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Heron Sailing (Harpenden)

The thought of being on the water in December, with temperatures close to zero, is not guaranteed to fill you with enthusiasm. However, there is a great buzz at that time of year with pipe dreams of the coming season, chartering in the Solent, or bareboat in the Med or flotillas in the Caribbean..

The trouble is, though, that all those things are really on if you have got pieces of paper to say you can do it! Day Skipper, Coastal Skipper, Yachtmaster; the more you have, the more the world is open to you!

Andrew Morton, principal of Heron Sailing, is a Yachtmaster of many years experience. Having run very successful courses over the past seven years, he is intending to run the RYA Shorebased courses for Day Skipper and Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster, starting the week beginning 22nd September 2008.

This course, run during the winter evenings, gives you the thorough grounding that you need to navigate safely. It prepares you for the Practical exam that you can take in the Summer.

The sessions will be held atHerons’ Yard, Hampden, Kimpton, Herts, every Monday (Day Skipper) and Tuesday (Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster) from 22nd September, from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. The cost will be £250, which includes the £30 pack of course notes. Andrew is also an Instructor with John Goode’s Southern Sailing School in Southampton – one of Britain’s leading sailing academies. There will be opportunities for those doing the Shorebased Course to go on to take the Practical Assessment during the summer at reduced rates.