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 Much is a VHF Radio Course?

Jun 12, 2024

If you are using a marine VHF radio out on the water, it is a legal requirement that not only does the vessel hold a license for a VHF radio, but also someone onboard has an VHF operator’s license (also known as a SRC (Short Range Certificate). To...

Antigua to Portsmouth Day 7: How to rehabilitate your loved one upon their return

Jan 17, 2019

Look out for Clive's apology below as he...

Antigua to Portsmouth Day 6: ‘Absolutely Perfect’ Sailing

Jan 16, 2019

Tuesday 15th January 2019 The Sailing...

Why now is the best time to go back to school to learn about trigonometry on a Day Skipper Shorebased course?

Jan 15, 2019

A lot of the navigational side of sailing is...

Antigua to Portsmouth Day 5: Dolphin Whisperers in the Galley

Jan 15, 2019

In today's blog, singing in the galley leads to...

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					  Excellent training course with Fergus!  - Excellent training course with Fergus! He made sure that across levels we were all learning and having fun! The extra context from his experience sailing was insightful and entertaining!				
Jamie S
October 25, 2025 

					  Great night sailing weekend. - I did the night sailing weekend on the Solent. Callum was very friendly and knowledgeable. He planned the weekend together with the participants such that everyone could have an input... read more regarding what they wanted to get out of the course. It was a great weekend and the Jeanneau Voyage 12.5 was really a great boat in windy weather. The food was very good and the office staff were helpful and responded very quickly.				
Federica D
November 8, 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

Underway in the fourth leg of the Global Ocean Race

Apr 11, 2012

We've been at sea for two days, i wrote an earlier update which somehow was never sent so here is a summary of our start of the fourth leg of the Global Ocean Race, Punta del Este Uruguay to Charleston US. The start in Punta was relatively quiet although I was a bit...

Marco takes Second Place on Southern Ocean leg, lying second overall

Mar 5, 2012

We are in Punta del Este! Celebrations Celebrations Celebrations! We made it! We are in Punta del Este Uruguay, 35 days at sea! We have sailed through gale force winds, we reached across the depths of the Southern Ocean with albatrosses to guard our progress, we...

Home stretch- 400 miles to go

Mar 5, 2012

We have just over 400 miles to go to the finish line in Punta del Este, the permanent cloud cover of the past few days has broken up during the night and i stood my watch in the cockpit as a magnificent sunrise brought summer to our world. Since we left the icy...

Tough head winds make for frustrating home run

Feb 27, 2012

I guess we all assumed that once turned the corner from the Horn everything was going to be easy, I certainly did, so I was a little surprised when last night the wind piped up to a fierce 35-40 knots dead on the nose in a nasty chop and a mysterious 2 knots adverse...

Marco “cool dude” Nannini enters the Atlantic

Feb 27, 2012

If rounding the horn is the accepted "cool dude" turning point, I feel much better now that we are finally sailing in the Atlantic. After Cape Horn we headed north towards the Strait of Le Maire, between the Tierra del Fuego and the Isla De Los Estatos which marks the...

Marco and Hugo- Around the Horn, lying second in the race

Feb 24, 2012

What a day, we finally rounded Cape Horn! I think it will take me a while to fully process this fact but I'm sure it'll live in my thoughts for the rest of my life, arriving here has been at times tremendously tough and yesterday just when the weather was finally...

The dice rolled- Cessna ahead, but facing the storm- what will happen next?

Feb 23, 2012

We are through the peak of the storm and we're happy to report that we didn't sustain any damage... Our strategy was to slow the boat down and let the worst part of the depression go past us before resuming our course towards Cape Horn so that we would be...

The decision made- wait for the weather to move through

Feb 23, 2012

A nasty gale is brewing south of us, the worst of it is headed straight for Cape Horn just at the same time we were due to round the infamous cape. After much debate we decided it was simply too risky for us to carry on heading for such a dangerous randez-vous...

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