Your questions answered

 

Who are Commodore Yachting?

We are a RYA sailing school based in the Solent offering a full range of shorebased and practical sailing courses as well as yacht charter. We aim to give a personal service, listening to your questions and comments and doing our best to make your sailing course or charter as good as it can possibly get. Our yachts are all modern Bavarias with at least 3 cabins and wheel steering so you will be learning to sail on the same kind of yachts that are usually available for charter both in the UK and abroad.

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

What sort of boat will I be on?

All our sailing courses take place on modern Bavaria yachts. You will live on board throughout the week and will stay overnight in several different harbours around the Solent and south coast.

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 was wondering if I take a Competent Crew course running over 3 weekends, do they need to be consecutive weekends?

You can choose any weekends from our programme to suit your requirements. Sometimes we are able to add extra weekends if you cannot find a suitable weekend.

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!

What happens if I have to cancel my course or charter?

When you make your booking we make a commitment to you to provide you with a course or charter. This means that we set aside a boat and if it is a RYA  course we reserve a place and book a skipper to teach you. As we can only take up to 5 students on a course once we have reserved a place for you we cannot offer it to anyone else. Likewise once we have reserved a yacht it is removed from our availability calender. We have a cancellation policy that can be found in our terms and conditions which state that you also make a commitment to pay for the course or charter.  If, for whatever reason you need to make a cancellation we recommend that you take out insurance to cover your fees. If you do not already have a policy to cover you Topsail Insurance may be able to assist.