RYA Course Dates
Below you will find the course dates for 2021 please do not hesitate to contact us if the dates below do not suit. We may have some flexibility.

Course Dates 2021
We are extremely sorry but during this pandemic we have been unable to operate as normal. Although taking bookings, we are restricted in what we are able to offer. Following Government and RYA guidelines we have only been able to work with groups made up of members from one household; group sizes have also been limited to four. Although, at the moment we are unsure what the position will be regarding our ability to operate more normally due to the ongoing pandemic we are taking provisional bookings for the 2021 season. This is on the understanding that unless current restrictions are relaxed we may still be limited to working with a maximum of 4 clients all who must be from the same household with our minimum single household group size being three. If this is still the case at the beginning of the 2021 season we will unable to offer individuals a confirmed place.
The alternative is for smaller groups (less than three) from the same household to book the whole boat and instructor . Please get in touch for a price quote if this is of interest.
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 | 4 | £650 |
Course 3 | 27 April – 3 May | Milebuilder (with tuition) | Ardrossan to Oban | 2 | £700 |
Course 4 | 8 -13 May | Coastal Skipper / Competent Crew | Oban | 3 | £650 |
Course 5 | 6 – 11 June | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | 4 | £650 |
Course 6 | 13 – 18 June | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | Full | £650 |
Course 7 | 20 – 25 June | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | 2 | £650 |
Course 8 | 18 – 23 July | Day Skipper/Competent Crew | Badachro | Full | £650 |
Course 9 | 25 – 30 July | Day Skipper/Competent Crew | Badachro | Full | £650 |
Course 10 | 1- 6 August | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | 4 | £650 |
Course 11 | 22 – 27 Aug | Coastal Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | 5 | £650 |
Course 12 | 29 Aug – 3 Sept | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | Full | £650 |
Course 13 | 5 – 10 Sept | Day Skipper / Competent Crew | Badachro | 2 | £650 |
Course 14 | 12 – 19 Sept | Yachtmaster Prep and Exam | Badachro | 3 | £750 |
Course 15 | 25 Sept – 2 Oct | Milebuilder (with tuition) | Badachro to Ardrossan | 3 | £700 |
Yachtmaster Offshore and Yachtmaster Coastal Exam Preparation weeks will only have candidates who anticipating sitting the Exam to gain the Certificate of Competence.
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.