You might titter at being told to “swab the poop deck”, but sailing is a great activity for children to do solo, or with all the family. If you’ve never set foot on a boat before, you can get a feel for it through dinghy sailing, which will teach you the basics.

While many sailing clubs require membership, the following all offer an opportunity to try it out first – some offer taster days, others four to five-day courses.

And don’t worry about splashing out on the safety equipment such as lifejackets, all these venues either provide it along with the lesson or hire it out for a nominal fee.

Some places featured allow toddlers to get a taste of the sea from parents’ laps, but this sport is best suited to those aged 8 and older.

ISLE OF DOGS, LONDON

Although sailing past skyscrapers and office blocks might not be everyone’s idea of the perfect sailing location, you can’t grumble about the Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre’s low prices: you’ll pay less than a bus fare for an hour-long session for the children. On Wednesday evenings, from July 24, it offers twilight sailing sessions from 6pm, for adults, where for £20 a head you can help yourself to the barbecue and listen to live music. There is one rule: “no colliding”.

Where Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre, 225 Westferry Road, Millwall Dock

Suitable for 8 years plus

Costs One-hour sessions start at £1.50 for Tower Hamlets residents; £2 for out of borough students.

Contact 020-7537 2626; www.dswc.org

LISKEARD, CORNWALL

If you’ve always thought it would be “a glorious thing to be a pirate king”, head to Cornwall; Gilbert and Sullivan waxed lyrical about the seafaring folk of Penzance (unfortunately the Penzance Sailing Club is members only), but at the Siblyback Watersports Centre, just north of Liskeard, you can dip your toes in with a two-hour taster session in a dinghy.

Where Siblyback Lake, Common Moor,

Suitable for 8+

Costs Taster sessions cost £28 per person for a two-hour session.

Contact 01579 346522

WHITSTABLE, KENT

Give yourself a nod of green satisfaction as you float past the vast wind farms in the Thames estuary, knowing that your sport is not polluting the water. Established by Commodore Ian Wild in 1996, Whitstable sailing school provides each student with a dinghy and instructor. Taster courses are three hours, but there are two-day courses that can get you to do all the sailing manoeuvres, such as gybing and tacking, in the blink of an eye.

Where Whitstable Yacht Club, Seawall

Suitable for The club’s youngest sailors are 8 and there are special youth weeks, July 23-27 July and August 13-17

Costs Taster lessons cost roughly £50 per person, depending on the type of vessel you choose. Weekend sessions start at £145.

Contact Melanie Rodgers 01227 272942; www.wyc.org.uk

WINSCAR RESERVOIR, SOUTH YORKSHIRE

Situated on the edge of Windscar reservoir in landlocked Barnsley, the Pennine Sailing Club has exclusive use of the reservoir that extends over 120 acres. The lake gets a good steady breeze that will fill your sails.

The club often holds free taster days, which are on its website, and has a good choice of dinghies to learn to sail in, including Optimists for smaller children. If you can’t find a taster day that suits, the club a session for you and your family.

Casting off: find your sea legs in an Optimist dinghy

Where Pennine Sailing Club, Winscar Reservoir

Suitable for Children as young as 6

Costs Free taster lessons; if you decide to take the sport farther, lessons cost £3, with £105 annual membership

Contact Membership secretary David Craik on 01484 689665; www.pennine-sc.co.uk

ABERSOCH, NORTH WALES

This family-run sailing school offers a 30-minute dinghy “Joy Rides” for the wee ones (4 and up) and dinghy lessons paced for older children, too. Parents can sign up for hour-long piloting classes that cover topics such as launching boats, coming ashore and the unfortunately necessary capsize procedure.

Where Abersoch Sailing School, Main Beach

Suitable for Age 4 and up

Costs Kids’ Joy Rides cost £20 each, children’s and adults’ lessons cost £40 for an hour. All lessons must be paid in advance

Contact Mike or Lynne Maylor on 01758 712963 or 07917 525540; www.abersochsailingschool.com

CASTLE DOUGLAS, SCOTLAND

On the edge of a man-made loch – once a scar in the landscape, carved by a hydroelectric scheme – the Galloway Sailing Centre offers lessons beside a protected nature reserve where you can glimpse endangered species of red squirrels and red deer as you sail by. Once you have mastered the basics of sailing in the classroom, you can choose from 11 types of sailboat including the “Challenger”, which is designed specifically for the disabled, to practise what you have just learnt. Dinghy sailing is offered as part of a half-day package where you can also choose from a range of aquatic activities and add onshore activities such as wall climbing and mountain biking.

Where Galloway Sailing Centre, Loch Ken

Suitable for Everyone, as there are plenty of onshore “dry” activities as well

Costs Half-day package courses, which include dinghy sailing, windsurfing, kayaking, canoeing and a multi-activity combo, cost £42 for adults, £34 for children. There is a special discount of £25 per person in groups of four or more

Contact 01644 420626; www.lochken.co.uk

MAIDENHEAD, BERKSHIRE

Situated near Windsor, Bray Lake offers nononsense dinghy sailing instruction. It’s ideal for families with older children as group lessons of up to six are restricted to those aged 15 and over. There is a fleet of specially designed dinghies that are easy for those aged 8+ to handle. A five-day Royal Yachting Association course is on offer that uses games and challenges to teach safety and skills to younger seafarers.

Where Bray Lake Watersports, Monkey Island Lane, Windsor Road

Suitable for 8+ Costs £85 per person for a four-hour taster course; £40 for one-hour private lessons. Five-and-a-half day children’s course, £130

Contact 01628 638860; www.braylake.com

BISHAM, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

The wind in your hair, the open waters; it’s not hard to understand why some sea folk find it a near-religious experience. Bisham Abbey Sailing and Navigation School, named after the abbey that used to stand near where the sports centre is based, is for the saintly sailor. One of the club’s instructors is Tom Sowerby, who won the Royal Yacht Association Inland Waterways instructor of the year for 2007.

Where Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre, just after Temple Lane

Suitable for 8+

Costs £175 per person for a one-day course; £310 for a four-day course

Contact 01628 474960; www.bishamabbeysailing.co.uk

CHAPEL, SOUTHAMPTON

Southampton’s historic marina is a haven for aquatic sports. First, try a starter dinghy sailing class, when you team up one-on-one with an instructor, then move on to classes in first aid, navigation theory and even sea survival.

Where Southampton Water Activities Centre, Floating Bridge Road

Suitable for 6+; children must be able to swim 50m (54 yards)

Costs Taster courses cost £25 for adults; £15 for children

Contact 023-8091 5753; www.swac.co.uk

All the centres are approved by the Royal Yacht Association, www.rya.org.uk

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