First Class Sailing School

Call: 0845 873 3064

FAQ

The following are some questions relating to practical courses. Scroll down to see some FAQ's on our shorebased navigation courses and 1 day short courses.

What do I need to bring sailing with me?
	A Sleeping Bag and pillow A towel A Range of warm clothing in layers Footwear- Ideally deck shoes, but non marking trainers/tennis shoes are fine. Sailing Boots optional depending on time of year. Sailing gloves-optional Warm hat/Sun hat Sun tan cream Sun Glasses Retaining strap for glasses/sun glasses Essential medication Toiletries Log book [if you have one] Passport [if planned voyage may involve other countries Ehic Card [If planned voyage involes Other EU countries] Health Insurance documentation - if applicable Soft bag for all of this- no hard suitcases please For clothing- remember that you will be outdoors most of the day, a range of sporty, layered clothing is best, jeans are OK , but not ideal as if they get wet for any reason they are hard to dry again. You want to be comfortable, warm and be able to move easily. We provide the waterproof outer clothing, known as oilskins, Musto, free of charge. Just let us know your sizes on the booking form. If you want to splash out on any extras, do not forget Shamrock Chandlery will give all FCS Ltd customers a 10% discount.
What time should I arrive for a practical course?
	You should aim to be at the marina for 8pm on the evening before your course starts. If this may be a problem alternative arrangements can be made. No evening meal is provided on this first evening becuase people arrive at different times. Usually everyone gets to know their fellow crew mates and instructor over supper and a pint at the pub or restaurant in the marina.
How do I get there?
	Our shorebased course venues vary greatly and you should contact the office for exact address. All of our practical courses depart from places that are easily accessible by car or train. Our primary base is Shamrock Quay, Southampton. We base the bulk of our fleet here, together with our offices, stores and technical facilities and our maintenance staff. Shamrock Quay has a full service Chandlery [which offers all First Class Sailing clients a10% discount], restaurants, breakfast cafe and a pub, laundry facility, and free car parking. Shamrock Quay - SO14 5QL. Train from Waterloo to Southampton Central and short taxi, free parking available. American Wharf - SO14 5AS. Train from Waterloo to Southampton Central and short taxi, some free parking available. Gosport - PO12 1NU. Train from Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour and short ferry across the harbour, paid parking available. Hamble - SO41 4JD. Train from Waterloo to Southampton Airport and taxi, paid parking available.
What kind of yachts do you have in your fleet?
	First Class Sailing are taking delivery of a new fleet of Jeanneau 36i yachts in 2010. They will be equipped with the latest in Raymarine chartplotters, digital radar and with heating in every cabin. They will have 3 separate cabins and the saloon, sleeping 8 but only ever taking a maximum of five pupils on a training course. For some of our cruising and longer distance trips we use carefully picked other boats, Beneteau 38, Najad 396, Sun Odessey 40 and for some of our more dramatic adventures we use Challenge 72's
Where do we sleep? Where do we eat? Do we come back to Shamrock Quay at night?
	On all our trips or courses you sleep and eat on board throughout. Each night you will go into a new harbour, marina or anchorage. We will provide food for all your meals whilst you are with us. We are slightly limited by the nature of cooking on a yacht! but we provide good quality fresh ingredients, for a range of meals that work well in these circumstances. If you have any special needs, liaise with the office in advance and we will do our very best to accomodate you.
Where will we sail to?
	On a RYA course you are likely to sail to and stay overnight in such places as: Cowes, Lymington, Beaulieu, Newtown Creek, Yarmouth, Portsmouth, Hamble, Bembridge, Chichester, Pool and a few other lovely spots. If you are sailing on a cross Channel trip or West Country Cruise then it is slightly more weather dependant but there are plenty of ports and anchorages in the Channel Islands, and French and South UK coasts that are pretty, chaming and exciting to stop at.
I have done some sailing before, do I need to take the Competent Crew Course or can I go straight to Day Skipper?
	This is difficult to generalise about. You should telephone the office to discuss your previous experience.
What if I have not done Day Skipper Theory, can I still take Day Skipper Practical?
	You may be in a position to still take Day Skipper Practical, it depends on your existing knowledge of tidal navigation, collision regulations etc. You should contact the office to discuss.
Can I do a Coastal Skipper practical course over 2 weekends?
	No, the Coastal Skipper course must be taken over 5 consecutive days. This allows greater flexibility for making long passages.
What if I come on my own? Will all the others know each other already?
	We get groups ocasionally , but most people book in ones or twos. We try and balance the crews so that they offer a good mix of ages, gender and couples/singles. We try and make sure that no one is put in an awkward postion, or feel odd one out. On the contrary, many make a set of great new friends, who they keep up with, long after they have left us behind.
What if I have dietary requirements eg. vegetarian, wheat intolerence or allergies?
	With adequate notice, we can cater for most dietery requirements without undue difficulty. Contact the office to discuss any particular requirements as soon as possible.
Can I take an RYA qualification on one of your cruises to the Channel Islands or West Country?
	Yes you usually can. But if you want to take an RYA course on what appears to be a sailing trip, just telephone the office to discuss first, and we will make sure that the right conditions are in place.
What if I have a family emergency, can they get in touch with me, can I get off the boat?
	You will be in range of a mobile sigmnal throughout the course. In addition we are of course fully equipped with VHF radios on the yachts. In advance we give you an out of hours on call number which your family can use in the event of an emergency to pass you a message if they cannot get you direct. If you need to get off the yacht, we will get you to a train station as soon as possible so that you can attend to the emergency.
Would I not have more fun if I took this course in the Medeterranean or somewhere warm!?
	You would have great fun, wherever you go. We are all sailors here, and we love to sail in all those fantastic places. But, for your RYA training, you cannot do better than do your course in the testing waters of the Solent. With strong tides, testing navigation,fast changing weather, masses of yachts and powercraft, racing and dinghy fleets. You have it all. If you are competent to sail in the Solent, you can rest assured you will be able to sail anywhere else.
How do I know I will be safe?
	Your safety is our first concern. Your Instructor- We use highly qualified Yachtmaster instructors. They all have a lot of experience of sailing and instructing. They like to work for us as they know we look after our boats, our crews and them. Your Boats- All our boats are MCA coded, that means they are equipped to a rigourous safety standard, they are regularly surveyed and checked in accordance with the regualtions. They can be subject to a spot inspection at any time. But more than that. We take a report from every course or trip on the boats condition, We have maintenance staff to fix any faults straight away. We carry out regular safety checks ourselves of all the equipment and safety gear to make sure everything is ready at all times. We keep written records of those checks. Safety is not a question of luck. It is a question of having sytems in place to manage it properly, and experienced people to deal with it, and experienced instructors who can deal with any eventuality.
Are there loos and showers on board?
	Each yacht has a loo (the heads) and a shower on board. Also, we usually stop most evenings within a short walking distance of a shower on shore.
Here are some FAQ's for shorebased courses.

What materials do I need for a RYA Day Skipper or Yachtmaster shorebased course.
	You need a pencil, eraser, calculator and some paper to make a few notes on. You also need a set of plotters and dividers. These are navigational instruments. You can buy them in most chandlerys. We can also them for £25 which is less than most chandleries.