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BEGINNER

5 DAYS AFLOAT

FROM £1,250

rya COMPETENT CREW

Competent Crew is the RYA’s flagship beginner practical course — and for good reason. In five days living and sailing aboard a cruising yacht on the Solent, you will make the transition from passenger to crew member. You will learn to steer, handle sails, reef, tie essential knots, keep watch, and respond to emergencies. By the end of the course, you will know what you are doing on a yacht.

This is a course built around experience, not the classroom. Assessment is entirely practical, based on how well you perform the skills you have learned over the course of the week.

After completing the course, you will have the knowledge and ability to skipper a yacht safely on a coastal cruise, but not yet ready for longer passages.

Successful students will receive an official RYA certificate.

Course at a Glance

Level

Beginner — no experience required

Duration

5 days (flexible format options available — see below)

Format

Practical, liveaboard on the Solent

Location

Port Hamble Marina, Southampton

Vessel

Beneteau Oceanis 37 or Oceanis 38

Ratio

Maximum 3 students per instructor

Minimum age

Recommended 12+

Certificate

RYA Competent Crew certificate

Course Formats and Pricing

The Competent Crew course totals five days afloat. We offer several formats to suit different schedules. All options run from 09:00 on Day 1 to 17:00 on the final day.

Format

Price

5 consecutive days

£1,250

3 days + 2 days (weekdays)

£1,250

3 days + 2 days (weekends)

£1,350

3 × 2-day weekends (weekdays)

£1,300

3 × 2-day weekends (weekends)

£1,500

Own boat tuition

Contact us

Start Yachting graduates: if you hold an RYA Start Yachting certificate, you may be able to complete the Competent Crew course in 3 to 4 days rather than 5. Contact us to discuss.

Who Is This Course For?

Competent Crew is open to anyone who wants to learn to sail a cruising yacht from scratch. It is equally suitable for complete beginners and those who have some familiarity with the water but have not yet received formal training. If you have done the RYA Start Yachting course, Competent Crew builds directly on that foundation.

The minimum recommended age is 12.

What You Will Learn

The Competent Crew syllabus covers everything needed to be a safe, capable, and useful member of a yacht’s crew. Topics include:

The yacht and her equipment

• Sea terms and parts of the boat: the vocabulary of sailing.
• Standing and running rigging, sails, and how they work together.
• Personal safety equipment: lifejackets, harnesses, tethers, and when to use them.
• Emergency equipment: liferafts, flares, EPIRBs, and fire extinguishers.
• Fire precautions and fire-fighting procedures.

 

Seamanship skills

• Ropework: the knots every crew member needs, coiling, cleating, and working with lines.
• Sail handling: hoisting, trimming, gybing, tacking, reefing, and dropping sails.
• Helmsmanship: steering under sail and under power with confidence.
• Man overboard: recognition, alert, and recovery procedures.
• General deck duties, watchkeeping, and crew responsibilities.

 

Awareness and seamanlike judgement

• Meteorology: reading a weather forecast and understanding what it means for the day’s sailing.
• Seasickness: causes, prevention, and management afloat.
• Rules of the road: basic collision regulations and how they apply in practice.
• Manners afloat: how to behave around other boats, in marinas, and on the water.

Life Aboard

You will live aboard the yacht for the duration of the course, with your own cabin and shared meals with the rest of the crew. This is central to how the course works: the more time you spend on board, the faster the skills become natural. Days are spent sailing; evenings give you the chance to relax, debrief, and get to know the boat on your own terms.

What’s Included

✓ Expert instruction at a maximum ratio of 3 students per instructor
✓ Your own cabin aboard the yacht for the full course
✓ Breakfast, lunch, and snacks on all course days
✓ Fuel and berthing fees
✓ Free parking at Port Hamble Marina
✓ RYA Competent Crew certificate on successful completion

 

Not included

• Transport to and from Port Hamble Marina.
• Dinners. Students are expected to cover the cost of dinner for the group, including the instructor, as is customary on liveaboard courses.
• Alcoholic beverages.
• Personal insurance.

 

A full kit list is sent with your joining instructions. Bedding and foul weather gear can be hired from us at an additional charge if required.

Where Does This Course Lead?

Competent Crew is the first practical step on the RYA sailing ladder. On completing the course, the next step is the RYA Day Skipper Practical. To progress, you will need to have completed the RYA Day Skipper Shorebased Theory course and accumulated some sailing time between courses. We recommend getting out on the water as often as possible between now and then — the more miles you sail, the more you will get from your Day Skipper course.

Book Your Place

Competent Crew courses run throughout the season from Port Hamble Marina, with flexible format options to suit your schedule. Own boat tuition can also be arranged — contact us for details. Places are limited to three students per course, so early booking is recommended.

To book or ask a question, contact us at info@whitetipsailing.com

SYLLABUS COMPETENT CREW as described in G158​​​

1 Sea terms & parts of a boat, rigging and sails ​

Understands

• Orders given concerning the sailing and day to day running of the boat
2 Sail Handling​

Can

• Bend on , set reef and handle sails  
• Use sheets halyards and associated  winches
3 Ropework​
• Handle ropes  including coiling stowing secure to cleats and single and double bollards
• Handle warps
• Tie the following knots and know their correct use: figure of 8-clove hitch-bowline-round turn two half hitches-reef knot-rolling hitch-single and double sheet bend
4 Safety on board​

Understands  

• Fire precautions and fighting
• What the particular hazards are and action to be taken to prevent and in the event of fire
• On board alarms including gas and carbon monoxide
5 Personal safety equipment​

Understands

• How to comply with guidance for wearing safety harness life jacket and personal buoyancy aids
6 Man Overboard

Understands

• The actions to be taken to recover a man overboard
• How cold-water shock can affect a casualty in the water
7 Emergency equipment​

Understands

• how to launch and board a life raft
• Distress flares and knows when they should be used
8 Manners & customs​

Understands

• Accepted practice with regard to: use of burgees and ensigns; prevention of unnecessary noise or disturbance in harbour including courtesies to other berthed craft
• The responsibility of the boating community to protect environment
9 Rules of the Road​

Can

• Keep an efficient look out at sea
10 Tender usage​

Understands

• The loading rules and complies with them
• The use and importance of a kill cord
• Safety equipment for tenders

Can

• Handle a dinghy under oars
11 Meteorology​

Knowledge of

• The Beaufort scale

Understands

• The forecasting services and where to obtain forecasts
12 Seasickness​
• Working efficiency is unaffected/partially affected/severely affected by seasickness (Delete as applicable)

Understands

• How to reduce the effect of seasickness (eg steer, look at the horizon, take anti-seasickness tablets before going afloat)
13 Helmsmanship & sailing​

Understands

• The basic principles of sailing

Can

• Steer and trim sails on all points of sailing
• Steer a compass course under sail and power
14 General duties​

Can

• Carry out general duties satisfactorily on deck and below deck in connection with the daily routine of the vessel.