Essential Navigation & Seamanship

Course Outline

This course is a great introduction to navigation and safety for new or inexperienced skippers and crew, and those wanting to refresh their skills. It is suitable for anyone interested in sailing, motor boating, sea angling or diving, and works well in complementing our on-the-water training, such as Start Yachting, Competent Crew and Helmsman courses.

It is also very useful as a lead-in course for someone who wants to complete a Day Skipper Theory course but has absolutely no experience of navigation or map reading. A recommended course for Powerboat level 2, Competent Crew and ICC Qualification, for those that have no previous experience.

Course topics include: Charts and Publications, Safety, Engine checks, Buoyage, Tidal awareness, Visual and electronic navigation, Pilotage, Rules of the road, Anchoring, Weather forecasts, Passage planning.

Course Format and Options

Distance learning:

We offer this subject as an online course via the Elite Sailing pages on the RYA interactive website.

The course price is £109.

Classroom Courses at Chatham:

2 days (0900 – 1700)

Course price is £239

What’s Included

For all course formats the following items are included in the price: RYA Study Pack including practice charts, exercises, RYA manual, plotter and dividers and access to examination via the RYA Interactive website.

Previous Knowledge/Experience

Nil – This is a course for absolute beginners.

View Course Syllabus

“

Great school, fantastic skippers, and easy to reach from London! Really can recommend the weekend courses if you are busy working.

-Leonard Wossnig
Friendly but highly professional sail training, both shore-based and practical. Fred and the team are now my "go-to" RYA trainers of choice. After all, if you learn to sail in the Medway and Thames Estuary, in British weather, in February and March, you can probably sail anywhere!

-Gareth Draper
Positive: Communication, Professionalism, Quality, Value
100% recommended, good people dedicated, learnt a lot from Paul my instructor and Fred the boss.

-Richard Collis
Absolutely amazing experience. I took part in 2 days Milebuilder. Well prepared. It’s a pleasure to learn from such experienced people like Steve who was a skipper. Highly recommend and hope to return soon.

-Piotr Kurzawa
I've just come back from my first weekend for competent Crew and wow what a great experience. I definitely think I’ve got the sailing bug now. I was nervous before I started the course due to never sailing before. Also, I thought I'd be meeting people completely different from myself, and I wouldn't gel I am covered in tattoos and talk like someone from the cast of Harry brown 😂but everyone was sooo cool and the skipper big Steve was a proper lad and a great teacher! Spoke to us through the whole process, and he also allowed us to make mistakes and build our confidence to get it right. 👌

-David Barrett