Sabots are 2.4 metres long and have a single sail. Up to the age of 12, a skipper and crew sail together as junior sailors, or 2-Ups. The benefits are:
- Siblings and friends have fun sailing together
- Young crew learn from more experienced skippers
- A family with 2 young children needs only one boat
- A young crew can sail on someone else’s Sabot before committing to buy a boat
From the ages of 12 to 16, children sail on their own as seniors, or 1-Ups. Check the Australian National Sabot Council website (www.sabot.au.com) for more detail. Sabots are large enough to challenge young teen sailors while still small enough for parents to easily transport and store.
Sabot sailing is a family sport. Regattas attract large, competitive fleets which challenge the sailors and provide lots of opportunities to make friends with like-minded kids. With the exception of the National Championships which may be held inter-state, regattas are held in family-oriented venues along the South and Central Queensland coast.
After Sabots, many sailors continue sailing in Lasers, 125s, 420s, 29ers, 13 foot skiffs, Pacers and more. Others are happy just to muck around for a lifetime in and around any kind of boat. Our goal is to make sailing fun so our young sailors will introduce their kids to sailing in many years time.