“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.

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!

Why not send them to Cobnor Activities Centre for some outdoor activities fun…

As our Summer Camps and Multi-Activity Weeks were a huge success once again this summer we thought we’d offer all of you outdoor activity fans something to get your teeth into this October Half Term. Not only are we introducing Daily Activities Week but we’re also offering a special Seal Watching Trip and Cream Tea. Are you hungry for it?

Daily Activities Week

We’re introducing a Daily Activities Week and this comprises different activities as taster sessions, from sailing to mountain biking, every weekday throughout Half Term. These new Daily Activities will run from Monday 24^th October until Friday 28^th October, 9.30-16.00. The programme is open to 10-16 year olds and each Activity Day is just £38 per person. You can book just one day or all five, the choice is yours.

The programme for the week is as follows:

Monday
AM: Climbing and Archery
PM: Mountain Biking

Tuesday

AM: Low Ropes and Raft Build
PM: Canoeing to Bosham

Wednesday

AM: Mountain biking and Archery
PM: Bosun Sailing

Thursday

AM: Climbing and Raft Building
PM: Sea Kayaking

Friday

AM: Orienteering and Archery
PM: Mountain Biking

Please not that appropriate safety equipment is provided for all activities but you will need to bring sensible footwear and clothing appropriate to conditions.

Seal Watching Trip

Age Range: 8 onwards

Times: Monday 24^th October, 13:00 to 16:00 (approximate return)

Come and join us for the afternoon starting with a delicious cream tea in the surroundings of Chichester Harbour at 13.00 before boarding the Cobnor Chairboat at 14:00 to set sail, in search of our Harbour Seals.  There are currently 23-25 seals living in the Solent and they regularly visit Chichester Harbour, with 18 being the most recorded at any one time. We will visit the areas where they are sighted most and hopefully enjoy some fantastic views of these wonderful creatures. The boat will return to Cobnor at around 16:00.

Please note that spray top and bottoms are available, if required and lifejackets will be provided.

To book a place during our Daily Activities Week or for on the Seal Watching Trip please call: 01243 572791 or email: Sail@Cobnor.com.

Twenty three pupils visited Cobnor Monday to Wednesday. On their first day they did some problem solving, Pico sailing and canoeing. Day two involved a day sail around Chichester Harbour, where the children gained more of an opportunity to focus on their sailing skills.

On the third day 23 more pupils arrived and joined their school mates. All the children enjoyed a fun-packed day of mountain biking skills, climbing, archery and low ropes. At the end of Wednesday the first group of pupils returned home and the second group to arrive stayed at Cobnor for the rest of the week, receiving the same outdoor education as the group that attended Monday and Tuesday.

It seems that the children from Swiss Gardens Primary had a wonderful time at Cobnor Activities Centre this year and they sent us lots of lovely letters to show their appreciation. Here is a small selection for you to see:

Dear Amy, Mike, Paul, Andy, Adam, Ollie, Bryn, Brian, Nick, Jackie, Roy, Beverly and Toby,

Thank you for giving me a fantastic time. It was hilarious when we were on the low ropes and the mountain biking. It was fun at Cobnor; I’ll come again with my family.

Yours Sincerely,

Robbie William Hatcher

Dear Cobnor Instructors,

I’m from Swiss Gardens Primary School and I loved my three enjoyable days at Cobnor. At first I was a bit worried of capsizing and some of the sailing but once I jumped in the water it was actually the best bit. I just wanted to say thank you to Amy, Mike, Paul, Andy, Ollie, Nick and Toby.

Love Claudia

Dear Paul,

Thanks you for our spiffing three days. Thanks for guiding us on the big sail. We sailed through some fierce waves and we almost went vertical! The way back was a little bit calmer at least; we got back quicker. Cobnor has helped me improve my maturity and it’s helped me have fun!

Love from Will xxx

Dear Mike,

Thank you for doing the big sail with me, and thank you for doing some big waves on the normal sail. And thank you for everything else like the low ropes and every other thing. Thank you very much Mike.

Yours Sincerely,

Reece Way-Hooker

Dear Cobnor Instructors,

Thank you very much for making our trip worthwhile.  After the first night we got up at 5.00 am in the morning in my room, we were so excited. If we stuck all of you together you would be a superhero! Saving the world from boredom! I think Cobnor man would look like this (See image below).

Thanks again,

Rosie xxx

P.S. please thank Jackie for the food, it was yum.

Dear Cobnor instructors,

Thank you for showing us how to do things like archery, mountain biking, low ropes, the spider web, human knot, sailing and much more. Thanks for feeding us Jackie.

I would also like to give a special thanks to Nick because our coach was late so he entertained us and played games with us for a whole hour.

Love from Molly

Dear Instructors,

Thank you for inviting us to Cobnor and Jackie I really love the food and I love cottage pie that was lovely. I love doing sailing and you teaching us how to do sailing.

Thank you for the lovely room. The bed was comfy. Thank you for all the activities and I want to stay there forever.

My favourite bit was sailing and rock climbing, low ropes, archery and canoeing.

Yours sincerely

Seran

Dear Andy,

You may not remember me. I was only there for the day. Wednesday was amazing. I’m writing to you because you helped me get to the top of the rock climbing wall. I’ve never got to the top of a rock climbing wall before. I can’t put it in to words how I felt when I looked down from the top.

THANK YOU

From Charlotte

Cobnor’s instructors Tom and Bryn started the session with a series of ice-breaker games, where the students learnt each other’s names and got used to working together. They moved onto team-building and games involving the low ropes and the M8s were awarded points for their involvement, cooperation and completion of tasks.

The students exchanged the points earned from doing outdoor activities for equipment needed to complete their ultimate challenge, recovering Davy Jones’ Locker! There was treasure buried on the bank opposite Cobnor Activities Centre and each member of the team had to memorise a different part of a map in order to locate it.

They worked closely together to carry their equipment from the field to the Cobnor slipway, build their raft and make their way to the opposite bank where they found the treasure chest buried in the mud, which they stowed in their booty bags before swimming back to the slipway.

After packing away and a good hose down the group talked about what they achieved, which included: confidence building, trust, active listening skills, confronting and overcoming fears, recognising strengths and, most importantly, how to have fun.  The M8s also talked about those who inspired them during the day while they cracked open the treasure chest to find a rich bounty of Curly Wurlies!

Just some of the encouraging statements from the M8s about their day at Cobnor Activities Centre include:

“It was one of the best days I’ve ever had”

“I made new friends who understand how I feel and understand about my health”

“It has helped me be more confident in myself”

“I got to be myself and work with other people I didn’t know”

“I feel it has helped me to communicate with people who are quieter than or not as confident as I am.”

“Before today I wouldn’t have gone in the mud but now…”

Find out more about scheduled courses and the other outdoor activities programmes available from Cobnor Activities Centre by calling: 01243 572791.

We wanted to meet new people from the local area who work in all sectors so we sent Barry and Pete along to First Friday, Chichester, at the Ship Hotel. While there they met representatives from local security and design businesses who were interested in Cobnor Activities Centre as a venue for corporate activities days. They also met several individuals who were interested in kayaking, particularly the informal kayaking sessions held on Saturday mornings.

At First Friday the Cobnor boys met some people from The Aldingbourne Trust, who are committed to unlocking potential in people with learning difficulties, something that Cobnor Activities Centre is also passionate about.

Cobnor Activities Centre runs Opportunity Knocks every year, a mostly residential programme for people aged 14-40 with learning difficulties that includes activities such as: sailing, canoeing, rides in our Chairboat, orienteering, low ropes, local walks, fishing, circus skills, face painting, Cobnor Cabaret, art and drama workshops, cooking and a fancy dress disco.

We hope to be seeing more people from The Aldingbourne Trust at Cobnor Activities Centre in the future and we’re looking forward to the next networking event already!

Find out more about our scheduled courses and sessions here and for further details on Opportunity Knocks contact: sail@cobnor.com

Did you know that Cobnor Activities Centre offers multi-activity corporate days and that all new customers who book a corporate day with us in September will receive 10% of their booking until the end of August? Well now you do! Just visit our Google Places page for the 10% discount coupon.

Your corporate day can include any outdoor activities that we offer. Raft building and low ropes are the most popular team-building activities because they rely on trust and team work. But, there is a whole range of activities you can choose from at Cobnor Activities Centre, including any combination of the following, with or without catering:

• Sailing
• Kayaking
• Canoeing
• Power boating
• Raft building
• Low ropes
• Archery
• Climbing
• Abseiling

Just look at how much fun these guys are having:

Want to book a corporate day at Cobnor Activities Centre? Contact us today to find out more about prices and availability.

Kate helped her other half, Pete, to organise the event and they even got her mum stuck in during the week making oodles of yummy cakes to sell. On the day, Kate ran the catering caravan where lucky visitors could buy delicious hand-filled baguettes and scrumptious home-made cakes to their hearts’ desire- and trust me, they did.

Meanwhile, Ben got his big lens out and sorted the day’s photography.  He had a great time snapping kids and their parents who were enjoying the various activities.  The families were able to do as many activities as they liked from archery, climbing and low ropes, to sea kayaking, sailing and boat trips – all for the generous sum of £5!

They were lucky with the weather with the sun shining away for the most part, although it was quite muggy at times and the kids on the water looked relieved by the cool air and ocean spray as they sailed around the harbour.  Ben was one of the lucky ones, getting to go out in a power boat with Pete to take some on-water action shots of the families revelling in water sports fun.  He captured some great images and even managed to snap a couple of newly-weds on a post knot tying cruise-ahhhh.

Kate would have done anything to get out of the stuffy caravan and feel the wind in her hair- the things we do for charity! Well, at least she was close to the ice lollies and the curse of her sweet tooth helped make up that little extra money for the Centre’s pot!

The Family Fun Day takes place each year to raise a bit of cash for the Centre and while local families chill out and take pleasure in all the activities on offer.  This year proved a great money spinner with Kate’s catering caravan pulling in most of the profits and the field games, particularly the coconut shy, pulling in a few pounds too.

Ben’s photos will be used by Cobnor Activities Centre to revamp their website and for future marketing ventures.  They have not used any professional photography to promote themselves so far and we’re sure that this helping hand from Ben will make all the difference. To see more of Ben’s photos keep your eyes peeled on Cobnor Activities Centre’s website.

Kate Lassetter

www.chichesterdesign.co.uk