Sailing News

A mix of insights into our courses and trips, engaging stories from some adventures, and educational content for anyone passionate about sailing.

How to Prepare for Day Skipper

Jun 19, 2024

Many students ask us how to best prepare themselves for the RYA Day Skipper practical and theory courses. To take the Day Skipper practical course you first of all have to do the Day Skipper shorebased theory course or at least have knowledge to the same...

Santosa leaves the Arctic Circle, where are all the people, a lively sea and lots of tasty food

Aug 18, 2019

Here is the latest update from a guest crew...

A Glacial Triathlon, followed by a sail, then port and cheese.

Aug 18, 2019

Here is the latest update from a guest crew...

Santosa’s Arctic Circle Swim Club Dips Beside A Glacier

Aug 16, 2019

The latest blog from our luxury yacht...

Crew’s Eye View Of The Rolex Fastnet Race by Peter Byrne

Aug 15, 2019

So what is it like to be in the Rolex...

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					  Yachmaster Ocean Theory  - I just finished another training week at First Class Sailing’s training center. The week was dedicated to Yachtmaster Ocean Theory, with a highlight on Celestial Navigation. The instructor, Nigel Rennie... read more FRIN (Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation), was fantastic. It was very fast-paced, but covered the basics and theory behind Celestial Navigation. The jewel of the week was Rennie. His abundant patience, coupled with his experiences and passion for the art, made the week incredible. First Class Sailing have the best instructors. They know their craft and have real-life experience to make training both fun and memorable. Well Done!				
Marty S
October 24, 2025 

					  All female boat for day skipper practical  - Being in an all female boat is a great way to learn. Kirsten, our instructor, had a very calm and reassuring style. The small size of the group (only 3... read more of us) meant we got a lot of attention and many opportunities to practice.				
ALMC62
October 15, 2025 

					  A consistently great experience  - Over the last few years First Class Sailing have taken me all the way from complete novice to Coastal Skipper, with theory and other courses along the way (like VHF,... read more First Aid, etc), and there's now no other school I'd want to train and study with. They really stand out from other providers with the quality of their instructors and the support and responsiveness you get from the office team. There's never too many students on a course, so you get lots of time to practise and learn from the instructor. By the end of each course you really feel you've been stretched and graduated to a much higher level of skill.  A really high quality outfit and thoroughly recommended!				
Mo M
October 30, 2025 

First Class Sailing Ltd

5.0

Based on 278 reviews

review us on

Maurice MacSweeney

11:45 30 Oct 25

Over the last few years First Class Sailing have taken me all the way from complete novice to Coastal Skipper, with theory and other courses along the way (like VHF, First Aid, etc), and there's now no other school I'd want to train and study with. They really stand out from other providers with the quality of their instructors and the support and responsiveness you get from the office team. There's never too many students on a course, so you get lots of time to practise and learn from the instructor. By the end of each course you really feel you've been stretched and graduated to a much higher level of skill. A really high quality outfit and thoroughly recommended!

Response from the owner 13:56 06 Nov 25

Hi Maurice, we're so pleased to have been with you from the start of your sailing journey. That's great that you enjoyed the ratio of students to instructor and felt confident with the levels you achieved. Thanks for the review, we hope you manage to get plenty of sailing in after all the hard work you've put in.

Marty Stromquist

15:22 24 Oct 25

I just finished another training week at First Class Sailing’s training center. The week was dedicated to Yachtmaster Ocean Theory, with a highlight on Celestial Navigation. The instructor, Nigel Rennie FRIN (Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation), was fantastic. It was very fast-paced, but covered the basics and theory behind Celestial Navigation. The jewel of the week was Rennie. His abundant patience, coupled with his experiences and passion for the art, made the week incredible. First Class Sailing have the best instructors. They know their craft and have real-life experience to make training both fun and memorable. Well Done!

Response from the owner 13:42 06 Nov 25

Thanks Marty. We're so pleased you enjoyed Nigel's expert guidance and passion for sailing. Like all our instructors, he loves teaching and sharing his knowledge, but manages to make it fun too. Thanks for the recommendation.

Anne-Laure McLeman

10:07 15 Oct 25

Being in an all female boat is a great way to learn. Kirsten, our instructor, had a very calm and reassuring style. The small size of the group (only 3 of us) meant we got a lot of attention and many opportunities to practice. Such a good week!

Response from the owner 13:24 06 Nov 25

Thank-you for the review Anne-Laure. That's great that the all female option suited you well and you enjoyed learning with Kirsten. Hopefully all that practice has set you up well for future sailing. Good luck!

Angus Sandison

19:57 07 Oct 25

Really great experience with First Class. My partner and I did our Day Skipper over two weekends with our instructor Mark. He was fantastic. Patient as we learned and made the whole thing fun. The boats are great and organization by First Class was seamless. Would totally recommend.

Response from the owner 13:17 06 Nov 25

Thanks Angus. That's good that you enjoyed Mark's style of teaching and also had lots of fun along the way. Wishing you lots of happy sailing in the future.

Tricia Bunten

18:48 07 Oct 25

I just finished a fantastic week taking my Day Skipper practical with First Class Sailing and I highly recommend them. I chose the Women Only week and had an incredibly patient instructor who was able to help each of us individually with areas of weakness but also worked great with us as a group. I had never sailed in the Solent before and it was the perfect location for this class. I am so grateful for First Class and my instructor for helping me build confidence and experience.

Response from the owner 16:59 04 Nov 25

Thanks Tricia, we're so pleased you enjoyed the Women Only week and had a positive experience. We always say that the Solent really is one of the best places to learn and it has some beautiful scenery to explore too, so that's good that you appreciated it. Hope you manage to get out on the water soon.

Evan Ainsworth

20:30 05 Oct 25

They do say that what sets great companies apart is customer service. This is my third time with first class sailing the first time was a few years ago when we did our competent crew it was one of the best weeks of our lives. Then we came again in August for the kids to do their competent crew and my wife and I to do our day skipper course. Unfortunately when I did my day skipper course the weather was terrible and I was unable to have a good session to pass. So Jake said to me you can come back and have a free weekend on us to enable you to pass. And again I had a fabulous weekend. There was just three of us on the boat. A wonderful instructor, Tom, and another student. Tom was an excellent instructor he was relaxed, he had great experiences, he got on with the practical part of sailing not just a lot of theory and he was thorough. He had lots of practical tips to make sailing easier and had some good exercises forest to try. We had a super trip down to Yarmouth where he cooked a wonderful dinner and then we went to the pub. Where we met another first class sailing group and spent the evening listening to their tall tales. The following day we had a super sail back to Southampton, with lots of cool exercises and I was thrilled to pass my day skipper.

Response from the owner 16:46 04 Nov 25

Thanks for the review Evan and congratulations on passing your Day Skipper practical, the hard work has paid off. That's good that the whole family joined you for one of the trips and so now hopefully you have some willing crew members for future sails. Good luck!

hugo kirby

15:26 09 Sep 25

great course with a very engaged and helpful instructor - who was happy to go outside the curriculum and give us the benefit of his wider knowledge - throroughly recommended

Response from the owner 15:30 11 Sep 25

That's good that you appreciated the experiences and extra knowledge that the instructor passed on. Thanks for the recommendation.

Justin Brooks

11:11 23 Aug 25

We would highly recommend First Class Sailing.

Very well organised with a top quality instructor who provided tuition tailored to our differing needs.

A fantastic option for a couple wanting an entire boat to do a mixed Competent Crew / Day Skipper itinerary.

Response from the owner 14:21 28 Aug 25

Thanks Justin. We always find that mixing the Competent Crew & Day Skipper works well, so that's great that it worked for you too. Hope you manage to get out on the water soon and put all your learning into practice.

ChrisC

15:37 22 Aug 25

Great experience doing a Yachtmaster Offshore prep week followed by exam. Lots of useful paperwork up-front for the course admin and training exercises. The 3-day prep format worked well and Hayley did a brilliant job of cramming in the training over those days. Lovely modern boat too called Sazerac. Will be back.

Response from the owner 14:17 28 Aug 25

Hi Chris, thanks for the review. Congratulations on gaining your YMO qualification. There's a lot to cover, but as you've found, the hard work really pays off. We look forward to welcoming you back in the future.

Miles Barr

11:27 03 Aug 25

I completed my Competent Crew and Day Skipper Practical with First Class Sailing. It was a great experience. I hired the whole boat each time, taking my family members along who also earned their Competent Crew qualifications.

Response from the owner 15:21 21 Aug 25

Thanks Miles. That's great that hiring the whole boat for your courses worked well for you all. Now that your family have their comp crew qualifications, you'll have plenty of help onboard for future sails! Good luck.

All Blogs

Day 8 on the ARC Halfway Across the Atlantic

Dec 1, 2015

News about the halfway party, the sky and night and messages from the crew to their loved ones. Monday 30 Nov Race Day 8 We’ve made it half way! We have been at sea for 8 days now and our lives have become an endless series of watches followed by a maximum of three...

Day 7 on the ARC – Flying Fish, Sunsets and Chocolate Brownies

Nov 30, 2015

Race Day 7: It was another hard day at the office. Calm seas and sunshine were the order of the day. Sun cream all around. Really tough. Good progress being made on “our strategy” just hope the wind knows! Crew morale is high and Challenger 1 is very much in...

Day 6 on the ARC – will the cunning plan pay off?

Nov 30, 2015

Saturday 28 Nov Race Day 6 A word from the crew Day 6 here on Challenger 3 has been quite eventful. The morning started with Lucia finding and disposing of a few flying fish that had decided to make the deck their new home. Once we had a fish free area it was time...

Day 5 on the ARC – Whales?, moonlit bakeoffs and a smooth gybe

Nov 27, 2015

Friday 27 Nov Race Day 5 A word from the crew Day 5 here on Challenger 3 and time is starting to get a little warped on board! Ricky and Dave (Skipper and Mate) remain on UT (GMT), whilst the rest of the crew had a 26 hour day yesterday which involved two seven hour...

Day 4 on the ARC – fireballs in the sky, settling in to the watch system, and a moonbow

Nov 26, 2015

ARC update from Challenger 4. Less than 2000 miles to go! Thursday 26 Nov Race Day 4 A word form the crew So, we are 4 days in to our Atlantic crossing. In typical offshore sailing style our few days at sea have merged in to a series of four and six hour watches,...

Day 3 on the ARC – spinnaker drop, dolphins and on going sail repairs

Nov 26, 2015

The latest update from our ARC crew. 2125 miles to go Wednesday 25 Nov Race Day 3 A word from the crew The first big activity of Tuesday evening was dropping the spinnaker on watch change as the wind increased. Unfortunately this pushed back dinner and a couple of...

Day 2 on the ARC. Torn Sails, spinnaker hoist, showers for the crew

Nov 24, 2015

Update from the FCS ARC crew on Challenger 3 after two days of racing. Tuesday 24 Nov Race Day 2 A word from the crew… Hello world! Spinnaker has just been hoisted and seems to still be in the right place still… Torn Sail Events over the last 24 hours include some...

Day 1 for the FCS ARC Crew in the Atlantic Ocean

Nov 24, 2015

ARC Crew get off to a lively start. 40 knot winds, 1 meter swells above the helm, shooting stars.. Monday 23 Nov 2015 Race Day 1 of the ARC Carnage of sea, big boats and spray at the start of the race. Challenger 1 crossed the line astern and kept pace with us for a...

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