Activity Joining Instructions - Helford River

About Us 

Children’s Sailing Trust (CST), formerly known as Helford River Children’s Sailing Trust (HRCST), was founded in 1997 by John Green with an aim to make sailing accessible for all local primary school children. 

CST Trading Ltd is the activity provider for the Children’s Sailing Trust.  CST Trading Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Children’s Sailing Trust (charity no. 1165396).  All profits from CST Trading Ltd are used to support the charitable work of Children’s Sailing Trust. 

CST operate at two locations: the Helford River and Trevassack Lake. For watersports and activities: www.cstexperiences.co.uk and for more details on the charity and fundraising opportunities:  www.childrenssailingtrust.org.uk 

Where to find us: Helford River 

 

The Helford River is situated in West Cornwall in an area of outstanding natural beauty, with Falmouth to the north, and The Lizard Peninsula to the south.  

The main centre address for our operations on the Helford River is Ursula’s Boathouse, Helford Passage, TR11 5LB 

We can pick students up from this main base (North side of the river) or from the South side.  Please see below for more information on locations. 

Pick up Points: North/South side of Helford River 

Within the ‘Health & Water Confidence Declaration’ please ensure you have selected which location you will be starting/ending the sessions.  Please let us know if this changes at any point to ensure there is space in the powerboat for you.

Please check the specific meeting place for your particular course on Drop Off Point.pdf to ensure you leave enough time to walk to the meeting point. 

The red stars show the main pick up points, with the red droppers indicating other potential south side pick ups, depending on tides.

What to bring 

CST will provide buoyancy aids or lifejackets and access to helmets (there may be times the Duty Officer insists helmets are worn for safety) free of charge to those on our courses. 

As a minimum, please bring to all CST activity sessions:

  • Any medication that might be needed 
  • For full day courses, please bring a packed lunch which can be eaten on the beach. 
  • Filled water bottle 

 Other items that can be useful depending on the conditions and time of year: 

  • Hat (woolly or sun) 
  • Gloves 
  • Suncream 
  • Refreshments 

Dinghy Sessions 

  • We strongly recommend students wear a wetsuit and windproof jacket.  Those without wetsuits should wear clothes suitable for watersports that can get wet with windproof jacket and trousers (please note that jeans, thick layers are not suitable) 
  • Footwear – wetsuit shoes or boots, or shoes that won’t come off in the water e.g. old trainers.  Please note flips flops, crocs or bare feet are not permitted. 
  • Towel 
  • Full change of dry clothes 
  • Any personal logbook relevant to your course 

Powerboat Courses 

  • Waterproof trousers & top 
  • Footwear (shoes you don’t mind getting wet – wellies, trainers, sailing boots).  Please note flips flops, crocs or bare feet are not permitted. 
  • Spare change of clothes 
  • Towel 
  • Passport photo (PBL2 students only) 

If you have any questions on what to bring, please contact the CST office (contact details can be found at the end of this form) 

 

Course Timings 

Please see the website and/or the confirmation email regarding the specific course/session times.  Please arrive 15 minutes before the start of the course to sign in with the CST Staff.  

 

Supervision 

All U16s remain the responsibility of their parent/guardian until they are signed in/out of the activity session with the signing in/out CST Staff member on duty at the meeting point.  A parent/guardian must be present promptly at these times so as not to cause delay to CST operations.  Where the parent/guardian is planned to not be present at sign out, we require written permission from the parent/guardian, outlining the details i.e. nominate another adult for signing out, or to allow the child to sign out without an adult present. 

 

Late Arrivals, Pick Up or non-attendance 

If you need to report an absence or delay, please contact us know as soon possible as it can affect operational decisions. You can do this either by: 

  • Contacting the CST office on 01326 702326  
  • Or, if on the day of the activity, please call the Operations mobile – 07393 548761. 

Please note – if you are late or unable to make the session start time, we may not be able to take you on the session.  Any missed timings may affect the course outcome. 

 

Changing Facilities & Toilets 

There are limited changing facilities on the Helford River, so please, where possible, arrive dressed to take part in the activity. 

There are public toilets available in The Ferryboat Inn (North side) or the Helford Village car park (South side). 

 

Health & Water Confidence Declaration & Medication 

All activity participants are required to provide a completed ‘CST Health & Water-Confidence Declaration’ form prior to the start of the activity or course.  Each declaration is valid for the year it is signed, provide that there are no changes to the details submitted.  Any medication, including inhalers, that may be required during the session should be handed to the Instructor at your pickup location. Please note that it is the responsibility of each participant to retrieve such items at the end of each session. No liability will be accepted for items not collected. 

 You can find the ‘Health and Water Confidence Declaration’ form as a link from your booking confirmation.  Please contact us if you have any trouble accessing this. 

 

Valuables 

We have incredibly limited storage on the Helford Passage, so please keep valuables to a minimum.  U16s are not permitted to bring mobile phones on site, unless specific permission has been sought from the Duty Officer by the parent/guardian.  Valuable items can be secured in our shed or can be left with the Duty Officer.  CST can take no responsibility for the safety of valuables. 

 

Logbooks, Handbooks & Certificates 

We provide all students on beginner courses (Powerboat Level 2, Dinghy Level 1 and Dinghy Stage 1) with an RYA logbook to record your progress.  For improver courses and above, please bring the relevant logbook with you, or alternatively you are welcome to purchase a replacement via our booking system or by calling the CST office.  If you require a new or replacement logbook, please purchase this prior to the activity start date as we cannot guarantee that we will have any at the Boat Shed. 

RYA handbooks to accompany skills learnt on all our courses can be purchased from our website or by calling the CST Office. 

Certificates are issued at no additional cost to students when the required level has been met.  We do our best to assist every student to reach their full potential within the course, but we are unable to guarantee all students will be awarded the certificate at the end of each course. 

Please note, we are required to record personal data alongside the issuing of a certificate, as follows: 

All Dinghy Certification & RYA Safety Boat courses 

On successful completion of your course your name, certificate number and date of issue will be stored for up to 5 years. This information allows us to verify or replace your certificate if required. 

Powerboat Level 2 Courses 

On successful completion of your RYA Powerboat Level 2 course, your name, contact details, date of birth, certificate number and date of issue will be shared with the RYA through a secure web portal on www.rya.org.uk. The data will be stored on the RYA’s central database. This information allows the RYA to record your qualification, to update any records they may hold for you, and to verify or replace your certificate if required. For further information on how the RYA will deal with your data, please see the RYA’s Privacy Policy at www.rya.org.uk/go/privacy 

Viewing an activity 

Whilst we encourage family members to come along and watch the river activities taking place, we respectfully ask that anyone doing so does not impede the group whilst the CST activity is being delivered.  We’ve found the presence of family members can distract the group from their learning or from listening to important safety advice, particularly younger children.   

 

Inclement Weather 

We keep a very close eye on weather conditions and where we feel the conditions are too challenging or could affect the safety, there are a number of options we explore before cancelling a session (as a last resort). We do not typically cancel or reschedule youth sessions, as there is always something fun we can do to develop confidence on the water and progress learning. In other cases, depending on the weather and the course, we will review the course content with safety and learning in mind. 

Sometimes in inclement weather…there is no better place to be than in or on the water! But please rest assured that the safety of all involved is always our priority. 

 

Refreshments 

The Ferryboat Inn (North side) or Shipwright Arms (South side) offer delicious take away pub food.  Where we have full day courses, we will usually break for lunch at one of these locations so that participants can make use of these facilities.  However, please check the pub’s website directly to view lunch options & opening times, especially whilst COVID restrictions are in place. 

All CST course attendees are welcome to bring packed lunches but please note that we do not have any food or drink facilities available for use. 

 

Need to Know 

Some CST & local guidelines: 

  • Parking is available at either the Ferryboat Inn car park (North side) or Helford Village Car Park (South side).  Disabled parking is available at both locations.  Please note these are both public car parks with a fee to pay. 
  • Photography is restricted to the Senior Team only.  Please talk to the Duty Officer if you wish to take any media of a CST session. This is for the protection of all our users. 
  • The CST ‘Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy’ can be found on our website and is displayed in Ursula’s boatshed on the Ferryboat beach (if you require further information, please contact the Office or speak to the Duty Officer) 
  • All attendees of CST courses and activities are asked to adhere to the ‘CST Code of Conduct 
  • There is a seasonal dog ban in place at the Ferryboat beach 

 

Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults 

The Designated Safeguarding Officer and Centre Welfare Officer is Jakie Jewell, CEO.  You can contact Jakie at any time with any safeguarding questions or concerns: jakie@childrenssailingtrust.org.uk  

You can find more information on the CST Safeguarding Policy and reporting procedures in the CST Safeguarding Policy, found on our ‘Activity Documents page’ (details below). 

 

Children’s Sailing Trust Activity Documents 

Please find copies of the activity documents and policies on our website – https://childrenssailingtrust.org.uk/activity-policies-documents/ 

 

Cancellation and Refund Policy 

You can find all information relating to refunds and cancellations within the Activity Terms & Conditions: https://childrenssailingtrust.org.uk/activity-booking-tcs/ 

 

We look forward to welcoming you to your chosen CST activity.   If at any point you or your child have any concerns, please don’t hesitate to let us know and a member of staff will endeavour to resolve your concerns quickly and sympathetically.  

 

All the best,  

The CST Activity Team 

 

hello@cstexperiences.co.uk  |  01326 702326