“Good instructor, fostering teamwork, providing a challenge and ‘kicking arse’ as and when required.” That last part shouldn’t be taken literally, but the review by Project Manager, Dirk H. is typical of the reaction from our customers who have taken the First Class Sailing RYA Day Skipper Course.
We run a wide variety of RYA Courses that have helped turn novice sailors, into confident crew members, expert skippers and in some cases globe travelling professionals.
And once you have passed both the Day Skipper practical and theory courses you’ll be ready to charter a yacht on the Mediterranean, sailing from island to island and a master of your destination.
Course Highlights
The Day Skipper practical course is a real open water experience that gets a lot of nautical miles under your belt: “Enjoyed a brilliant Day Skipper course over Easter weekend – sailed to Cherbourg and back,” said Richard H on Tripadvisor.
“Highlights were a beautiful sunrise as we sailed past the needles, and a tricky night-pilotage into Poole. Ken the instructor was very patient and knowledgable and the boat Manhattan was lovely (only a few weeks old).”
The practical course can be split over two weekends, or run for one week and in Richard’s case above the Easter Weekend with two bank holidays means he only took one day off to have five days sailing.
No ‘kicking arse’ on either voyage and in general you’ll find our skippers get a favourable mention such as this from Ed P in London: “I had a fantastic time, the course was exciting and v informative. Great instructor, friendly and fun. Spent a great evening in Cowes and Portsmouth as part of the trip. Wonderful sailing in very comfortable boats.”
Another person delighted with their instructor was David (Director): “He was patient and prepared to take the time to ensure we all had the best knowledge transferred to us. He was an excellent instructor and had a significant amount of detailed knowledge that was most helpful to me and the rest of the class. He is passionate and fully committed to his work and goes above and beyond to ensure you are capable and have a really enjoyable experience learning with him.”
“The instructor was the perfect balance of show and tell mixed with letting you make your own mistakes safely,” said Andy C., also on Trip Advisor, who had this observation: “(The booking process) was all very professional and friendly. I felt the booking official actually cared about getting my booking right. Friendly, personalised, professional without being officious.”
We definitely leave the ‘kicking arse’ to the skippers on the boat and if you ever have a question please gives us a call and we’ll endeavour to answer your query as soon as possible.
One aspect that has high praise is the quality of the craft as ‘la T also from London points out: “The boat was clean and well maintained, food excellent and our instructor Ken was endlessly patient and a real sage.”
And the final comment we’ll leave to Hugo M from London who highlights the fact that you might be going as an individual but sail as a group: “I would recommend this course to anyone looking to improve their sailing skills and have a great time and meet some interesting people along the way.”
The theory courses are run in offices, homes and clubs and you can either join one or setup your own. If you do go down that route we can help you organise the publicise the event. They run all year with many people taking them over the winter months when the nights have drawn in.
These courses are run by the same skippers so the experience is similar to the one at sea, as lawyer Joanne W explains: “Excellent practical experience with thorough theoretical training and explanation from a very knowledgeable and patient instructor.”
These reviews were taken from the First Class Sailing website and Trip Advisor, reviews can also be left on Google+ and Facebook.
And if you want to book your RAY Day Skipper course the next available dates are here: Day Skipper Practical or Day Skipper Theory
