“Cobnor Activities Centre was established in 1979 and continues to offer a range of courses to give young people in the local area the opportunity to experience challenging outdoor activities, both water and land based,” explains Mark Murray-Brown, Centre Manager. “But we are receiving an increasing number of enquiries from businesses and organisations in the South of England looking to offer their staff ‘something different’ in the way of team-building, with an ever-diminishing budget. We realise that we are perfectly positioned to meet this increase in demand and we are able to offer a tailor-made day in an idyllic setting. Cobnor can offer groups, ranging from 8 to 100 people, a team-building experience that is affordable and fun as well as achieving the desired purpose of getting teams to work more effectively together.”

Companies and organisations work with the instructors at Cobnor to plan their bespoke day around a variety of activities, which could include: sailing, canoeing, kayaking, climbing, mountain biking, archery, low ropes, orienteering and raft building. There is also optional on-site catering and a residential block. Cobnor is served by good road and rail links to London, Surrey, Hampshire and Sussex.

After attending a corporate activities day last year, Vanessa Aquilina, a teacher from Bosham Primary School, said: “We had a fantastic corporate day at Cobnor. What a wonderful programme you put together for us! It was extremely well organised, and the lunch on the beach was superb. What a great way to spend a day … and team build with your colleagues at the same time.”

Should you wish to find out more about our team-building activities or make a booking, please call us on: 01243 572791 or email: sail@cobnor.com.

We’re offering all those who made bookings on last year’s Summer Holiday Youth Weeks the opportunity to book on one of our 2012 Summer Holiday Youth Weeks with a discount of £25 per child.

This offer is open to all those who attended 14-16 Expedition Camps, Residential Sailing Camps, Multi-Activity Camps and Summer Camps in 2011. But it is only for those who book before 30^th March 2012.

And there’s more! If your child would like to introduce a friend to join them on this year’s camp, the friend will be entitled to the special offer price too, when also booking before 30^th March 2012.

Our 2012 Programme, with the dates for this year clearly marked in a calendar grid at the back, can be viewed here. Once you’ve selected the date that best suits your family, just give us a call on: 01243 572791 or email: sail@cobnor.com, and we will reserve your place(s) at the reduced price.

We very much look forward to hearing from you and hope that we’ll be able to welcome your child/children back to Cobnor again this year!

Sport England’s Chairman, Richard Lewis, handed over the cheque to Centre Manager Mark Murray-Brown (pictured left) who is going to put the fund towards a new safety boat.

In an interview with the Chichester Observer Mark said: “The funding was much needed.

“We have a wide range of young people at the centre and we are upgrading the facilities for them. This includes showers and toilets.

“Hopefully the work will be completed by Easter. We haven’t got quite enough safety cover to do all the range of boat activities so we are getting a five-and-a-half metre RIB.”

Cobnor Activities Centre was just one of 71 sports groups in the South East to benefit from the £135m Places People Play National Lottery-funded legacy programme to make the Olympics part of our local communities this year.

Mr Murray-Brown said: “We are looking forward to the Olympics.

“There are some positive schemes which include a day in July where everyone is encouraged to go afloat.

“We have a programme to involve adults with sailing and we will be starting up a range of programmes from Easter for mountain biking, climbing, canoeing and sailing.”

Sport England’s chairman Richard Lewis said: “For hundreds of clubs and tens of thousands of people, 2012 will be the year their local sports facilities got better.

“We’ve had unprecedented demand for this fund, which has really hit the mark with sports clubs in the southeast. It shows we’re offering the sporting legacy that people want.”

We’re really looking forward to the improvements and the arrival of the new powerboat, which will give a boost to our safety boat fleet and make learning to sail at Cobnor an even better experience.

The boat rides with Father Christmas and the Cobnor Elves on the Cobnor Chairboat proved very popular. Twells’ Traditional sausages, Kate’s homemade soup and Gill’s homemade cakes were a hit too!

Special thanks go out to all of the volunteers (otherwise known as the Cobnor Elves) who gave up their time on Friday evening to get the place looking festive and thanks also to those who came along on Saturday to lend a hand and make sure everything, from parking to refreshments, ran smoothly. You’re all Christmas stars and it couldn’t have happened without you!

We would also like to thank Andrew Bailey and his fellow poets who kept us entertained as well as all those kind people who donated prizes for our raffle, including a fantastic croquet set from www.etoyszone.co.uk, an aromatherapy massage voucher from Lesley Brown Clinical Aromatherapy and a gorgeous giant cupcake from Anne Burns.

And, of course, thanks to all the customers who came along and bought their Christmas gifts and joined in the festive fun. Your support helped us to raise over £600 which will go towards new outdoor activities equipment, helping Cobnor Activities Centre continue with its aims to help educate young people, to develop their physical, mental and spiritual capacities so that they may grow to full maturity as individuals and members of society and that their conditions of life may be improved.

The Cobnor Friends, Centre Manager Mark Murray-Brown and Centre Chairman Quintin Macmorland were delighted with the results and have requested that this becomes a regular festive event. We’re hoping that next year Cobnor’s Christmas event will be even bigger and better and we hope to see you there!

Chichester Creative Network presents Christmas Arts & Crafts at Cobnor on Saturday 10th December, 10.00 am to 5.00 pm and there will be Christmas Creativity and Festive Fun for all the Family, including:

• Local Arts & Crafts from: The Apuldram Centre Crafts, DillyWorm Crafts, Versartile, Buttons & Bows, Emma’s Interiors, Retro Rascal & more
• Chichester Harbour boat rides with the Cobnor Elves
• Acoustic Christmas tunes from the Cobnor Carollers
• Seasonal readings from a trio of local poets
• Readings & book signings from children’s author Penelope Bush (Alice in Time & Diary of a Lottery Winner’s Daughter)
• Hand, Foot & Shoulder Massages with Lesley Brown Clinical Aromatherapy
• Sizzling sausages, warming homemade soup, mulled wine & mince pies from the Cobnor Friends

This event is organised by Katy Lassetter on behalf of Chichester Creative Network to encourage and celebrate local creativity. The event will also to help raise money for the Cobnor Friends who will be selling homemade refreshments that will warm your cockles and dusting off their song sheets to entertain you with Christmas carols. We’ll also be holding a raffle and the kind people from www.etoyszone.co.uk and Lesley Brown Clinical Aromatherapy are donating prizes. We hope to see you all there, supporting the community.

What’s more we’re running a competition on Spirit FM all next week and giving away a place on one of our week-long Summer Camps worth £330!

The Camps run across two weeks in the Summer Holidays and are for 8 to 13 year olds who wish to experience time away under canvas with the opportunity to try a range of activities including: sailing, canoeing, archery, climbing, raft building and orienteering on the South Downs. More details and dates can be found in our 2012 programme which is available to download here.

The lucky winner will be presented with their prize at the Christmas Arts & Crafts Fair so this really is going to be quite an occasion!

Surely you won’t pass up the opportunity to have a special seasonal trip on the Cobnor Chairboat with Centre manager Mark dressed as Father Christmas and all of your favourite outdoor activities instructors dressed as elves, will you? See you on 10^th December and remember to bring some pennies, it’s for a great cause.

Please email this flyer to your friends and family here: Xmas Craft Fair Flyer- download

Sophie Hempsell is just 13 years old and is already ranked as one of the top 40 Optimist sailors in the UK. She has been sailing since she was seven and her ambition is to compete internationally as part of the British sailing squad for the 2020 Olympics. This dream may now come to fruition thanks to The Bosham Sailing Club Youth Sailing Fund, who has awarded the keen sailor £500.

The majority of Sophie’s weekends are spent travelling to compete at events, such as the Optimist National Championships in Wales, and the young sailor’s commitment is testament to her enthusiasm.

The Bosham fund is set up to help Bosham Sailing Club cadets aged less than 25 years old who wish to proceed and improve their sailing experience. So far, the fund, which relies on donations and fundraising from the sailing club’s members, has assisted young sailors taking part in competitions like the Mirror World Championship and the 420 Ladies World Championships.

John Hinton, a Bosham Sailing Club Youth Sailing Fund trustee, told the Chichester Observer: “Sophie has dedicated an incredible amount of time and effort to achieve these already high standards of sailing. We’re proud to help her on her way.”

Here’s hoping that some of Cobnor Activities Centre’s future sailing students make it to the 2020 Olympics too!

Christmas is just around the corner and the Cobnor team, like you, plan ahead for the coming year so that we know what’s what. Now, you’ll find our new Course Programme online so whether you’re looking to brush up on your sailing skills or your New Year’s resolution will be to get outdoors more, take a look at our new brochure and see what tickles your fancy. Here are some of the highlights from the 2012 Course Programme to whet your appetite:

Holiday Activities

Throughout the Summer Holidays Cobnor Activities Centre offers a range of camps and activity weeks: Summer Camps, Expedition Camps, Residential Sailing Weeks and Multi-Activity Weeks. These fully supervised programmes are designed to help further the outdoor education and outdoor activity skills of children aged 8-16 years.

Children will not only get to enjoy their favourite activities, from canoeing and sailing to archery and mountain biking, but will also benefit from the expertise of our qualified instructors. They will have the opportunity to try new things and meet new people, away from home in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Our Expedition Camps, for 14-16 year olds, also include spending nights away from the Centre’s base and taking part in activities further afield. This encourages independence as well as focussed learning about the outdoors.

We are also offering Multi-Activity day programmes over the Easter Holidays and October Half Term.

Sailing

We offer a variety of sailing courses for you and your children, from the Youth Sailing Scheme to the Adult Sailing Scheme. Whether you are beginners or improvers, our qualified and experienced instructors will certainly maximise your confidence on the water and improve your sailing skills.

As a RYA recognised sailing centre, with a full fleet including Laser Picos, RS Fevas and Bosun Dinghies, we’ll make sure you gain experience in varying wind and sea conditions, as well as knowledge of the boats and your surroundings.

Paddlesports

Paddlesports offered at Cobnor Activities Centre include canoeing and kayaking. Our paddlesport fleet includes something for everyone, regardless of ability or level: open canoes, kayaks, sit-on kayaks and sea kayaks.

We now run informal sessions on a series of evenings and weekends with the option to complete your way through the Paddle Power or National Paddlesport Scheme.

Powerboating

Would you like to get behind the wheel of a powerboat and learn a new skill? Cobnor offers RYA Powerboat Level 2 for those aged 14 years onwards, a course which provides the skills and background knowledge essential for any competent powerboat driver.

We also offer the RYA Safety Boat Course, which introduces the techniques used in powerboats escorting racing fleets of dinghies and windsurfers, providing safety and rescue cover for training fleets and assisting in race management for those aged 16 and over.

VHF and First Aid

Cobnor Activities Centre offers RYA First Aid Certificates and RYA VHF Short Range Certificates, meaning you can gain working knowledge of first aid for people using small craft, support skippers and learn the procedures for operation of VHF short-range radio.

Saturday Sessions

New to Cobnor for 2012 are Saturday Sessions. These include our popular Informal Kayaking on a Saturday morning and an additional bi-weekly Informal Sailing session, designed to give you the opportunity to progress your skills, without the pressure and structure of a certificated course.

Why don’t you come along to try a new activity? Come once, or come along every week, to really brush up on your skills. As well as the Informal Sessions we are running a Saturday Afternoon Club for under 16s, which will run for 6 weeks and include multi-activities such as: sailing, kayaking, canoeing, mountain biking, climbing, archery and raft building.

Instructor Courses

Cobnor Activities Centre has all you need to become an RYA sailing instructor, a BCU paddlesport coach or a British Schools Cycling Association Mountain Bike Leader. A career in the outdoors is not only a lot of fun but it’s also extremely challenging and rewarding.

You should be competent in the discipline you are training for before you sign up for a course and once there you will be provided with practical experience as well as in-depth theory to allow you to succeed as an activity instructor at Cobnor and beyond.

Bespoke Bookings

Our bespoke bookings are designed to meet your exact outdoor activity requirements. We can offer bookings to school groups, community groups, corporate groups, birthday party groups, Hen and Stag groups and many others too. It really is up to you!

We can put together a package comprising any of the following activities:

• Sailing

• Kayaking

• Canoeing

• Climbing

• Mountain Biking

• Archery

• Low Ropes

• Problem Solving and Initiative Games

• Raft Building

Whether you want fun-packed team building or group chill-out time, contact us with your requirements or let us know the gist and we’ll put together the perfect activities schedule. You can stay in our newly refurbished accommodation over night or join us for the day, you can choose to self-cater or we’ll provide food for you; the beauty is in the flexibility!

Residential Facilities

Our residential facilities are ideal as a base as we are easily accessible from many areas along the South Coast, including Chichester and Portsmouth.

There are three residential options for you to choose from: Log Cabins, The Jubilee Building and Camping. Any of our residential facilities can be combined with a Bespoke Booking or rented as standalone accommodation.

We also have excellent educational and meeting room facilities, including two classrooms with full IT access and support.

Cobnor Chairboat

The Cobnor Chairboat is specially designed for wheelchair users and others with limited mobility so that getting out and about on the water is accessible to all, but it has much more than this to offer…

Our Chairboat offers a comfortable ride, no matter what your age or ability. It is ideal for those interested in nature and photography. It would even make the perfect vessel for a special occasion, such as showing off the bride and groom on their big day.

The boat is wide and stable as well as being closer to the water than traditional tour boats, allowing passengers to make the most of this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

You can download the full 2012 Course Programme here. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Quintin has been involved with Cobnor Activities Centre for some years now after his introduction in the late 1980s while he was sailing secretary and then Vice Commodore of Crawley Mariners Yacht Club. Through Crawley Mariners he went on a Dinghy Sailing Instructor course run by West Sussex Schools Association in 1990.

In 1993 Quintin moved to Prinsted from South London and volunteered to work at Cobnor Activities Centre, gaining his Senior Sailing Instructor qualification the following year at Southampton Water Sports Centre. Next, Quintin gained his Powerboat Instructor qualification at Cobnor Activities Centre. Here, he set up the first Topper Club, which welcomed some young students, such as Ben Murray-Brown and Tom Wilson, who went on to become valuable members of staff.

Advanced and Race endorsements were gained by Quintin in 2002 after he worked at Portsmouth Water Sports Centre. He also ran Western Area Youth Week courses from the Bourne Youth Wing where students included Dan Jaspers and Tasha Lawrence, who also went on to join us at Cobnor.

Quintin became a Mountain Bike Leader and an Archery Leader last year, making him even more valuable to the Centre. Quintin has recently become a Chichester Bowman so that he can improve his skills and pass these on to Cobnor’s visitors and junior staff during the ongoing Staff Training Programme, which he has helped out with for the last few years.

After he was approached by Stephen Stuart, around 16 years ago, Quintin joined the Friends of Cobnor. Shortly after, Quintin joined the Trustees with Diana Beale as joint Friends/County appointees and remained on the board until taking a short break. Quintin returned as a trustee three years ago and has now, we are pleased to say, been elected Chairman.

Cobnor Activities Centre is delighted to have Quintin onboard as he brings thirty years of business experience to this role along with his love of Cobnor and everything it stands for. Quintin tells us his mission is: “working together for the greater good of Cobnor and all the people associated with it.”

The Old House at Home is a beamed, 17th century pub with a terrace at the front and garden at the rear, situated in rural Chidham.  The pub’s Landlord John has donated 10p from each pint of Chidham Best Bitter (4.2%) sold since September to us.

John and his team decided to make Cobnor Activities Centre the first local community project to benefit from each pint of the locally brewed amber nectar sold. We are pleased to announce that The Old House at Home has helped us to raise a fantastic £91 towards a new engine for one of our safety boats. Our safety boats are integral to the day to day running of the Centre and this donation from our “local” means a lot. Read more about the importance of Cobnor’s Safety Boats here.

We’re a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) accredited sailing school and we use safety boats when providing sailing lessons as standard. Obviously, our professional sailing instructors are there to advise you on technique and can steer the most novice of sailors away from calamity as much as possible. However, we must make provisions to ensure that you gain the best possible experience from your sailing lessons and your safety is always our first thought.

The size of safety boat that accompanies you when sailing depends very much on the size of your sailing fleet, with our 5 metre RIB used for smaller groups and our 7 metre RIB used as safety boat for larger fleets. Our safety boats are there just in case the wind should catch you unawares or if you should stray out of your designated sailing area. The Cobnor safety boat instructors patrols the waters while sailing lessons are in progress and at the first sign that a sailing dinghy and her crew need helps it will be there to provide assistance.

Just take this example, while sailing just off Bosham shoreline during last year’s Cobstock weekend one of our Bosun capsized. One of our safety boat instructors observed the capsize and was there in a matter of seconds to check that the passengers were unharmed. He helped them aboard the power boat and performed a nifty manoeuvre to get the dinghy back afloat so that he could tow her back to Cobnor base. This kind of scenario is part and parcel of sailing instruction and Cobnor Activities Centre is proud to have a team they can rely on.

We’re so confident in our safety boat crew that we provide RYA Powerboat Level 2 courses, instructor courses and safety boat courses. Our 5.5 metre RIBs provide excellent stable platforms for such tuition to take place and our 4 metre Commando is used as an example of a tiller-driven outboard (as opposed to a steering wheel and throttled lever).Our 7 metre craft, Jenny Boon,  is used in powerboat courses to demonstrate wave handling. It’s crucial that those learning to use powerboats get the most experience possible in a range of crafts and weather conditions, preparing them for any eventuality.

You can find out more about our upcoming RYA Powerboat Instructor courses, RYA Powerboat Level 2 courses and RYA Safety Boat courses by checking out our schedule.