Yachting

RYA Competent Crew

We are proud to offer a 5-day course as well as a combined 3-day and 2-day Competent Crew course. Please note that the 3-day Competent Crew course specifies that you will need to have completed the 2-day course first in order to book and take part in the 3-day course. 

The 2-day course is an introduction to yacht sailing. You will learn skills like hoisting, sailing and helming a yacht. These two days are day sailing from the Town Quay in Southampton, which means you will return to Southampton each night. 

The 3-day course is where you will take the skills you have learnt from the 2-day competent crew course and put them into practice on a sailing adventure, where you will spend two evenings in different ports around the Solent. 

The 5-day course is for beginners and those who would like to become active crew members rather than just passengers.  You will experience living on board and really get to know the boat.  Virtually all of the course is hands on.  You are the crew- without you the sails won't go up and the boat won't be steered.

By the end of this course you should be able to steer, handle sails, keep a lookout, row a dinghy and assist in all the day to day duties on board. You should also have visited some interesting places and had an enjoyable holiday.  If you are not sure about attending a full 5 day course, you may choose to opt for the 2 day Start Yachting Course and then attend a three day conversion course to convert the Start Yachting course to the Competent Crew course.  Conversion courses are run on a demand basis.

 

Dates (2023)	Courses
21st January - 22nd January	Competent Crew - Part 1 (2 Days)
28th January - 30th January	Competent Crew - Part 2 (3 Days)
11th February - 12th February	Competent Crew - Part 1 (2 Days)
18th February - 20th February	Competent Crew - Part 2 (3 Days)
11th March - 13th March	Competent Crew - Part 2 (3 Days)
8th April - 9th April	Competent Crew - Part 1 (2 Days)
29th April - 1st May	Competent Crew - Part 2 (3 Days)
8th May - 12th May	Competent Crew (5 Days)
20th May - 21st May	Competent Crew - Part 1 (2 Days)
27th May - 29th May	Competent Crew - Part 2 (3 Days)
3rd June - 4th June	Competent Crew - Part 1 (2 Days)
10th June - 12th June	Competent Crew - Part 2 (3 Days)
19th June - 23rd June	Competent Crew (5 Days)
8th July - 9th July	Competent Crew - Part 1 (2 Days)
15th July - 17th July	Competent Crew - Part 2 (3 Days)
24th July - 28th July	Competent Crew (5 Days)
7th August - 11th August	Competent Crew (5 Days)
19th August - 20th August	Competent Crew - Part 1 (2 Days)
26th August - 28th August	Competent Crew - Part 2 (3 Days)
4th September - 8th September	Competent Crew (5 Days)
16th September - 17th September	Competent Crew - Part 1 (2 Days)
23rd September - 25th September	Competent Crew - Part 2 (3 Days)
30th September - 1st October	Competent Crew - Part 1 (2 Days)
7th October - 9th October	Competent Crew - Part 2 (3 Days)
28th October - 29th October	Competent Crew - Part 1 (2 Days)
4th November - 6th November	Competent Crew - Part 2 (3 Days)
25th November - 26th November	Competent Crew - Part 1 (2 Days)
2nd December - 4th December	Competent Crew - Part 2 (3 Days)

 

Cost

Membership Type	Competent Crew (5 Days)	Competent Crew - Part 1 (2 Days)	Competent Crew - Part 2 (3 Days)
Southampton Sport Member	£330	£132	£198
Mayflower Member, Sports Pass and Non-Member	£600	£240	£360

Included in the course fee:

• Certificates upon successful completion
• Cruising Scheme Logbook for Competent Crew and Day Skipper Courses - available for purchase for other courses.
• Use of lifejackets and lifelines
• Morning breakfasts, snack lunches and tea/coffee/soft drinks
• Two evening meal on board (5 day courses)/One evening meal onboard (3 Day Courses)
• Boat fuel

Not included in the course fee:

• Other evening meals 
• Mooring fees for berths other than Southampton Town Quay Marina
• To book click on the link below to access our online booking system

RYA Day Skipper

We also offer a 5-day course as well as a combined 3-day and 2-day Day Skipper course. 

The 2-day Day Skipper course is an introduction to skippering on yachts. You will learn skills like sailing onto mooring buoys and parking the yacht in the marina. These two days are day sailing from the Town Quay in Southampton, which means you will return to Southampton each night. 

The 3-day course is where you will take the skills you have learnt on from the Day Skipper Theory course, and put them into practice on a sailing adventure. You will be completing a passage plan with things like 'course to steer' and tidal stream calculations. You also do a pilotage into a new port using bearings, leading lights and tidal height calculations. You will spend two evenings in different ports around the Solent.

The 5-day course is for aspiring skippers with some yachting experience and basic navigation and sailing skills.

Learn to skipper a short passage with the instructor on hand to give advice and encouragement and ensure your safety. Experience being in charge, taking credit when it all goes well and being responsible when it doesn't.

Before this course, if you are not sure that your sailing is up to speed, a good way to learn is on an RYA Level 2 dinghy course. This will teach you to sail around a course and control the boat's speed.

If it's help with navigation that you need, you should take our Day Skipper shore based course.  Expected pre-course experience to attend this course is 5 days sailing, 100 miles, 4 nights on board a sailing yacht.  Theory to the level of Day Skipper shore based is assumed and it is recommended that you attend the Day Skipper Shore based course before attending this course.

Dates (2023)	Courses
21st January - 22nd January	Dayskipper - Part 1 (2 Days)
28th January - 30th January	Dayskipper - Part 2 (3 Days)
11th February - 12th February	Dayskipper - Part 1 (2 Days)
18th February - 20th February	Dayskipper - Part 2 (3 Days)
11th March - 13th March	Dayskipper - Part 2 (3 Days)
8th April - 9th April	Dayskipper - Part 1 (2 Days)
29th April - 1st May	Dayskipper - Part 2 (3 Days)
8th May - 12th May	Dayskipper (5 Days)
20th May - 21st May	Dayskipper - Part 1 (2 Days)
27th May - 29th May	Dayskipper - Part 2 (3 Days)
3rd June - 4th June	Dayskipper - Part 1 (2 Days)
10th June - 12th June	Dayskipper - Part 2 (3 Days)
19th June - 23rd	Dayskipper (5 Days)
8th July - 9th July	Dayskipper - Part 1 (2 Days)
15th July - 17th	Dayskipper - Part 2 (3 Days)
24th July - 28th July	Dayskipper (5 Days)
7th August - 11th August	Dayskipper (5 Days)
19th August - 20th August	Dayskipper - Part 1 (2 Days)
26th August - 28th August	Dayskipper - Part 2 (3 Days)
4th September - 8th September	Dayskipper (5 Days)
16th September - 17th September	Dayskipper - Part 1 (2 Days)
23rd September - 25th September	Dayskipper - Part 2 (3 Days)
30th September - 1st October	Dayskipper - Part 1 (2 Days)
7th October - 9th October	Dayskipper - Part 2 (3 Days)
28th October - 29th October	Dayskipper - Part 1 (2 Days)
4th November - 6th November	Dayskipper - Part 2 (3 Days)
25th November - 26th November	Dayskipper - Part 1 (2 Days)
2nd December - 4th December	Dayskipper - Part 2 (3 Days)

RYA Coastal Skipper

A course for those with considerable knowledge of sailing and navigation wanting to undertake coastal passages by day and night. Each trainee will skipper more challenging passages under the guidance of the instructor.

Prerequisites:

Days at Sea: 15

Miles: 300

Night Hours: 8

Days as Skipper: 2 

RYA Coastal Skipper Theory Certificate

Date (2023)	Courses
17th April - 21st April	Coastal Skipper (5 Days)
16th October - 20th October	Coastal Skipper (5 Days)

 

Membership Type	Price
Southampton Sport Member	£330
Mayflower Member, Sports Pass, Non-Member	£600

Skippered Charter:

Skippered charters available for family/friends, special occasions, corporate team building onboard our yacht for up to 8 clients plus skipper for day sailing. Our skippers have in-depth knowledge of the Solent and beyond so depending on your needs, they know where to go!  

We can offer a day of sailing in the Solent area. We set sail from Town Quay in Southampton. We will hoist the sails near to Mayflower part and start to sail up Southampton Water towards Calshot Spit. Some crews like to have a picnic lunch on the yacht at anchor. Depending on the weather, the skipper will suggest the best location for an anchorage. Often, we use Osbourne Bay what is over looked by Queen Victoria’s Osbourne house.

An alternative to lunch at anchor would be mooring up at West Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Mooring fees are not included in the charter and will be approximately £30 for a short term stay.  Once in West Cowes you are welcome to eat in a restaurant of your choosing.

In the afternoon we will once again set sail across the Central Solent, back into Southampton Water and north to Town Quay to finish your charter at 16:30.

 

Membership Type	Price per day 9:30-16:30
Southampton Sport Member	£260
Mayflower Member, Sports Pass, Non-Member	£460