How do I become a member of BSI Seiling?
You can find more information about how to become a member here. This is also where you pay the membership fee.
What does it cost to join?
See our membership fees here.
Who can join?
Both students and non-students are welcome to join BSI Seiling. We welcome sailors at all levels.
Can I join the club at any time of the year?
If you are an inexperienced sailor you will have to join the club by participating in one of the two annually beginner courses. These courses are usually fully subscribed, so if you miss the deadline to sign up, unfortunately you will have to wait for the next one. Experienced sailors can join at any time.
When is the beginners’ course?
The beginners’ course is held at the beginning of each semester, usually in late August for the autumn term, and in March for the spring term. Please see our membership page for details and follow our Facebook page for announcements.
What is the fee of the beginners’ course?
The beginners’ course is free for all members, but it requires that you have payed the membership fee.
What do I learn at the beginners’ course?
The beginners’ course is an introduction to what sailing is all about. It consists of two hours of theory in a classroom where you learn the terms used in sailing and get an introduction to the basic principles of sailing (this part is mandatory to attend). It further consists of 2 x 2.5 hours practice on the fjord – because it’s out on the fjord you really learn how to sail. Learning by doing. In these practical sessions you will be with a skipper from the club and four other beginners.
Where do I find the slides from the beginner’s course?
You can download the slides from the beginners course here: Club info and Sailing Course.
Where are the boats located? How do I get to the harbour?
Our boats are at Merkur harbour (see map) at Laksevåg, just 5-6 minutes from the city center with bus 6, or bus 20 from Nesttun and Haukeland Hospital, get off at the stop Damsgård hovedgård. There are also several other buses you can take and walk from the Gyldenpris bus stop. Go to skyss.no to see the best travel option for you.
On the map below you’ll find the spots of our boats: the top two are used by Bella and Juli, and the bottom one by Schmelnick. We usually meet at the benches in front of the harbour.
Do I need to bring my own life jacket?
No, we have life jackets.
How do I get out on the fjord (after the beginners’ course)?
If you want to go sailing you can check in the sailing calendar which sailings are coming up. In the calendar, you can register for a sailing as long as it has spaces available (note that you need to be logged in for this). You will receive an automatic email confirmation, which has a link in it to deregister for the sailing in case you need to. Please try not to deregister for sailings at short notice as it often means that others miss out on the chance to sail.
If you have questions about a sailing, are running late, or have to cancel your space with less than two hours to go until the sailing, you should contact the skipper directly. You can find contact information for all the skippers here.
Right after the beginners’ course and during periods of good weather the calendar might fill up fast, so if you are keen to sail you need to check the calendar regularly and also keep an eye on the private Members’ facebook group for last minute spots. It is the skipper’s decision how many people he or she takes on the sailing, and whether to cancel in case of weather changes. Note that most sailings begin at 17.00 during the semester.
How often can I go sailing?
It depends on the time of year, how many active skippers we have, and your flexibility. During periods of high demand (mainly this is right after the beginner course) we have a rule which states that you can only sign up for one sailing at a time. After the sailing is complete, you can go back to the sailing calendar and register for another. This is to ensure that everyone gets a fair chance to go sailing – not just the first few people to spot the calendar. This should mean you can sail about once a week on average, if you are available on various evenings.
How should I dress for sailing?
It is often colder on the fjord than in the city center, even when the weather is nice. Therefore, it is a good idea to wear warm clothes. It is better to take off a jumper if you get too hot than be freezing during the whole trip. In summer time is it often enough with a warm sweater and windproof outerwear, but spring and autumn are often cold. A good rule is to have woollen underwear, then a layer of insulating clothing (e.g. fleece) and outer waterproof and windproof jacket and trousers. Rubber boots are often a good idea, as well as woollen socks, a hat, scarf and gloves. In the summer, also bring a bottle of water, suncream and sunglasses (maybe a swimsuit!)
What’s the weather on the fjord like?
You can check the current weather at Yr.no by searching for “Byfjorden” and choosing the weather station near Askøy. Or check the current weather report below:
How do I become a skipper in BSI Seiling?
You will need to sign up as regular member first. When you have become comfortable with our boats, you can contact the skipper manager. He or she will schedule a “checkout” with an experienced skipper, to prove that you are ready to be a skipper. Read more about responsibilities and advantages of being a skipper here.
Opportunities and duties as a skipper:
As a skipper we will put you on our sailing schedule 1-2 times per month. During the bi-annual beginners course, you are expected to participate as an instructor. In return, you can book our boats anytime for short sails, day trips or longer trips as long as your crew consists of BSI Seiling members. The skippers can also take boats on private sailings. The club currently funds the Norwegian boat licence (Båtførerprøven) and VHF license for active skippers who want to skipper on the Albin Delta, Bella (this is subject to club funds year-to-year).
How to become a skipper:
To become a skipper you need first to be a regular member and sail on our boats to be familiar with them. You should take the initiative to learn everything you need to know, using the checkout list (linked below) as a guide. Actively look for opportunities to learn by talking to the skipper when you are on member sailing and arranging opportunities with them to practice manoeuvres. The best way to get ready to become a skipper is to sail as much as possible, and get experience handling the boats and being the helms-person. This can take some time. You will need to practice using the outboard engines and docking at Merkur, and it may be beneficial to ask one of the existing skippers to take you for some dedicated docking practice sessions (it’s even better if you find a group of 2-3 trainees to do this together!)
When you are competent at each aspect of the checkout list but still need to keep practicing, you might be authorised by the skipper manager to become a “beta skipper”, which means you are allowed to take the boats out with another “beta skipper” in your crew, or with experienced members as your crew. This level of skipper permission is entirely at the discretion of the skipper manager.
When you think you are approaching readiness to become a skipper you can contact the skipper manager, to organise a check out. During the check out, an experienced skipper will observe your competence at every aspect of preparing the boat, undocking, sailing, manoeuvres and docking, to see how qualified you are. At the end you’ll get feedback, and if you do not pass the checkout first time you’ll be told what you need to improve to be a skipper. You can already have a look at the checkout list.
General requirements and responsibilities:
As a BSI Skipper, you carry the responsibility for the safety of our boats and crew.
In order take care of safety and ensure that sailing is enjoyable for our members, we set certain standards for skippers.
A BSI Seiling skipper needs to be able to:
Know sailing and boat handling basics well.
Dock/un-dock under both engine and sail.
Lead a crew that know absolutely nothing about sailing.
Consider which weather conditions you and the boat can handle with the crew that is at hand.
Respond adequately to any situation arising when and where you choose to sail.
Therefore it is important that you know the boat, yourself, the conditions that can arise in the area where you sail, what to do if problems arise and that you are able to communicate well with the crew and run the boat by use of the crew.