Younger Members

The OGA interest section of Younger Members is for any OGA member who is 18-35 years old. As a part of this group there is a dedicated Facebook group where you can find out about the latest OGA events, and connect with peers plus a number of Younger Member exclusive events throughout the year. Just search for ‘OGA Younger Members’ on Facebook.

There is also an active WhatsApp community. If you want to join please contact Georgina at youngermembers@oga.org.uk 

If you have any questions feel free to reach out to the Younger Member Secretary, Georgina Tall

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Younger Members at Rutland Water Small Boat Rally & 2026 Gaffling Championships, 28 Aug - 1 Sept 2026

When: Friday 28 August, 4pm to Tuesday 1st September, 10:30am 

Where: Rutland Water Sailing Club, LE15 8HJ

What: Gathering of small boats plus the current Gaffling fleet. There will be a chance to crew on a number of small boats and to sail the Gafflings during the championship. The Gaffling Championship will be held on the Sunday.

Costs: All costs are set out on the booking website but as an overview:

  • £10 OGA Entry Fee
  • £25 per boat per day Rutland SC membership (only if you bring your own boat)
  • From £7 / night camping fee

The OGA GMC have very kindly aggred for use of the Youth Fund (available to any 18-25 year old) to:

  • Cover a third of each Young Members reasonable travel costs
  • Cover the Rutland SC membership for a Younger Member bringing their own boat.

Georgina will also be coordinating a car share plan to help with travel to and from the event. If you would be interested in accessing the Youth Fund and/or taking advantage of the car share plan (whether as a driver or a passenger), please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/MBXvF29DrERiSYuX9 

To book onto the event and find out more go here: https://oga.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=56097ca5998a80dfdb66c7273&id=ea1af5eab7&e=406e91b83c (Booking closes 17 Aug)

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Thames Barge ‘Blue Mermaid’ Racing Experience, 4-5 September 2026

When: Friday 4 September (0800) to Saturday 5 September (PM)

Where: Brightlingsea, Essex

What: A unique opportunity has been offered by Sea-Change Sailing Trust for the OGA Younger Members to do a takeover of the beautiful Blue Mermaid and take part in the Colne Smack & Barge Match. Blue Mermaid is a unique barge in that she has no engine and her interior has been maintained in the same fashion as the original working barges (think minimalist and back to basics). No racing, barge or sailing experience required!

Following a pick up at 8am in Brightlingsea, Friday will be a day of race training followed by the Colne Smack & Barge Match on the Saturday. There is an optional post-race sailing club dinner on the Saturday evening. You can either choose to depart on Saturday evening or stay an additional night on board and leave on Sunday morning.

Costs: It is £200/ person. Additional costs will include meals which can be done through a group kitty (Friday & Saturday lunch / Friday dinner / Saturday breakfast) and then individual costs for the Saturday sailing club dinner.

The GMC has very kindly agreed that the Youth Fund is available to any eligible Younger Member (up to a max. of £100 per person) for use towards transport to the event or individual event costs.

Register interest here: https://forms.gle/8z6yfj84f55jYBjR6 

Click below to find out more:

Blue Mermaid

SailTies

As of June 2026, the OGA Younger Members are trying out an app called 'SailTies' that acts as a digital logbook of your sailing adventures whilst sharing the trip, photos and logs with your community. We have created an 'OGA' group and an 'OGA Younger Members' group so we can keep up with eachother throughout the year. Whether you are in a small boat or a big boat, going for a small post-work shake out or circumnavigating the UK, everyone is welcome to use it.

Links to join the groups:

OGA Group: https://sailties.net/group/oga-sailing

OGA Younger Members Group: https://sailties.net/group/oga-younger-members

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Useful Links

Below are a selection of links that you may find useful:

Site Page Link Icon OGA Youth Fund
Younger Members who are 16-25 years old are eligible to apply to the Youth Fund.
Site Page Link Icon OGA Crewing Opportunities
The OGA has a crewing portal where crew can advertise availability and skippers can advertise upcoming crewing requirements
Site Page Link Icon Gaffling Rental
The East Coast area has a number of Gafflings (small OGA designed boats) available for rental

OGA Internships

OGA Internships are voluntary roles to help build skills within new areas. The roles are varied and vary in commitment. The advertised roles contain contact details and information on what the role will involve and the level of commitment expected.

Click to Download Internship - Technology Intern [pdf 665KB] Click to Download
There’s quite a lot of code sitting behind the Boat Register and the Members Area. If you’ve already done some coding, we’d love some help. If you haven’t but you’d like to know how things work and see if you like it that’s great.
Click to Download Internship - Boat Register Editor [pdf 666KB] Click to Download
The job of a Boat Register Editor is 50% archivist and 50% Yacht Broker.