Sailing News

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

Day Skipper Course: What to Expect

Jun 2, 2025

If you already have some experience of sailing under your belt and you're ready to take things to the next level, the RYA Day Skipper Practical Course should be your next move. On the Day Skipper Course you will go from crewing to skippering so you can...

Santosa’s Arctic Circle Swim Club Dips Beside A Glacier

Aug 16, 2019

The latest blog from our luxury yacht...

The Great Britain SailGP Team Breaks 50 Knot Record In Solent

Aug 7, 2019

COWES, England – August 6, 2019 – Dylan...

A Whale Of A Time With The Arctic Swim Club

Jul 25, 2019

Cook and chief blogger Lucy shares with...

Can You Hear Us Calling On The Hydrophone? (video)

Jul 8, 2019

Hydrophones are underwater microphones...

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					  Comp Crew Course - If you’re thinking about learning to sail, we would definitely recommend the Competent Crew course with First Class Sailing in the Solent. We completed the course as a group of... read more five (3 adults, a 16 and a 12-year-old) and it exceeded our expectations from start to finish. 

Our boat was very well maintained and served us well throughout the course. We explored the Solent, visiting some fantastic Marinas along the way – including Gunwharf Quays, the Hamble and Cowes Yacht Haven.

Our skipper, Simon, was exceptional throughout. He was calm, patient, and incredibly knowledgeable, always taking the time to explain things clearly and in a way that made everything easy to understand. His relaxed approach created a great learning environment, and we all gained a huge amount of confidence and practical sailing experience over the few days.

The course struck the perfect balance between hands-on learning, skill-building, and simply enjoying being out on the water, especially as the weather was wonderful. We came away not only with new abilities, but also fantastic memories and a real enthusiasm to continue sailing.

A big thank you to First Class Sailing for a well-organised and enjoyable experience.				
Gavin H
October 5, 2026 

					  First Class experience.  - Very good experience with First Class Sailing. Mark was a terrific teacher and the boat was well equipped and comfortable for a 5 day course. Would definitely recommend.				
Michael K
October 8, 2025 

					  More than a course, a real step towards becoming a skipper  - I have just completed my RYA Day Skipper Practical with First Class Sailing in the Solent and had an excellent experience. The course was very well organised, practical and progressive,... read more with plenty of opportunity to take responsibility and make real decisions. Our instructor, Tom, deserves a special mention. He has a remarkable ability to share his knowledge clearly while building confidence in his students. He knew when to explain, when to challenge us, and when to step back and let us make our own decisions. I came to the course wanting to improve my sailing skills; I left feeling much more capable of taking responsibility for a yacht and its crew. I could not have asked for a better instructor for my Day Skipper. An excellent experience with First Class Sailing, which I would recommend without hesitation.				
Efemix
October 4, 2026

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

Riding the storm – fast progress towards the finish

Jun 6, 2012

Progress in the last couple of days has been fantastic. Last week we had to take a difficult choice to slow down to avoid the worst of a severe depression that was about to cross our path, as it turned out we saw some horrible conditions and had some damage to sails,...

Sail damage in serious nose dive during storm

Jun 1, 2012

I've just had a dinner of rice with a thai green sauce and a peanut bar for desert, slowly recovering from the busy day. The gale we faced yesterday left us with a few issues to deal with. We had chosen a route that kept us away from the very worst of the deepening...

Leading the fleet in the wake of tropical storm Alberto

May 22, 2012

Last night was tough, in fact some of the worst we've seen in the entire race. After we left Charleston we received a warning of an approaching tropical storm with winds potentially up to 55knots, the night was approaching and we had already reduced sail to 3 reefs...

Marco second into Charleston

May 2, 2012

Finally here we are, Sergio and I literally just crossed the finish line in front of Charleston Harbour, it's the middle of the night, just after midnight local time, the race officials are about to board the boat to check the engine seals and then we'll be able to...

Heading left on the chessboard

Apr 30, 2012

The last 24 hours have been incredibly frustrating, the whole day we negotiated the passage of many rain clouds which played havoc with the wind, on average we had a lot less than predicted by the forecast and after each downpour we hoped things would stabilise but...

Second place throught the Celox scoring gate

Apr 17, 2012

The last few days have been, as predicted, a drag race towards the north-east corner of Brasil, all tactical decision had been played out earlier around the tricky corner near Rio de Janeiro where the wind tends to be always on the nose and there is a nasty counter...

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

Apr 13, 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

Apr 13, 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...

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