The week will be broken into short passages and skills and drills.

You will learn essential boat handling skills, how to steer and trim the sails and how to manage safety and seamanship on board. 

By the end of the week, you will be a confident crew member ready to join a crew on a short passage.

Course content

• Knowledge of sea terms, parts of the boat, etc
• Sail handling (bend on, set, reef, trim, flake)
• The use of winches, clutches, and halyards 
• Ropework (coiling, stowing, use of cleats, knots)
• The points of sailing, upwind and tacking, downwind and gybing
• The five essentials of sailing, helming, and trimming on all points
• Steering to a compass under power and sail. 
• Crew duties during mooring, berthing, and anchoring. 
• Personal safety, man overboard, and other emergency situations. 
• Rules of the road, basic meteorology, and chart-work
• Night sailing exercise. 

Locations and sailing conditions

You will sail around Sydney Harbour, and sometimes north to Pittwater or south to Port Hacking. We plan the itinerary on the first day to take the best advantage of the weather.

The sailing conditions are generally excellent alternating between warm 'Nor-easter' sea breezes and cool, fresh Southerlies. 

During July and August, we run a number of courses in the Whitsunday Islands.

The scenery and anchorages are magnificent and the weather is superb with tropical trade wind sailing the order of the day.

You can expect to see dolphins, whales and of course Flying Fish!

The yacht and the instructor 

Our experienced, RYA-qualified, yachting instructor will guide you and your fellow crew members through the course in a friendly and relaxed manner.

You sail on board one of our Beneteau 40.7 cruiser-racer yachts with your fellow students and take part in all aspects of running the boat. 

The group is limited to five students to ensure you get maximum hands-on experience. 

Private course - great fun, great value 

Arrange your own group of up to 5 people, and pay for 4 places. 

This is a great thing to do with a group of family or friends, and kids are welcome too.

If you are interested in a private course contact us using the enquiry button at the top of the page. 

Due to Covid 19 restrictions our RYA practical courses are currently non live-aboard. But please contact us if you would like to stay on board in the marina for your course.

• Tuition, logbook, pre-course reading.
• Life-jackets and safety harnesses are provided and we can loan you wet weather clothing if required.
• All vessels have an enclosed bathroom on board.
• Please bring your own lunch and snacks.
• We provide tea and coffee and pizza takeaway before the night training exercise. 

Qualifications and experience

• 150 sea miles logged
• RYA Competent Crew

• No prior experience is needed.
• This course is suitable for newcomers to sailing.

• Once you have completed the Competent Crew course you are ready to start taking control and learning the role of the Day Skipper. 
• Join Day Skipper Shore-based, for all the underlying theory knowledge you will need as a Day Skipper. Then go on to the Day Skipper Practical course. 
• If you don't have time for the full shore-based theory course complete the Essential Navigation and Seamanship self-paced online course, and then go on to Day Skipper Practical.
• Once you have your RYA Day Skipper you are ready to charter your own yacht.