“We teach something people have heard of; it’s a prestigious thing to have an
˅ˌʴ ˤ˨˔˜Ѓ˖˔˧˜ϣ
Edd: I came sailing one day and then ended up with a job! I was 13. My first task was teaching Amelia to dinghy sail. Her dad [Peter] said, ‘Take my daughter sailing, and she better enjoy it!’ And that was that. I just got roped in, adopted into the family. Amelia and I have worked together ever since.
Are past sea school family
members still involved? Amelia: My dad can still be found instructing or examining a few courses each year and is always on hand. We can ask Dad or Granddad, how would you do this? It’s comforting to have that around you, but it’s also brilliant being able to take the sea school forward in our own way. People tell us, ‘I trained with Peter’, or with Bill, and it’s nice to tell them that’s my father or grandfather. It shows that we’re a family and builds that connection.
Edd and Amelia dinghy sailing together as teenagers in 2009.
We’re still teaching one of Bill’s original customers from 50 years ago! When we were going through some historic course paperwork from the 1980s we recognised customers’ names because we’re still teaching them – or their 40-year-old kids!
So what keeps bringing these
families back? Amelia: We always put quality first. We try to make sure our instructors are exceptional, our boats are exceptional, and we run everything
to the best of our abilities. Edd: Right from the start, we’ve taught RYA courses. We’ve grown as the RYA has grown. The scheme
being recognised worldwide helps us with word of mouth. We’re teaching something that people have heard of; it’s a prestigious thing to have an RYA qualification. We offer the comprehensive syllabus.
What other ways do you ˕˘˘Ѓ˧ ˙˥ˠ ˅ˌʴ ˔˙Ѓ˜˔˧˜ʲ
Edd: The RYA training has also made the instructors better. Good teaching, as with sailing, is about communication; an instructor must be able to make their point in lots of different ways. Our instructors are really good. Many have been here longer than we have. They’ve stuck with the sea school and with the Smith family, which is probably quite rare. We’ve had customers that have come to do a competent crew, and
Celebrating 50 years (l to r): Edd Harvey-Bates, Amelia Fairburn (née Smith), Pat Smith, Bill Smith, Alison Smith, Peter Smith.
20
rya.org.uk SPRING 2024
15 years later are teaching for us. Amelia: It starts as a hobby for them, as it did for me, for all my family, for everyone involved. That level of passion has been passed down through the generations. Teaching people to sail safely and enjoy being out on the water is what my grandfather always wanted to do. Fifty years later that feeds through to the instructors, to the customers – everyone just cares a lot.
For more information visit
www.eastanglianseaschool.com
Photo: East Anglian Sea School
Photo: Hope Smith
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