About Us

We are Julian & Lesley Singleton.  We moved out to the Mar Menor in 2005 attracted by the amazing conditions for both sailing and kayaking.  It offers safe calm waters ideal for the beginner and reliable stronger winds in the early afternoon provide a greater challenge for the more experienced sailor.

Julian is an RYA Senior Instructor and has taught dinghy sailing in the UK for several years both within RYA recognised centres and freelance.  He has been windsurfing for many years and is a very patient teacher. 

Lesley is also an experienced sailor and has a keen interest in ornithology and ecology and will provide an insight into the local wildlife while leading kayak trips on the Mar Menor. 

Our Facilities & Equipment

We operate from our house which is located 50 meters from our boat lane on the beach.  At the house we have changing facilities, shower and toilet for the use of clients.  We can lock up any valuables at the house while you are out on the water.  

There are three cafe's located on the beach, one just next to our boat lane.  This is a great spot for family members to relax if they are not taking part, or for you to enjoy a drink after you have been out on the water.  Mar de Cristal also has a great beach for swimming and sunbathing.

We provide buoyancy aids for all activities, we also have wet suits and spray tops which may be used during the early and late season.  The use of all of these is included in the price of the tuition or rental.

Teaching Philosophy

We normally teach novice sailors in a boat accompanied by an instructor, rather than in single-handed dinghies with an instructor in a power boat.  We do do this for the following reasons:

1. It is much easier to teach when you can communicate easily and demonstrate what you want the student to do.  Shouting over the noise of a power boat and trying to describe everything verbally does not work well, especially in windy conditions.

 

2.  It is very likely that students will capsize small boats while learning to sail and also get into difficulties while trying to work things out.  This can lead to panic and put some people off sailing for good.

 

3.  The instructor can't see clearly what students are doing from a distance and bad habits go uncorrected.  This can prevent the student making the level of progress that they should.

 

4.  It is far safer, as if necessary, the instructor can take over and get the boat back to shore quickly.

 

Many sailing schools do teach beginners in single-handed dinghies, this is mainly because one instructor can teach a large group, thus making it more profitable!

 

We do have 2 single-handed dinghies (a Laser Pico and Topper Topaz, this is Toppers version of the Pico but slightly more spacious).   We normally move people into the single-handed dinghies once they have demonstrated they can sail safely.  We provide them with coaching during their first session and then let them out alone as soon as they are ready.

 

Our normal teaching boat is a Pastinaca, this is a locally made Spanish boat.  It is similar to a wanderer (a small wayfarer).  It is spacious and very stable, hence it's suitability for teaching.

Teaching Children

Many sailing schools teach children in large groups with one or two children in a small boat (like a Pico) while the instructor is on a powerboat.  These type of classes can last all day, however, a large amount of time is spent "playing" and the instructor spends most of their time managing the group to ensure the children remain safe rather than having many opportunities to teach.  The children in these situations mainly learn by themselves and pretty much make it up as they go along.   We do not teach like this for the reasons given above in our Teaching Philosophy.

We provide children with the same quality of tuition as adults and therefore we do not discount lessons for children.

Safety

We take safety very seriously.  All clients will be provided with buoyancy aids and smaller children will be provided with helmets while sailing single-handed.  A power boat is be available to provide safety cover for the smaller dinghies and windsurfers.  We carry a First Aid Kit and a mobile phone at all times.  We are qualified in First Aid and Lesley was a member of the St John Ambulance Brigade.

RYA Training Centre

We have explored the possibility of becoming an RYA recognised training centre, however, due to our small size this is simply not financially or practically possible.  All our courses are run to the RYA syllabus using their techniques.  We provide progress sheets which we check off throughout the courses and all certificates are signed by Julian who is an RYA Senior Instructor. 

If you take one of our courses you should find no problem with your qualification being accepted by other sailing clubs or training centres.  Often demonstrating your abilities will say far more than a piece of paper anyway.  If the club or training centre would like the qualification verified, simply get them to email us or call and we can let them know the standards we work to.

We pride ourselves in providing high quality tuition in a flexible and safe environment.  Many of our students come back year after year.  We both love teaching and take great pleasure in seeing our students progress.