RYA Competent Crew

During our RYA Competent Crew sailing course in the Solent, your instructor will teach you all the basics of sailing a cruising yacht. Rope clutches - Sailing courses in the Solent - Broad Reach Sailing HampshireBy the end of the Competent Crew course you will have covered around 100 nautical miles and 4 night sailing hours. You will also have gained the confidence and knowledge to make you a useful crew member on any yacht. You don't need any previous sailing experience to complete this course.

The RYA Competent Crew sailing course is 5 days long. It can be completed as a 5 day course, or a combination of a 2 day module and a 3 day module, depending on your requirements and your availability.

For the duration of the course you will be living on board the yacht and normally staying in a different location each night. All marinas have very good facilities (showers etc). Likely destinations are Cowes, Lymington in the Solent, Hampshire, Hamble, Poole in Dorset, Southampton, Yarmouth in Norfolk, Chichester and lots more.

You will experience living on board the yacht and really get to know it, as virtually the whole course is hands-on. You are the crew - without you the sails won't go up and the boat won't go anywhere. By the end of this sailing course you should be able to steer, handle sails, keep a lookout and assist in all the day to day duties on board a yacht. You should also have visited some interesting places and had an enjoyable holiday.

During the Competent Crew course you will cover

•Knowledge of sea and sailing terms and parts of the boat, i.e. her rigging and sails

•Sail handling (hoisting, lowering and trimming)

•Ropework (knots and rope uses)

•Safety on board, including personal safety equipment

•Man overboard drills

•Use of emergency equipment

•Rules of the road

•Sailing etiquette

•Weather

•Helmsmanship and sailing

•General crew duties

What's included in the course

•All meals, snacks & drinks on board

•Use of foul weather gear

•Berthing fees

•Accomodation on board including comfy pillows

Our RYA Competent Crew sailing courses are all inclusive, so there are no extra charges for marina fees, fuel, food or accomodation! All meals are included and the food is good and varied with menus catering for most tastes and special dietery requirements. Good quality Musto foul weather gear is provided free off charge to ensure you stay warm and dry.

On board you will find our training vessel "Aurora" fully equipped and extremely comfortable, pillows and pillow cases are provided. All you need to bring is a sleeping bag.

We visit various marinas in and around the Solent, which is in Hampshire and we also go further afield. In the marina we visit you will find first-class washing and showering facilities, most have free WiFi too. During a 5 day sailing course we may spend an evening at anchor