Coaching Team

Avalon Sailing Club has been very fortunate to secure the services of one of Sydney's most experienced and respected Senior Instructors & Coach Kingsley Forbes-Smith. Kingsley's long asscoation with Avalon Sailing Club goes back more than ten years. Kingsley leads a small team of young coaches who all learnt to sail at Avalon and therefore know the program, the club and sailing conditions in great detail.

Kingsley says: "Sailing is a sport where there is no limit on knowledge. I believe that to enjoy sailing is just as (possibly more) important, than winning races. However winning can certainly help the enjoyment."

Kingsley has been actively coaching for 40 years. He is a Senior Instructor with Australian Sailing, (approx 20 years) accredited Coach & Instructor in Dinghy, Powerboat & Yachts. He first started coaching at age 10, helping with the learn to sail program at Manly and was first accredited as a Sailing Master with the Australian Yachting Federation (AYF) in 1977. 

Along with being Club Captain at Avalon Sailing Club between 2009 & 2011, he was Manly Junior NSW President for 3 years. During that period, for around 5 years, he was often in charge of racing on Pittwater, as Race Officer, running up to 7 fleets with 3 races each for over 150+ finishes per afternoon.

He has been an Australian level Umpire for on water rules at team and match racing for 5 years, and as an off water, protest committee judge & chair.

He has been actively involved, and participating in, on water safety roles for hundreds of events including huge 400+ fleets like Sail Sydney.

Kingsley has sailed in, and coached, most of the dinghies (centreboards) sailed by clubs in Australia. He also has extensive experience on many types of Yacht & Catarmaran. 

Kingsley has developed the online Sailing Simulator 2Sail.net which he uses as part of his coaching program.

More detail of Kingsley's experience can be found here.