ClubPingewood, Reading, BerkshireIsland Sailing Club lake
Island Sailing Club, Reading
BeginnerTraining
Start
Can a beginner start here?
Dinghy sailing, Dinghy racing, RYA training, Taster sessions, Junior sailing, Family sailing, Powerboating, First aid training, Social sailing
Beginner
Island Sailing Club, Reading describes itself as a family-orientated dinghy sailing club catering for complete beginners to competent sailors, and says people can learn to sail through the club. The training section lists a taster session and a starter sailing basics course with no sailing experience needed.
Training
The official site says the club runs RYA training courses and lists sailing courses including taster session, sailing basics, RYA Level 1, RYA Level 2, RYA Level 3, RYA Start Racing, plus RYA Powerboat Level 2 and RYA First Aid. Some sailing courses are described as delivered with training partner Andrew Simpson Centre, and most courses require club membership or membership of another affiliated RYA club.
Island Sailing Club, Reading is a small family dinghy sailing club near Pingewood, with a 35 acre lake, Sunday racing, taster sessions, RYA training, junior activity and social events.
The official training section invites people to join a taster session on the club lake, supervised by volunteer instructors, and lists a one-hour taster session with an instructor in the boat at all times. The site states club membership is not required for the taster session. A 2025 open day notice appears only in commented page markup and is expired, so it is not treated as current open-day availability.
Dinghy racing· ActivityDinghy sailing· ActivityFamily sailing· AudienceFirst Aid training· TrainingJunior sailing· AudiencePowerboating· TrainingRYA training· TrainingSocial sailing· ActivityTaster sessions· Service
Suitability
Juniors, families, and accessibility
Juniors
The club describes itself as family orientated and says it has always been a family club. The juniors section says there are on-water and off-water activities for junior members, special junior races and series, Toppers and an Optimist for junior beginners, safety boat support for advice, a Youth Welfare Officer, and clubhouse toys, games and books for younger children. The membership table includes Family and Family Junior membership options.
Access· Unclear
No current official accessibility, step-free access, accessible facilities, adaptive sailing, or access-needs support information was found on the official site during this check.
Costs
Costs, membership, and boats
Prices
Official membership fees are published: Individual £150 annual/£90 half-year, Family £175/£105, Family Junior £65/£39, Student £55/£33, Associate £65/£39, Boat Space £65/£39, Trailer Space £35/£21, and Sail Space £35/£21. Training prices shown include In House Level 1 £150 members or £200 for members of another affiliated RYA club, RYA Level 3 Club Racing £150/£200, RYA Powerboat Level 2 £150/£200 or Junior £100, and RYA First Aid £50/£65. The May 2026 In House Level 1 date shown has passed as of this check, and TBA course dates are not treated as current scheduled availability.
Official site describes a small family-oriented dinghy sailing club with a 35 acre lake, club dinghies, boat park, taster sessions, Sunday racing, junior activity, family memberships and RYA training.
The official facilities list says dinghies are available for member hire. No current official hire prices or non-member hire offer were found, so this should be presented as member boat use/hire rather than general public boat hire.
Open in Google Maps