Celebrating 
About Us
Established in 1991 the School is an RYA recognised teaching centre run by Roy and Jan May.
The School Principal is Tom Sowerby. Tom grew up around boats and started sailing when he was eight. He joined Bisham Abbey Sailing and Navigation School in 2002 and has won the RYA Inland Waterways Instructor of the Year for his coaching.
We operate throughout the year specialising in dinghy sailing between May and September and shore based theory & navigation courses all year round. Practical motor boat handling takes place between February and November, weather permitting!
Our fully equipped premises, based within the Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre, located by the River Thames, has close proximity to the M3, M4, M40 and M25 motorways, providing excellent road access from London and the Home Counties. Main line railway stations are located in nearby Maidenhead and High Wycombe and we are only 35 minutes from London/Heathrow Airport. Accommodation is available if required, within the National Sports Centre, for adults and accompanied children taking part in RYA courses.
We specialise in small group training, intensive and semi-intensive.
If you need advice, give us a call!
If you need training, we can help!
Please call 01628 474960 or go to Contact Us.
The Fleet
Le Coq
Our Dutch barge Le Coq is used for Inland Waters Helmsman's courses, inland and coastal ICCs, Dutch Barge Experience Days as well as Art Afloat and some corporate events. Built in 1926, she is a beautiful boat to handle and at 17 metres long is big enough to give you the feel of a large vessel without being too daunting! She is powered by a DAF575 diesel on a single shaft with wheel steering.
Lady Hoby
Lady Hoby is our 36ft narrowboat built by Hancock and Lane. She has a 1.5 BMC diesel engine, tiller steering and her cruiser style stern gives plenty of room to work and learn. Lady Hoby is used for Inland Waters Helmsman's courses and inland ICCs.
Sancerre
Sancerre is the newest addition to our moorings! A new 60ft x 11ft widebeam cruiser, she offers a sumptious, roomy interior and a large aft deck. We use Sancerre for Inland Waters Helmsman's courses and inland ICCs. She is also available for hire through Calmer Cruising.
The Green Parrot
The Green Parrot is a Mitchell 22 motor cruiser. She has a single Perkins diesel engine on single shaft and wheel steering. The Green Parrot is used for Inland Waters Helmsman's courses and inland or coastal ICCs. Her large cockpit and wide side decks make her an ideal training vessel.
Salute
Salute is a 17ft open launch with tiller steering and single shaft drive diesel engine. She is a fabulous work horse and is mainly used as a supervision boat on the dinghy sailing courses. We also use Salute on Powerboat courses if the student wants to experience a shaft drive boat.
RIBs
We have a 4.4m Porters RIB with wheel steering and a 40HP Mariner outboard. This boat is used for Powerboat courses and also as a safety boat for our dinghy sailing courses. Our smaller RIB has a tiller steered outboard and is primarily used during dinghy sailing courses as a safety boat, however we sometimes use her on Powerboat courses if the student wants to experience a tiller steered outboard.
Sailing dinghies
Optimist Topper Wanderer
We use three types of sailing dinghy on our courses; Optimists, Toppers and Wanderer. The Optimist and Topper dinghies are single-handed dinghies whilst the Wanderer allows students to try sailing a 2 person boat.
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