RYA Sail Cruising courses in Nova Scotia
Wouldn’t you love to take your RYA Course on salt water, in the home waters of the ‘Bluenose’? Our courses are conducted on Nova Scotia’s world famous South Shore. All courses are conducted on the 35′ sloop ‘Michaela’, a centre cockpit Swedish built Hallberg-Rassy.
We offer five live aboard courses – the RYA Start Yachting, Competent Crew, Day Skipper, Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Prep.
For information on RYA Training click here.
RYA Start Yachting
This course is a live-aboard 2 day course, intended as a short introduction to sailing for complete beginners. By the end of the course you will have experienced steering a yacht, sail handling, ropework and be aware of safety on board.
Holders of the Start Yachting certificate can go on to complete the Competence Crew course in a reduced time of three days or two weekends.
Course topics include:
- The yacht
- ropework
- underway
- rules of the road
- man overboard recovery
- clothing and equipment
- emergency equipment and precautions
- meteorology
Ability after the course: Basic knowledge of yachting.
Price $475.00.
RYA Competent Crew
This course is for beginners and those who would like to become active crew members rather than just passengers. Experience living on board and really get to know the boat. Virtually all 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 the 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.
Course topics include:
- Knowledge of sea terms and parts of a boat
- her rigging and sails, sail handling
- ropework
- fire precautions and fighting
- personal safety equipment
- man overboard
- emergency equipment
- meteorology
- seasickness
- helmsmanship
- general duties
- manners and customs
- rules of the road
- dinghies.
Price $1295.00.
RYA Day Skipper
A course 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 you sailing is up to speed, a good way to learn in 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 shorebased course (see Navigation and seamanship theory on the left).
The Day Skipper course can be taken in tidal or non-tidal waters and your certificate will be endorsed accordingly.
Pre-course experience: 5 days, 100 miles, 4 night hours on board a sailing yacht
Course topics include:
- Preparation for sea
- deck work
- navigation
- pilotage
- meteorology
- rules of the road
- maintenance and repair work
- engines
- provisioning
- emergency situations
- yacht handling under power
- yacht handling under sail
- passage making
- night cruising
Price $1295.00.
RYA Coastal Skipper
Advanced skippering techniques for yachtsmen and women with considerable knowledge of sailing and navigation, wanting to undertake coastal passages by day and night.
Like the Day Skipper course, this course consists of skippered passages in a variety of situations. Each trainee will skipper more challenging passages and learn more about passage planning, pilotage by day and night, boat handling, safety and emergency situations.
It is a satisfying but intensive week, with candidates often working towards a Certificate of Competence.
Completing the Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore shorebased course beforehand would be a definite asset as there is insufficient time to teach you theory during the week.
Coastal Skippers should be able to undertake more difficult passages by day and night and handle the yacht in more demanding conditions. By the end of the course you should have the knowledge, if not the experience, to become a Yachtmaster.
Course topics include:
- Passage planning
- Preparation for sea
- Pilotage
- Passage making and ability as skipper
- Yacht handling under power
- Yacht handling under sail
- Adverse weather conditions
- Emergency situations
Price $1295.00.
RYA Yachtmaster Coastal/Offshore Prep Week and Exams An RYA Yachtmaster Certificate of Competence is often the ultimate aim of aspiring skippers. It is a well known, highly respected qualification worldwide, proving your experience and competence as a skipper. This is a 7 day live-aboard course – 5 days of preparation followed by 2 days of oral and practical exams by an RYA Examiner. Take a look at the course information.
For information on how to pass your Yachtmaster Exam, Click Here.
Price $1595.00.
You can request information about your Nova Scotia RYA Sailing course on our Information Request page, and you can register for your Nova Scotia RYA Sailing course on our Registration page, or by us phoning toll-free at 1-877-275-8377.
The prices of these comprehensive on-the-water training courses are all inclusive — Instruction, food, accommodation aboard, study materials, registration, and towels.
