Commodore Yachting » Yachtmaster Coastal

Milebuilding for Yachtmaster Coastal and Yachtmaster Offshore

karen-cy — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:58:31 +0000

2012 Spring and Summer Milebuilding

Students wishing to take Yachtmaster Coastal or Yachtmaster Offshore exams need to build quality mileage before taking a Coastal Skipper or Yachtmaster preparation course. We have planned a series of 7 day Milebuilding trips with the opportunity to sail to the beautiful Channel Islands, the ports and harbours of northern Brittany and the south coast of England – ideal for Yachtmaster students. We plan to combine some interesting sailing trips with some more challenging navigation and sailing skills but there will also be chance to spend time exploring ashore. This trip is an ideal opportunity to prepare for Yachtmaster Coastal or Yachtmaster Offshore or just for fun. There will be the chance to undertake an over 60 mile skippered passage in preparation for Yachtmaster exams if you wish. We are offering a 10% discount for taking 2 or more consecutive weeks or take both Milebuilding Trips to build quality miles towardsYachtmaster Coastal or Yachtmaster Offshore MCA exams.

March Milebuilding

Week 1 3rd – 9th March South Coast Milebuilding Trip

Week 2 10th – 16th March Channel Islands Milebuilding Trip

April Milebuilding

Week 1 7th – 14th April Gosport – St Malo including Channel Islands

Week 2 14th – 21st April St Malo to Roscoff

£549.00 per week (10% discount for 2 weeks or more taken consecutively)

Braye Harbour, Alderney

Channel Island and French Coast Cruise

This summer cruise will offer a combination of offshore sailing and the opportunity to explore the beautiful Channel Islands such as Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and Herm as well as the coast of Northern France. You will be able to visit some of the more remore islands exploring by yacht, dinghy and on foot. Stepping into a timewarp is the only way to describe the relaxed and peaceful pace of island life and but this trip will also include some challenging navigation to hone skills required for Yachtmaster exams. There will be the chance to undertake an over 60 mile skippered passage in preparation for Yachtmaster Offshore or Yachtmaster Coastal if you wish.

Our next Channel Island Cruise is our Bank Holiday Cruise 31st May – 5th June (7 days) £599.00

Cross Channel Weekends

If you can only spare a weekend our shorter 2 day Milebuilding Weekends are ideal. Leaving on a Friday evening you will have a night crossing to France (weather permitting) during which you will be part of a watch keeping system, arriving on Saturday morning. The yacht will be skippered by one of our experienced RYA instructors but the navigating will be up to the crew. Crossing the busy shipping lanes and preparing a pilotage plan into the French port of Cherbourg are tasks shared between students but if you just want to enjoy the ride this is the perfect opportunity. After catching up on some sleep you will have a full day and evening to explore ashore before leaving early Sunday morning for the passage back to Gosport. Anyone wishing to undertake a 60 skippered mile passage can have this signed off in their logbook before taking their Yachtmaster exam. (Please let us know beforehand).

Our next Cross Channel Milebuilder is 25th – 26th February £245.00

(£235.00 if booked before 31st January)

Fastrack Yachtmaster Course starting February

karen-cy — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:01:51 +0000

Get a new perspective on life!

Train for a career in the yachting industry with our Fast Track Yachtmaster course. This 16 week intensive course leads to the MCA Professional Yachtmaster Offshore qualification with a commercial endorsement enabling you to seek work as a professional skipper. You can take the course as a complete Yachtmaster programme or as three individual modules, Day Skipper, Yachtmaster Coastal or Yachtmaster Offshore. If you already have sailing experience talk to us about the best place to begin your Yachtmaster training course. Whilst much of the training takes place in the Solent you will also find yourself sailing further afield, crossing the Channel to France or the Irish Sea to Ireland.

Further information can be found on our website

Full Fast Track Programme

No experience is required as we will take you from beginner to Yachtmaster Offshore in 16 weeks

The cost of the full course is £7499.00 saving up to £1500 on the individual course fees

Modular Programme

You can choose any of these modules depending on your experience and availability.

Day Skipper - This Elementary module is designed to take you from absolute beginner to Day Skipper in 2 weeks.

* RYA Competent Crew

* RYA Day Skipper Theory and Practical Combined Course

October to March £1159.00 April to September £1298.00

Yachtmaster Coastal - This Intermediate module is designed to take you from Day Skipper to Yachtmaster Coastal in 7 weeks.

Included in this module are the following:

* RYA Yachtmaster Theory

* Sailing skills week

* Milebuilding Weekend

* RYA VHF Radio Course

* RYA First Aid Course

* RYA Diesel Engine Course

* 2 week Milebuilding Trip

* Bareboat charter

* Coastal Skipper Course and exam

All year £3499.00

Yachtmaster Offshore - This Advanced module is designed to take you from Yachtmaster Coastal to Yachtmaster Offshore in 7 weeks.

Included in this module are the following:

* Yachtmaster Coastal Refresher / Experience Course

* RYA Sea Survival Course

* RYA ISAF Course

* 3 week Milebuilding Trip

* Bareboat charter

* Yachtmaster Coastal Prep Course and exam

All year £3499.00

Day Skipper Course – your questions answered

karen-cy — Mon, 02 May 2011 12:27:17 +0000

Day Skipper Course

I want to charter a yacht, which sailing qualification do I need?

The Day Skipper course will teach you how to skipper a cruising yacht on short passages by day and is accepted by most charter companies in the UK for anyone wishing to charter a yacht under about 40 feet. If you are chartering a yacht abroad you will also need to obtain an International Certificate of Competence (ICC). By successfully passing your Day Skipper course you will be eligible to apply for this (Subject to the ICC terms and conditions). If you wish to charter a larger yacht you may need to prove that you are an experienced skipper or pass a Yachtmaster Coastal or Yachtmaster Offshore exam.

Do I need to take a Day Skipper theory course?

You will need to have navigation theory to the level of the RYA Day Skipper theory course. You can achieve this in several ways:

* RYA day Skipper theory course either over 5 days, 2 and 1/2 weekends, or evening classes

* on-line Day Skipper theory course

* distance learning Day Skipper Theory course or Day Skipper correspondance course

These methods will enable you to be awarded the Day Skipper theory certificate subject to passing an exam and ensure that you are at the correct level to take the Day Skipper practical course.

* independant self study or previous navigation experience

You will not be able to take Day Skipper theory exam but should be able to take the Day Skipper practical course although the instructor may decide you need to do some more study before awarding you with a Day Skipper certificate.

Alternatively you can take our 9 day combined theory and practical course

How many other students will be on the boat?

There will be a maximum of 5 students on the boat and a skipper.You will be accommodated throughout the course on a comfortable cruising yacht which can sleep up to 8 people in 3 cabins and the saloon. Occasionally you will be on a larger yacht with 4 cabins.

What is included in the course fee?

The course fee is fully inclusive and includes:

* Accommodation on board the yacht throughout the course – even for 9 day courses

* Three meals a day (except for some weekend courses when we may eat ashore)

* Free hire of waterproofs

* All berthing fees

* All safety equipment

* Pillow and pillowcase

I would like my friend to come but she has never been sailing before. Can we do the course together?

The RYA Competent Crew course would be the perfect course for your friend. This sailing course is suitable for the complete beginner and teaches them the sailing skills necessary to become a useful member of the crew. We often have a mix of people taking the Day Skipper course and the Competent Crew course on the same boat and we find this works very well.

I would be arriving by train, how far is the sailing school from the station?

We are based at Gosport Marina and it takes about 5 minutes to cross the harbour from Portsmouth Harbour station on the Gosport ferry which can be found just outside the station. We are then 5 minutes walk from the Ferry port. We are also within easy walking distance of the national coach drop off points.

What do I need to bring with me?

You will need to bring a sleeping bag, towel and some warm clothing. It can sometimes be cooler on a boat even in the summer. You will also need some non slip shoes with non marking soles. You don’t need to buy special sailing clothes but if you want to purchase anything ‘You Boat’ just outside the marina offers our students a 10% discount off most items.

You may also want to bring any special snacks / drinks that you can’t live without as it is impossible to cater for everyone’s favourites!

Milebuilding trips South Coast, Channel Islands and France

karen-cy — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:16:28 +0000

French milebuilding Cruise

We have a full programme of milebuilding trips and cruises this year with an exciting list of destinations including London, the Channel Islands, Cornwall, St Malo and the Brittany coast. Our next Cross Channel sailing trip is coming up at the end of this month leaving Gosport on Friday evening 26th March for an overnight sail to Cherbourg. This is a perfect opportunity for anyone wishing to take Yachtmaster to gain experience of the Channel traffic separation shemes and build quality logged miles. In April we have what is becoming termed here on the marina ‘ Commodore Yachting annual Summer Holiday’. We will be taking our 4 cabin Bavaria 44 off on a four week trip around the Channel Islands and Brittany to combine a holiday cruise with some serious mile building and passage making. Sailing in some extremely challenging coastal waters, pilotage in and out of the many ports and harbours will provide the perfect training opportunities for anyone wishing to move on to Yachtmaster Coastal or Yachtmaster Offshore or to take the Coastal Skipper course completion certificate. Stops have been planned to enable people to sail for between 1 and 4 weeks leaving or joining at either Gosport, St Malo or Roscoff where there are regular ferry crossings to Portsmouth and Plymouth. For more information contact us.