The University of Plymouth Yacht Club (UPYC) is an active and welcoming club open to all students at Plymouth University regardless of ability and experience. We aim to get people out on the water sailing on our two J80's as much as possible. As both boats can fit up to 7 people we create an environment where members can meet while sailing and friends and teammates can enjoy sailing yachts together. Whether it's your first time or you're looking to build upon current skills we offer a range of activities from cruising to racing. The club runs three recreational sessions a week for its members with each session costing just £7.50! We are based out of the Royal Western Yacht Club, just a short walk away from the Barbican. 

What we do

As a club we offer a big variety of activities from cruising to racing and fun socials. Here's some things we do:

Cruising -

• We hold weekly cruising sessions in the Sound on a Wednesday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday. These are great for getting out on the water and getting to know the boats and other club members.

• Easter Cruise - this is a great trip for those looking to improve offshore skills or build their mileage as well as good fun! It is usually a week of sailing during the Easter holidays. 

• Summer Cruise - In June 2025 we are heading to Croatia for a week of sailing!

Socials -

As well as being out on the water, we run a wide range of social events throughout the year! These vary from:

• Weekly Wednesday night socials - These are often themed, for ideas of past themes check out our Instagram! 

• If going out isn't your thing then we also hold sober socials such as bowling and our regular quiz nights at the Royal Western Yacht Club

• Christmas Dinner

• 'Colours' Awards Formal Dinner held towards the end of the academic year

• In warmer weather we hold more outdoor activities such as beach socials and BBQs!

All socials will be announced on our Facebook and Instagram, as well as on our WhatsApp group so keep an eye out for all our future socials 

Racing -

• We hold weekly race training session on a Saturday, which is open to all members interested in getting into racing  

• Meet the Skippers event, used for our members to find boats to crew on within Plymouth Sound 

• All UPYC are also by affiliation members of the Royal Western Yacht Club of England and have opportunities to crew upon large IRC boats here in Plymouth and across the south coast

We attend several events throughout the year to get as many people racing as possible. These include:

• The BUSA Student Yachting Nationals.

• The Trophée de l’Ile Pelée University Europeans 

• The University Sailing League, a new series run by students for students offering regular student keelboat racing across the country

• Our annual match racing event with other universities - this year March 2025, further details soon

Training -

• Race training sessions on Sundays for those looking to make it onto racing teams and to improve, members' current skills and techniques

• We run theory sessions when the weather doesn't allow for sailing for those looking to brush up on a range of skills from knots to navigation.

• We have discounted courses available to our members, including VHF courses, Day Skipper Theory and Coastal Skipper Theory 

• We are hoping to put on a Day Skipper and Competent Crew later in the year

Match Racing

Last year the UPYC hosted our annual match racing event for students on the 23rd-24th of March 2024. We had several other universites entering this event and joining us for some excellent racing on Plymouth Sound over the weekend, as well as joining us for a social on the Saturday night.

We can not wait for this coming year in March 2025, to see plenty more sailors joining us for this event!
For further information please contact the Vice Commodore Racing at vcracing@upyc.co.uk

Get in touch

If you have any questions, or want to know more about our club we are always happy to chat!

Email: secretary@upyc.co.uk

Instagram: @upyachtclub

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/UPyachtclub

We also have a private WhatsApp group, where up to date information is posted about upcoming socials, trips and sessions are advertised. To join this please give us a message!