Latest News

Notice of AGM – Saturday 30th November 2024
The KSSA’s 2024 AGM is to be held on Saturday 30th November at Chipstead Sailing Club after completion of the training day. Approximate start time is 4PM. The Agenda for the meeting can be downloaded by clicking here. Minutes of last years AGM can be downloaded by clicking here.

KSSA Environmental Ambassador
Applications are invited for a KSSA Environmental Ambassador for 2024/25.If you sail regularly, and have an interest in looking after the Environment, then please apply to be our new up-and-coming youth coordinator on a project that will link sustainability and sailing. This roll was previously held by Enya Gibbs who has now moved on from […]

KSSA New Racers Event – Saturday 3 June 2023
In partnership with Martello Lake Watersports and Redout SC.Clubs represented:Chipstead SCDowns SCErith YCMargate YCTankerton Bay SCWilsonian SCA total of 13 participants entered.Tom & Alex led the coached activities throughout the day which took place both on and off the water.AMRigging session on land followed by a briefing for the mornings on water sailing activity which […]

Topper Team Racing 2023 – Results
Fun day on Saturday at Westbere in the sun, warmth and with a nice breeze that held on all day and enabled us to complete all races.Well done to the winning team from Sevenoaks School who get to compete in the NSSA Single Handed Team Racing event later this year. The full race results can be […]

KSSA and Downs Sailing Club All Girls Training – 8th May 2023
Pictures are available in the gallery. Building on the success of their 2022 All Girls’ training event, the KSSA and Downs Sailing Club once again joined in partnership to organise an event for 2023. Knowing that the Coronation weekend would provide an additional bank holiday and the tides perfect for launching in Deal, the 8th […]

KSSA WINS THE TEAMS TROPHY AT NSSA 2022
It’s official! The Kent Team (aka KSSA) are the 2022 NSSA National Youth Regatta champions. Okay, not champions per se, but winners of the Teams Trophy – the most prestigious of all the awards at the Nationals.Confirmation of this had been delayed while the outstanding protests from the regatta were processed. Following the conclusion of […]

KSSA ENJOYS SUCCESSFUL 2022 NSSA NATIONAL REGATTA
Kent youth sailors excelled at this year’s National Schools Sailing Association National Regatta, held at Grafham Water (Cambridgeshire) at the end of July. With three fleet wins plus strong placings by others, the KSSA is poised to also take the team trophy, only with an appeal outstanding over the Topper Fleet results we will have […]

KSSA 60th Anniversary Celebration & Barbeque
Calling all past and present KSSA Sailors, Parents, Instructors, Helpers etc. 2021 was the 60th Anniversary of the formation of KSSA. Due to the unprecedented events of the past two years we weren’t able to celebrate properly.KSSA has been an inspiration to many young sailors over its 60 years of promoting Youth Sailing. Come and […]

KSSA Hoodies and Polos – The 2022 Grafham Collection
If you’re coming to NSSA at Grafham, or even if you’re not, you will want the latest design KSSA Hoodies and Polos.This year they are available to order directly from Trews Embroidery We have arranged for orders to be delivered directly to the KSSA Summer Regatta and Camp event at Medway. In order to take […]

KSSA New Racers Report – 28 May 2022
Venue: Redoubt SC / Martello Lake sailing centre.Situated on the sheltered waters of Martello Lake (Hythe) the day started with a chilly northerly F3 wind that set the scene for a day which saw sailors experience gusty conditions and a wind direction that throughout the day veered round to the south east as the sea breeze […]

KSSA with Downs SC All-Girl Coaching Event
On Saturday the 7th of May the KSSA with Downs Sailing Club hosted a free, All-Girls training event. The aim of the event was to challenge any bias in the sport and involve more girls in dingy sailing; allow girls who love sailing to meet others with the same passion and show all the young […]

KSSA Training Day at Bough Beech SC -5 Feb
14 sailors enjoyed some great conditions for our first winter training of the year. The wind was a SW 15-28 knots. In the morning we had a group of Lasers and a group of Teras & Toppers. The session went well focusing on tacking on the whistle and follow the leader. The sailors had to […]

Martyn Styles MBE
Happy New Year to everyone at KSSA. We are delighted to learn that our KSSA President Martyn Styles has been awarded an MBE for services to junior and youth sailing. It is hugely well deserved for outstanding support to youth sailing from which KSSA has benefited over many years. Martyn can recall sailing in the […]

KSSA Training Chipstead Saturday- CANCELLED
It is regret that we have decided to cancel the Chipstead KSSA event on Saturday and to move the AGM to an online meeting at 4pm via Zoom.The forecast for Saturday is for winds between 18 and 40 knots and a temperature of no more than 3 degrees. Even if we got any sailing in […]

New Racers at Redoubt SC
Well done to all those who attended the New Racers event at Redoubt on Saturday. A nice day with gentle conditions, great for learning and you could see the improvements in boat handling as the races progressed.The results are shown below and there are a few pictures available in the gallery.
KSSA 60th Anniversary Jackets
To celebrate this year’s 60th Anniversary of the KSSA we have jackets available to order. Jackets, gilets and child’s fleece will have a stitched logo with KSSA 60th Anniversary written underneath.For full details of the styles and sizes available and how to order please click here to download the flyer.

Opening Splash Regatta at Downs SC May 1st
Great day back on the water Saturday at Downs. Our grateful thanks to ALL the many people involved in helping to make it happen.Read Jon Bentman’s Yachts and Yachting report hereResults are hereSuperb high quality photos are here

KSSA Opening Splash – POSTPONED
We have postponed the Opening Splash to Saturday 1st May 2021. Please read the following note from the Commodore:Dear AllIt is with regret that the team running the Opening Splash have decided that the event cannot take place this Saturday. Many of you will be aware that a moderate north easterly wind can cause problems […]

WELCOME BACK TO SAILING – WITH THE OPENING SPLASH!
WE’RE BACK! Yes, at last we’re able to go sailing again, joining our 2021 programme at what would have been our second event of the year – and first race day – with the Opening Splash at Downs SC on April 24. Downs SC are putting a lot of effort into making this a […]

KSSA 2021 SAILING PROGRAMME v.2
Happy New Year KSSA members. We wish we had good news for you but sorry to say we’re not free from the Coronavirus yet and so we’re having to make the first revision to this season’s programme. Given Lockdown 3 we’ve now most certainly lost Winter Training 1 and 2 which were scheduled for February. […]

2021 KSSA sailing programme
In the interests of helping families – and their sailors – plan their year we’re publishing our 2021 sailing programme. As you can imagine with the current ever-changing situation with the Coronavirus this can only be provisional at this time. So while we are very keen to return to the water as soon as we […]

Abbey & Evie’s Blog – the Datchet Flyer
On December 5th we attended the Datchet Flyer, which is a part of the Seldon Sailjuice winter series. Due to the Coronavirus, they split up the two-day competition into a day for the double handers and a day for the single handers. When we arrived, we were lucky we had Brian’s van that we could […]

Abbey & Evie’s Blog – 420 class training at WPNSA
This weekend (October 17-18) we attended our second 420 class training since lockdown eased, and for us it was an excellent weekend. In the week leading up to the training our coaches sent out a video briefing for the weekend coming . On Saturday we went out on the water for a 5.5 hour session(!) […]

AUTUMN TRAINING 1
It was great to get some sailing going again, with a first Autumn Training event at Broadstairs SC on October 3. Due to Covid-19 regulations it was smaller – much smaller – than our usual events, but the spirit of KSSA was there. Great support from our volunteers and two coaches (Stan & Olly). Despite […]

Restarting sailing…
KSSA are delighted to announce that we will be back on the water and training this Autumn. ‘Expression of interest’ in joining Autumn Training 1 is now open. This will take place at Broadstairs Sailing Club on Saturday 17th October. The KSSA committee have been working hard to try to restart our training programme. Working closely […]

SUMMER REGATTA CANCELLED
Due to the ongoing situation with Covid 19 the KSSA will be unable to hold our annual Summer Regatta which was due to be held at the Medway Yacht Club on July 4-5.Looking ahead to the Autumn Regatta and training series the KSSA committee is keeping an open mind and staying hopeful. Many clubs are […]

NSSA ANNUAL REGATTA UPDATE
Sadly, as a result of the ongoing situation with Covid 19, the NSSA has made the decision to postpone this year’s 2020 NSSA Annual Regatta at the Mount Batten Centre in Plymouth until 2021. Further up to date information and announcements on events from the NSSA can be found on their Facebook page rather than […]

2020 KSSA EVENTS UPDATE
An Update on KSSA Events 2020: Virtual Regatta: Saturday 16th May 1 pmPierce Seward will be continuing with the KSSA Virtual Regattas on Saturdays. If you haven’t already joined in with these competitive online races and would like more information please get in touch: commodore@kssa.co.uk Topper Team Racing: 6th June 2020The event at Westbere has been cancelled […]

Abbey takes KSSA virtual regatta #2
Thanks to everyone who took part in the racing yesterday as always it was very tight. We had a few difficulties at the beginning with people joining but I believe everyone who took part thoroughly enjoyed it and are honing their tactical skills. Abbey Mumford (‘Ab’) took the overall win with LAserB and Izzisawesome closing […]

EVIE H wins first KSSA virtual regatta
The first-ever virtual KSSA regatta took place on Saturday (April 11). There was a good turnout for the first event with a total of 12 KSSA sailors (and the odd ex-KSSA sailor to mix things up). Racing was close and there had clearly been some practicing as all boats were around the first mark within […]

2020 KSSA EVENTS UPDATE
Further to the situation regards Covid-19 and the national lockdown, the KSSA 2020 sailing programme is understandably in a state of suspension. Reference our next scheduled regattas here is the latest position on those: All Girls Training, April 18 It is with great disappointment that we will have to postpone the All Girls Training event […]

KSSA VIRTUAL REGATTA!
OKAY… because of lockdown we can’t go sailing, but we can go virtual sailing! You probably saw the demonstration races (with top sailors) that the RYA put on a week ago. Well now it’s your turn! We can have KSSA virtual regattas!These are being organised by Mark Thomas, with a weekly KSSA Virtual Race every […]

Charlie’s Blog – DI in a (long) weekend (part 2)
Back in February, KSSA Fleet Captain Charlie Baker decided on attending an RYA Dinghy Instructor course. We pick up the second part of his story as Charlie faces the reality of sailing in the Solent in mid-winter…

Abbey & Evie’s Blog – 420 Inland Championship
Last weekend (March 14-15) Abbey and I attended the 420 Inland Championships at Rutland Sailing Club and competed in seven races over the two days. On Saturday we completed four races in medium winds with a few gusts. It was a mixed bag with very unpredictable shifts. Sometimes our decisions were right and sometimes we […]
Coronavirus – Event Cancellation
The KSSA Committee are very sorry to announce that we will need to cancel this Saturday’s training at Wilsonian SC.We have not taken this decision lightly but need to comply with the Government’s recommendations for non-essential travel and limiting contact with others. Our decision is in line with a number of other youth organisations, including […]

Abbey & Evie’s Blog – 420 training
This weekend while the rest of our KSSA friends were at Bough Beech, Abbey and I were at Rutland Sailing Club for a 420 training weekend in preparation for the start of the championship series starting next weekend. The forecast for this weekend was very breezy with strong gusts – and it didn’t disappoint! The […]

Charlie’s Blog – DI in a (long) weekend (part 1)
Most people like to relax over their February half term or maybe get ahead with schoolwork. Not us sailors however, we like to spend as much time as possible sailing, no matter how cold the water is! This is why I – along with another KSSA sailor, Zoe – headed down to the UKSA in […]

Abbey and Evie’s Blog – RYA Profiling
No sailing this weekend, but we have still been on the road to attend the RYA youth physical profiling and the university of Chichester. Not as fun as sailing but looking at the forecast this weekend probably a better thing. We were tested on strength, agility, cardiovascular and endurance performance.We now have a break until […]

Abbey and Evie’s Blog – Tiger Trophy
This weekend we attended the Tiger Trophy at Rutland Water, this was in aid off the John Merricks trust. We were also joined but Sam and Michael Dyer who are both Ex KSSA sailors, sailing a 29er. On Saturday it was planned to go out and complete 3 races. However due to the forecast they […]

Abbey & Evie’s Blog #1
KSSA captains Abbey Mumford and Evie Herrington are stepping up their sailing. After sailing an RS Feva XL in 2018 they moved up to a 420 in 2019 and bravely competed for the first time in the 420 world championships (quite a step up from the regular KSSA events!), then went on to beat the […]

New Season Training at Dover – 25th January 2020
The new season started with a well-attended first training day, at Dover Sea Sports. Some 36 sailors in 33 boats took part, ably coached by KSSA’s own double act Stan & Olly, assisted by Mark Thomas and Pierce Seward.Although the thermometer hung around the 5ºC mark, the light winds meant it didn’t become bitter, and […]

2020 NSSA Double Handed Team Racing Championship
The 2020 NSSA Double Handed Team Racing Championship will be hosted by Oxford Sail Training Trust (OSTT) at Farmoor Reservoir, Oxford, OX2 9NS on Saturday 21st March 2020. Racing will be in fleets of fireflies, which are provided by the organisers. Teams of two double handed boats means that you only need four sailors to […]

Frank Catt
Frank Catt – much loved and respected life long member of KSSA & Downs Sailing Club has sadly lost his battle against cancer, passing away Monday 2nd December 2019.His funeral will be held at Barham Crematorium at 11.20hrs on the 19th December 2019.Our thoughts go out to his family – Jenny, Nikki & Chris – […]

Chipstead Autumn Training and AGM
Dispute the chill and light airs, it didn’t stop a great day at Chipstead on Saturday. Once the fog had burned off, 36 sailors took to the water in a variety of boats ranging from Oppies through to an RS200. The KSSA AGM and presentations took place afterwards in the club house. Some more great […]

Notice of AGM – Saturday 30th November 2019
The KSSA’s 2019 AGM is to be held on Saturday 30th November at Chipstead Sailing Club after completion of the training day. Approximate start time is 4PM.Minutes of last years AGM can be downloaded by clicking here

Tomorrow’s event at Wilsonian SC is Cancelled
Regrettably the weather forecast for tomorrow is not showing any sign of improving. The organisers have therefore taken the difficult decision to cancel the KSSA training event. We do not wish for people to make considerable effort to travel with boats in potentially hazardous weather conditions only to not be able to sail.All entry fees […]

Newsflash – Our resident photographer Jon Bentman even works in the rain!
Beyond the call of duty or what? He says it messed his camera up a bit but it all looks brilliant to me. In the Gallery, you will find a large new batch of photos taken during our training day at Broadstairs SC on Saturday. Look beyond the seaweed and the gloomy weather at the […]

KSSA Autumn Training
Join us for our Autumn training events. Race coaching for all levels at the following venues/dates: 12 October – Broadstairs Sailing Club2 November – Wilsonian Sailing Club30 November – Chipstead Sailing Club Pre-entry for the Broadstairs event is open now. Further information on the event pages


RYA London & South East Regional Junior Championships
The RYA British Youth Racing department are hosting this year’s London & South East Regional Junior Championships on the 28th & 29th September at Datchet water Sailing Club. This is a great opportunity for any of our KSSA sailors to take part. The event will be running three fleets, Championship Fleet, Coached Regatta Fleet and OnBoard […]


Mid-Summer Training and Regatta – Photos
No less than 358 superb photos from last weekends mid-summer training and regatta have been uploaded to the gallery. Our grateful thanks to Jonathan Bentman who spent the weekend on various ribs and boats with his camera. Watch out for his forthcoming Yachts and Yachting report,⛵️

Report – New Racers Regatta at Margate YC – 15 June
By Jon Bentman Fresh winds, gusting 17-19 knots, challenged the 13 youth sailors at the Kent Schools Sailing Association New Racers regatta at Margate YC on June 15. However, with a flattish sea, radiating a sparkling Mediterranean blue in the warm bright sunshine, it proved perfect conditions for an exciting sail. Sailing five races, with […]

Report – Topper Team Racing at Westbere – 25th May
More pics in the gallery The Topper Team Racing was held at Westbere Lake near Canterbury this year with a forecast of sun and a light NW breeze. Seven teams came from across the county with ambitions of taking the Shield home and representing KSSA at the NSSA Team Racing finals. As is nearly always […]

RS Tera Eastern Region Traveler Series
A couple of our younger RS Tera sailors did well travelling to this event. See the Yachts and Yachting report written by Charlotte.

Kent Team Entry Open for the NSSA Youth Regatta 2019
Entry is now open for the Kent Team (KSSA) for the NSSA National Youth Regatta at Weymouth. Please click here to go to the event page for further information and to download the application form. Please note, all entries and payments need to be be received by Sunday 2nd June.

NSSA National Regatta Bursaries
We have received the information below from NSSA regarding bursaries available for the forthcoming NSSA regatta at Weymouth. Please contact the Commodore (Sarah) or Team Manager (Brian) if you would like to apply or discuss this in confidence. The National School Sailing Association are pleased to be able to offer a limited number of bursaries […]

Report – Bough Beech Winter Training – 23/02/2019
Things did not look hopeful on Saturday; a thick mist hung over the reservoir as the keen sailors rigged. However, exactly as Bough Beech’s Rear Commodore, Guy Marks, promised the fog lifted and light winds and sunny conditions made for a perfect day on the water. Lead coach, Gemma Gibson, had the laser fleet practising […]
We now accept PayPal payments
You can now pay for KSSA event entries and membership using PayPal. Just select PayPal as the payment method during the checkout process. You can use most debit and credit cards. Please note, you don’t need a PayPal account to do this. We encourage all members to pre-enter for events as this helps with event […]

BRITISH YOUTH SAILING RECOGNITION FOR KENT SCHOOLS SAILING ASSOCIATION
The Kent Schools Sailing Association (KSSA) was delighted to receive British Youth Sailing (BYS) Recognised Club status from the RYA at a presentation at Chipstead Sailing Club on 8 December. The BYS Recognised Clubs initiative is part of a new RYA scheme celebrating excellence in developing sailing stars of the future. It sees the RYA […]

Welcome to our new website
The KSSA Committee are delighted to announce that our new website is now live at kssa.co.uk The new look site is easy to navigate and will act as the KSSA’s Clubhouse for members and anyone wishing to find out more about the activities and opportunities the KSSA offers to young sailors in Kent. Information relating […]

Autumn Training 3 – Chipstead Sailing Club 8th December, 2018
The photo says it all. Our 46 keen sailors who came to the third training session in the Autumn series were met by a strong 20 knot breeze with some very challenging gusts and steady drizzle. After a quick brief by lead coach Gemma Gibson all ventured onto the water. Even the most experienced were […]

NSSA Regatta 2018 Report
Well, it’s been a great week and the KSSA sailors have done us proud: 1st in the Laser Radial, 1st in the Rookie Fleet, 1st in the Fast Handicap, 3rd in the Laser 4.7, 4th in the Medium Handicap, 5th in the Slow Handicap and some good results in the Topper Fleet too. Pierce and […]

Summer Camp 1/2 July BBSC
On Saturday 1st July , boats , cars laden with camping gear arrived early in the morning at Bough Beech Sailing Club for the 2017 sailing, training and camping weekend. There was a 4 race series on Saturday with 23 boats on the water. We had the KSSA Superstars , the soon- to -be superstars and the novices who […]

Bough Beech SC 24th February, 2018 – Winter Training 2
It was a chilly February day at Bough Beech with strong winds and a clear blue sky. The Oppies and Teras were excitable. They built on their heavy wind knowledge and made positive steps to mastering this on a course. The other groups, the Toppers/Tera, Lasers/Aero and Double Handers started the morning focused on the […]

Maidstone Coaching Award and RYA SE Bursaries
In December 2017 we received the Double Handed Maidstone Coaching Award and on the 25th February we arranged for coach Richard Sherindan to come to Redoubt Sailing Club for the day. The wind was around 15-20 knots with some big gusts and was perfect for focussing on our high wind spinnaker work, although it was very […]

KSSA 2017 Annual Regatta Downs Sailing Club
The KSSA Annual Regatta at the Downs Sailing Club, Deal saw 51 boats from all over the South East on the water, in northerly winds with sunshine. The largest fleet as ever were Toppers, but there were Fevas, Lasers, Radials, 29er, RS200s and Optimists. There were two races scheduled for the morning and two for the […]

!!!! KENT TEAM BAGS 4th SUCCESSIVE NSSA REGATTA TITLE !!
It gives the Kent (high performance) team managers Mark Breare, Tim Seward and Sam Chick huge pleasure in reporting that the Kent team have won a fourth consecutive team trophy at the NSSA annual regatta. Sustaining consistent interest in great success is often hard however please think back to our huge excitement in Deal when […]

New Racers 10th June 2017 Redoubt SC
This years New racers event was held at Redoubt sc in perfect conditions, with brite sunshine and an increasing breeze. 26 sailors took to the water from across Kent, 4 races were sailed with on the water instructors and coaches giving direction throughout. All sailors were given an explanation of the basic rules of sailing and […]