RYA Course Dates
Below you will find the course dates for 2020 please do not hesitate to contact us if the dates below do not suit. We may have some flexibility.
Course Dates 2020
We are extremely sorry but during this pandemic we are unable to operate as normal. Although taking bookings, we are restricted in what we are able to offer. Following Government and RYA guidelines we are only able to work with groups made up of members from one household; group sizes are limited to four.
| Course No | Dates | Syllabus | Location (start and end) | Places Available (max 5 per course) | Cost |
| Course 1 | 18 – 23 April | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Ardrossan | Cancelled | £650 |
| Course 2 | 8 -12 May | Milebuilder (with tuition) | Ardrossan to Oban | Cancelled | £500 |
| Course 3 | 7 -12 June | Coastal Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | Cancelled | £650 |
| Course 4 | 21 – 26 June | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | Cancelled | £650 |
| Course 5 | 26 – 31 July | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | Cancelled | £650 |
| Course 6 | 23 – 28 August | Coastal Skipper/Competent Crew | Badachro | Cancelled | £650 |
| Course 7 | 30 August – 4 September | Day Skipper/Competent Crew | Badachro | Full | £650 |
| Course 8 | 13 – 18 September | Open | Badachro | Full | £650 |
| Course 9 | 27 September – 1 October | Open | Badachro | Full | £650 |
| Course 10 | 4 – 10 October | Milebuilder (with tuition) | Badachro to Ardrossan | 5 | £700 |
Course Dates 2021
Courses that do not, at the moment, have a designated syllabus can be be allocated to any syllabus, first come first served!
| Course No | Dates | Syllabus | Location (start and end) | Places Available (max 5 per course) | Cost |
| Course 1 | 10-15 April | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Ardrossan | 5 | £650 |
| Course 2 | 17-22 April | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Ardrossan | 5 | £650 |
| Course 3 | 27 April – 3 May | Milebuilder (with tuition) | Ardrossan to Oban | 5 | £700 |
| Course 4 | 8 -13 May | Coastal Skipper / Competent Crew | Oban | 5 | £650 |
| Course 5 | 6 – 11 June | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | 2 | £650 |
| Course 6 | 13 – 18 June | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | 5 | £650 |
| Course 7 | 20 – 25 June | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | 5 | £650 |
| Course 8 | 18 – 23 July | Day Skipper/Competent Crew | Badachro | 5 | £650 |
| Course 9 | 25 – 30 July | Day Skipper/Competent Crew | Badachro | 5 | £650 |
| Course 10 | 1- 6 August | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | 5 | £650 |
| Course 11 | 22 – 27 Aug | Coastal Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | 5 | £650 |
| Course 12 | 29 Aug – 3 Sept | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | 5 | £650 |
| Course 13 | 5 – 10 Sept | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | 5 | £650 |
| Course 14 | 12 – 19 Sept | Yachtmaster Prep and Exam | Badachro | 4 | £750 |
| Course 15 | 25 Sept – 2 Oct | Milebuilder (with tuition) | Badachro to Ardrossan | 5 | £700 |
Yachtmaster Offshore and Yachtmaster Coastal Exam Preparation weeks will only have candidates who anticipating sitting the Exam to gain the Certificate of Competence.
Course Dates 2020
Courses that do not, at the moment, have a designated syllabus can be be allocated to any syllabus, first come first served!
You may have to rotate your mobile phone to see the table fully. ↵
| Course | Syllabus | Location | Places | Cost |
| Course 1 18 – 23 April | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Ardrossan | 4 | £650 |
| Course 2 8 -12 May | Milebuilder (with tuition) | Ardrossan to Oban | 2 | £500 |
| Course 3 7 -12 June | Coastal Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | 3 | £650 |
| Course 4 21 – 26 June | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | 3 | £650 |
| Course 5 26 – 31 July | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | 5 | £650 |
| Course 6 23 – 28 August | Open | Badachro | 5 | £650 |
| Course 7 30 August – 4 September | Open | Badachro | 5 | £650 |
| Course 8 13 – 18 Sept | Open | Badachro | 5 | £650 |
| Course 9 27 Sept – 1 October | Open | Badachro | 5 | £650 |
| Course 10 4 – 10 Oct | Milebuilder (with tuition) | Badachro to Ardrossan | 4 | £700 |
Yachtmaster Offshore and Yachtmaster Coastal Exam Preparation weeks will only have candidates who anticipating sitting the Exam to gain the Certificate of Competence.
Course Length
We believe that the optimum numbers of days over which to run our courses and cover the scope of the syllabus is six days (rather than the usual five days offered by many sailing schools). Courses begin on Sunday and run through to Friday afternoon. Courses will generally have a mix of Start yachting, Competent Crew and Day skippers or Start yachting Competent Crew and Coastal Skippers.
Please contact us with your preferred dates, should you wish to discuss our course please call Tom Watson.
Course costs
Competent Crew, Day Skipper and Coastal Skipper courses cost £650 and are over 6 days. If students wish to undertake the Yachtmaster Offshore or Coastal exam (Certificate of Competence) the preparation course will be over 6 days and cost £650. The exam will take place at the end of the course and will take 6-10 hours for one candidate, 8-14 hours for 2 candidates. There is an additional charge of £100p/p for the exam days to cover the use of our boat and additional meals. The examiner cannot examine more than two candidates in a 24 hour period, the exam may therefore carry on into a second day if there are more than 2 candidates on board. An additional exam fee is payable to the RYA (Coastal Yachtmaster £189, Yachtmaster Offshore £220)
We also provide ‘Milebuilder’ courses with tuition on any area of the RYA practical syllabuses that you identify as being important for your learning. These trips are useful for those who are looking to log the miles required for the Yachtmaster Coastal or Offshore exam. These are individually priced.
Our training yacht is capable of sleeping 5 plus a skipper. There is a double cabin at the front, with a double cabin at the aft of the boat. There are also two bunks in the saloon. The distribution for sleeping will depend on the make up of a particular crew; male and females who are not a couple will not be asked to share. It may be possible to arrange a single cabin on request however there will be an additional charge of a second course fee less 15% discount.
Our Seafaring Adventures
Skippered Charters
For those familiar with the west coast of Scotland with a good idea of the itinerary they wish and would like the support of an experienced skipper to run the boat.
RYA Sailing Courses
We offer RYA practical sailing courses from Start Yachting to Yachtmaster Preparation on board our 40 foot training vessel La Girafe III. Full Details including course dates and costs.
Themed Cruises
We are offering a number of themed cruises this year. These will work to a planned itinerary with flexibility built in to allow for prevailing conditions.