{"id":2113,"date":"2016-02-04T15:00:42","date_gmt":"2016-02-04T15:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/?p=2113"},"modified":"2023-10-31T11:21:12","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T11:21:12","slug":"guide-sailing-yacht-med","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/guide-sailing-yacht-med\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide to Sailing a Yacht in the Med"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Do you dream of sailing through the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean sea, the warm breeze in your hair? Well, you\u2019re in luck. At First Class Sailing we offer all the courses you need to gain the skills and experience to charter a yacht and sail around the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll teach you the ins and outs of sailing, meaning you can experience the fun and excitement of the open water, gaining the confidence you need to explore all the hidden secrets of the Med.<\/p>\n<p>Enjoy sailing from island to island. Visit Greece, Croatia, Turkey, Italy and Spain, and explore beautiful coves and deserted beaches.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2118 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/DSCF3409-resized.jpg\" alt=\"Sailing boat mediterranean\" width=\"837\" height=\"627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/DSCF3409-resized.jpg 837w, https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/DSCF3409-resized-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 837px) 100vw, 837px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Three steps to sailing success<\/h2>\n<p>The official qualification that most charter companies require you to have is a Day Skipper Practical Certificate. This guide covers everything from the basics to getting the certificate, but if you have experience you can jump straight to step 2 or 3.<\/p>\n<h3>Step 1: Become a Useful Crew Member<\/h3>\n<p>Take the First Class Sailing RYA Competent Crew Practical Course and experience the unique thrill of sailing. This course is suitable for people who have done little or no sailing before. It lasts for 5 days and at the end <a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/rya-courses\/competent-crew\">you will achieve useful crew member status<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>The course will teach you a whole host of useful skills, including how to understand orders and undertake general duties, sail handling, rope work, steering, what to do if someone falls overboard, the rules of the road, manners and customs and much more&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>You will learn how to:<br \/>\n\u2022 Raise, lower and set the sails<br \/>\n\u2022 Tie knots and make the boat secure<br \/>\n\u2022 Keep yourself and others safe onboard<br \/>\n\u2022 Keep lookout and steer the boat<\/p>\n<p>You will learn about:<br \/>\n\u2022 Nautical jargon<br \/>\n\u2022 Each and every part of the boat<br \/>\n\u2022 The correct maritime practices<br \/>\n\u2022 The weather forecast<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/Rya-Courses\/Competent-Crew\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Find out more about the RYA Competent Crew Practical Course<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2119\" src=\"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Picture-022-resized.jpg\" alt=\"Picture 022 resized\" width=\"658\" height=\"627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Picture-022-resized.jpg 658w, https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Picture-022-resized-300x286.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 658px) 100vw, 658px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Step 2: Prepare to be a Skipper<\/h2>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve grasped the basics, the next step towards setting sail is the RYA Day Skipper Theory Course. First Class Sailing offer this course across London and the South, however it can also be held in your office boardroom after work.<\/p>\n<p>Because the course is classroom based, it can be carried out across a variety or evenings, weekends and some home study time via RYA approved online modules.<\/p>\n<p>This in depth course will teach you how to plot a course to steer, prevent collisions and plan a passage.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll also cover nautical terms that you may not be familiar with, latitude and longitude, anchoring, safety, position course and speed, navigational charts and instruments, GPS and electronic charts, the compass, tidal heights and tidal streams and an in depth look at the weather.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/Rya-Courses\/Day-Skipper-Theory-Course\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Find out more about the RYA Day Skipper Theory Course<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Step 3: Become a Skipper<\/h2>\n<p>With both practical and theory under your belt, you now need to combine all this knowledge and get back out on the water with our RYA Day Skipper Practical Course.<\/p>\n<p>This course is spread over 5 consecutive days, or two weekends (one short and one long), and at the end you\u2019ll receive the Day Skipper Practical Certificate. Whilst most charter companies recognise this qualification, a few require you to have an International Certificate of Competence (ICC). Once you have the Day Skipper Practical Certificate, you can get an ICC simply by sending your certificate to the RYA.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout this course you\u2019ll learn how to:<br \/>\n\u2022 Be a skipper<br \/>\n\u2022 Handle a yacht under sail<br \/>\n\u2022 Manage the deck<br \/>\n\u2022 Enter and depart harbours<br \/>\n\u2022 Interpret shipping forecasts<br \/>\n\u2022 Read a barometer<br \/>\n\u2022 Sail at night<br \/>\n\u2022 Moor a yacht<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll also learn about preparing for sea, maintenance and repair work, victualling (food and stores), passage making and rules of the road. Plus, navigation skills including how to work out where you are, getting to grips with the tide and how to identify buoys.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll also cover what to do in emergency situations, you\u2019ll practice recovering crew members fallen overboard (don\u2019t worry, we won\u2019t throw anyone in the sea), learn about life rafts and rescue procedures.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/Rya-Courses\/Day-Skipper-Practical\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Find out more about the RYA Day Skipper Practical Course<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Don&#8217;t forget your VHF License<\/h2>\n<p>It is a legal requirement that at least 1 person on board has a VHF Radio license. You can get a VHF License by taking a 1 day course followed by an assessment. These are offered over weekends in London.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/Rya-Courses\/VHF-Course-Classroom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Find out more about the VHF Radio Course<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2117\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2117\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2117\" src=\"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Med-town.jpg\" alt=\"Tie up here for the evening\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Med-town.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Med-town-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2117\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tie up here for the evening<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Our experts are on hand to help you plan your steps to Mediterranean sailing success. Do <a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/help.php?section=contactus\">get in touch to speak<\/a> to a friendly member of the First Class Sailing team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you dream of sailing through the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean sea, the warm breeze in your hair? Well, you\u2019re in luck. At First Class Sailing we offer all the courses you need to gain the skills and experience to charter a yacht and sail around the Mediterranean. We\u2019ll teach you the ins [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2116,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[184,185,183,189,188,187,186],"class_list":["post-2113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn-to-sail","tag-competent-crew","tag-day-skipper","tag-learn-to-sail","tag-mediterranean","tag-rya","tag-sailing-in-the-med","tag-vhf"],"views":4192,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2113"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6532,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2113\/revisions\/6532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstclasssailing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}