to learn and have fun in a safe environment, and to deliver the very best boating education experience in the classroom.
Our on-the-water courses are all weather dependent. We will go sailing if it is safe to do so, but if it too windy, too wet or too cold, then we might have to stay ashore or reschedule the course. If the weather won't cooperate, and we can’t find a suitable time to take you out, then you’ll receive a full refund.
The best forecast to watch is the Metservice’s Wellington Recreation Marine forecast. Ideally, we’d like the wind to be below 30 knots, though the air temperature, water temperature and rain forecast also play a role.
We’ll let you know if there is an issue, and if in doubt, give us a call on 04 939 6702.
We have an awesome team of experienced and qualified instructors. They all hold relevant Yachting New Zealand and Coastguard Boating Education qualifications for the courses they teach. Their job is to get you on the water to learn and have fun in a safe environment, and to deliver the very best boating education experience in the classroom.
Dress warmly, even in summer. A wool or polypropylene base layer is a good idea, with at least one more warm layer on top.
We provide you with a good quality set of breathable waterproof gear (pants and jacket) along with a lifejacket. A hat and sunglasses are also a good idea. Make sure that you have a strap or similar so that you don’t lose these overboard!
Generally, you must be 16 years or older to participate in a sailing course by yourself. We can accommodate younger people with an adult. At the upper end, age is no limit! We will consider students under 16 years on a case-by-case basis. Please call us on 04 939 6702 if you’d like to talk to us about this.
Our schools programme is designed for secondary school students.
Please call us on 04 939 6702 for more information.
Yachts can move around a bit, particularly when the breeze gets up a bit. Being confident on your feet will make things easier for you, but isn’t critical. Our training yachts are set up to be easy to sail, so physical strength isn’t so important. Its probably best not to take part if you’re carrying a serious injury of some kind.
Please note our toilets are located upstairs, and the nearest ramp access is a few hundred metres away, by Chaffers Marina, with an uneven footpath between here and there that is often affected by high tide.
As such, a reasonable level of mobility is required to access and utilise the venue and it’s facilities.
Please call us on 04 939 6702 if you have any concerns.
Wellington Ocean Sports began on 3 July 1993 as Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club’s Sailing Academy, based at the northern end of the Overseas Passenger Terminal.
We operate two Muir 8.2m keelboats, named Port Nic 1 and Port Nic 2, which were designed and built in 1992 specifically for sail training.
In November 2008, we moved to our current location in the RPNYC’s historic former clubrooms. The newly renovated facility was opened by sailing legend Sir Peter Blake.
Since then we have expanded our offering to a range of ocean sports, include SUP and kayaking.
We are still part of the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club, one of New Zealand oldest sporting clubs.
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