Almere's water sports club offers free sailing lessons this summer
The waters around Almere are set to become a classroom this summer as the local water sports club opens its doors to anyone curious about sailing. From late June through August, beginners and improvers can take to the boats without paying a cent, with all instruction, gear and safety cover included in the programme.
Almere is one of the youngest cities in the Netherlands, carved out of the IJsselmeer polders in the 1970s and now home to more than 200,000 residents. Its shoreline is longer than many coastal towns, dotted with marinas, harbours and sheltered bays that have quietly turned it into one of the country's most accessible sailing spots. The club's decision to remove its usual fee reflects a wider push to make water sports less exclusive at a time when equipment and club memberships across Europe are climbing in price.
For readers in Australia, where sailing is woven into the national identity from Sydney Harbour to Fremantle, the idea of a summer sailing school may feel familiar even if the seasons do not line up. Dutch summers run from June to August, while Australians think of summer as December through February, yet both communities share a coastline-first culture that prizes time on the water.
The club behind the initiative
The water sports club in question has been operating from its base on the Gooimeer for several decades, originally founded by enthusiasts who wanted to share the joy of small-boat handling with newcomers. Over the years it has grown into a proper training centre, accredited by the national sailing federation and recognised locally as a place where children, retirees and everyone in between can pick up new skills.
Volunteers still do much of the heavy lifting. Committee members coordinate bookings, instructors donate their weekends, and the boats themselves are maintained by members who pay a modest annual subscription. The free summer programme is funded through a mix of municipal grants, local sponsorships and a small lottery that the club runs each spring. The approach echoes how volunteer-driven outlets such as international community news platforms cover grassroots initiatives that mainstream media tend to overlook.
What makes this summer's offering different is the scale. Previous years saw only a handful of trial lessons squeezed between regular courses. Now the club has committed to running structured two-hour sessions every weekday morning, with afternoon slots reserved for teenagers and family groups. The aim is to put more than 300 people on the water before the leaves start turning in September.
Lesson structure and skill levels
The curriculum is broken into four tiers, mirroring the framework used by most Royal Yacht Association-affiliated clubs across Europe. Beginners start in stable dinghies with an instructor on board, moving to single-handed sailing once they can confidently handle the tiller and mainsheet. Intermediate sailors work on points of sail, capsize recovery and basic navigation, while advanced participants practise spinnaker work, racing starts and trip planning.
| Level | Boat type | Group size | Session length | Core focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | Stable dinghy, instructor on board | 2–3 sailors | 2 hours | Water confidence, basic steering, safety rules |
| Improver | Single-handed dinghy | 1 sailor with shore coach | 2 hours | Tacking, gybing, reading the wind |
| Intermediate | Two-person keelboat | 2 sailors | 3 hours | Points of sail, navigation, essential knots |
| Advanced | Performance dinghy or skiff | 1–2 sailors | 3 hours | Racing starts, spinnakers, trip planning |
All sessions are taught in Dutch, but the club has confirmed that English-speaking instructors will be on hand during the peak weeks of July, reflecting the international makeup of Almere's newer residents. Beginners do not need to bring anything except a swimsuit, towel and a willingness to get wet; wetsuits, buoyancy aids and helmets are provided at no extra charge.
Who can join the summer programme
The free lessons are open to anyone aged eight and above, with no upper limit. Children under twelve must be accompanied by a parent or guardian on the safety boat, while teenagers can attend unsupervised if a signed consent form is presented. There is no residency requirement, so visitors holidaying in the region are welcome to book a slot, although priority is given to Almere residents when demand peaks in late July.
Booking is handled through a simple online form that opened in May. Each participant can register for up to three sessions across the summer, allowing the club to spread its capacity fairly. Cancellations are common in the first week as nervous newcomers pull out, so the club encourages people to put their names on a waiting list if their preferred date is full.
For families, the club offers a learn-together option on Saturday mornings, where parents and children can share a two-person boat and progress as a team. This has proved especially popular with newcomers who feel uneasy about their first time on the water and prefer the reassurance of a familiar face on board.
Why Almere's geography works so well
Almere's geography is unusually generous for a city of its size. The municipality borders no fewer than three large bodies of water: the Gooimeer to the east, the IJmeer to the south-west, and the Markermeer to the north. Between them sit numerous smaller lakes, canals and recreational basins that provide sheltered conditions ideal for teaching novices how to handle a boat without putting them in harm's way.
Wind conditions in the region are also remarkably consistent during summer. Mornings tend to bring light thermal breezes that are perfect for beginners, while afternoons build into steadier winds that challenge returning sailors without becoming dangerous. The water is shallow for several hundred metres offshore, which means that any inevitable capsize results in a refreshing swim rather than a sinking.
The city council has invested in launching ramps, jetties and parking specifically for water sports users, recognising that the marine economy supports local jobs in chandlery, repair and hospitality. By making lessons free, the club hopes to introduce sailing to people who might otherwise associate it with expensive yacht clubs and consider it beyond their reach.
Parallels Australian sailors will recognise
Australian sailing culture has its own strong identity, and there are several parallels worth drawing. Sydney Harbour hosts everything from Saturday morning keelboat racing to the community fleets run by clubs like the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia at Rushcutters Bay. Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay is similarly busy, with St Kilda, Sandringham and Black Rock all offering learn-to-sail pathways through clubs affiliated with Australian Sailing.
Cost is often the biggest barrier in Australia, where a single private lesson can run between 150 and 300 Australian dollars depending on the boat and location. Group courses at clubs such as the Royal Perth Yacht Club or the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in Brisbane typically cost several hundred dollars for a multi-week programme, putting the sport out of reach for many families. The Dutch club's decision to remove fees altogether therefore reads as a bold social experiment by Antipodean standards.
The seasonal flip is also worth noting. Australian sailors are heading into winter in June, which means many east-coast clubs shift their training focus to dry-land theory and gym-based fitness. Some, like those around Hobart's River Derwent, run frostbite series in the cooler months, but the bulk of intensive on-water tuition happens from November to March. Readers thinking about a northern hemisphere summer trip could time a visit to combine the lessons with a broader European holiday.
Australian maritime law adds another layer of comparison. Lifejacket rules under each state's transport authority generally require them to be worn at all times on smaller craft, and while the Dutch club provides buoyancy aids for every participant, the regulations differ in detail. Anyone planning to sail back home should check the local requirements with the relevant state agency before booking any further training.
Safety standards and equipment
Safety is the backbone of the programme. Every instructor holds a valid first-aid certificate and a recognised sailing qualification, and the club maintains a strict cap on student-to-instructor ratios. Beginners always have an instructor in the boat with them, improvers are tracked from a coach boat, and intermediate sailors are required to carry a handheld radio and a whistle.
The boats themselves are modern roto-moulded dinghies and keelboats, chosen for their stability and ease of righting after a capsize. Each is fitted with a self-bailing cockpit, a mast that floats even when fully inverted, and lines that are colour-coded to help beginners remember which sheet controls which sail. The club replaces its oldest craft on a rolling basis, so participants are rarely asked to handle anything older than a decade.
Weather calls are made at 7am each morning based on readings from the club's own anemometer and forecasts from the national meteorological service. If sustained winds exceed 18 knots or thunderstorms are forecast, the morning session is cancelled and participants are offered a rescheduled slot. This cautious approach has kept the accident record impressively clean, with no serious injuries reported in the past five seasons.
Practical advice for first-timers
A little preparation goes a long way. Bring sunscreen and a hat even on cloudy days, because the reflection off the water intensifies UV exposure. Wear shoes you do not mind getting wet, ideally old trainers, and leave valuables in the lockers provided at the clubhouse. A light waterproof jacket is useful for the windier afternoon sessions, and a reusable water bottle will save repeated trips back to the tap.
For anyone who wants to make the most of their sessions, the following suggestions from the club's regular instructors are worth following closely.
- Arrive fifteen minutes early to meet your instructor and get fitted for a wetsuit
- Tell the staff about any back, shoulder or knee issues before you go afloat
- Practise tying a figure-of-eight knot at home so it feels familiar on the water
- Take photos of the boat setup on your first day to refer back to later
- Keep a small notebook to record wind direction, sail trim and what you learned
- Stay for a coffee in the clubhouse afterwards to chat with returning sailors
Do not be afraid of capsizing; it is part of the learning process and the instructors expect it on most beginner days. The skills come quickly once the initial nerves settle, and many people who start as complete novices find themselves signing up for a full season by the end of their third session.
For anyone within reach of Almere this summer, the offer is hard to ignore: professional coaching, safe modern boats and a friendly club atmosphere, all without a fee. The practical first step is to visit the club's website, register an account and book the earliest available slot before the peak weeks of July fill up, because even a single morning on the water can change how a person feels about sailing for the rest of their life.