You’ll become confident with the parts of a yacht, her sails and rigging, and the everyday nautical terms used on board, so you can understand and respond to instructions with ease.
CategoryRYA Cruising Courses / Beginner / On Water Practical
The Competent Crew course can be completed over two blocks — starting with a two-day session and finishing with a three-day session. This flexible format is designed for those who can’t commit to five consecutive days but still want to complete the full RYA Competent Crew qualification in a structured way.
Created with beginners in mind, the course provides a comprehensive introduction to cruising, with a strong focus on personal safety, seamanship, and helmsmanship. By the end of the training, you’ll have the skills and confidence to step aboard any cruising yacht and contribute as an active, capable member of the crew.
You’ll become confident with the parts of a yacht, her sails and rigging, and the everyday nautical terms used on board, so you can understand and respond to instructions with ease.
Learn how to set, reef, and adjust sails, while operating sheets, halyards, and winches. You’ll discover how each adjustment affects the yacht’s performance and balance.
Practise handling and securing lines, coiling and stowing them correctly, and tying a range of essential knots including the bowline, clove hitch, reef knot, rolling hitch, and sheet bends.
Understand fire prevention measures, safe practices on board, and what to do in case of fire. You’ll also gain awareness of gas systems and carbon monoxide alarms.
Learn how to fit and use harnesses, lifejackets, and buoyancy aids properly to ensure your own safety and that of your crewmates.
Practise the steps for recovering someone who has fallen overboard, and understand the dangers of cold-water shock so you’re prepared to act quickly and effectively.
Gain confidence in launching and boarding a liferaft and learn how to identify and use distress flares in an emergency.
Understand traditional yacht customs such as the use of burgees and ensigns, considerate behaviour in harbour, and care for the marine environment.
Learn the basic “rules of the road” at sea and build awareness of lookout duties to avoid collisions and navigate safely.
Get to grips with handling a tender, including safe loading, kill cord use, and rowing under oars.
Discover how to use the Beaufort Scale and access reliable weather forecasts to make safe decisions before heading out.
Explore practical ways to minimise seasickness and maintain efficiency while underway.
Take the helm and steer on all points of sail, learn to trim sails effectively, and practise steering a compass course under sail and power.
Take part in the everyday routines that keep a yacht running, both on deck and below, supporting the skipper and crew in safe operations.
Our Competent Crew Weekends course delivers the full RYA Competent Crew syllabus across six days of training, spread over three weekends. This format is designed for those who want to learn to sail but prefer to balance their training with work, family, or study commitments. By spacing the course over several weeks, students gain valuable time to absorb and reflect on their learning between sessions, returning each weekend ready to progress further.
Created for complete beginners, this course introduces you to the fundamentals of sailing and life on board a cruising yacht. You’ll start by getting to know the yacht itself — her parts, rigging, and sails — and quickly move into practical exercises on the water. Over the three weekends, you’ll learn how to handle sails, steer under sail and power, tie and apply essential knots, and take part in the daily duties that keep a yacht running smoothly.
Safety is at the heart of the program. You’ll cover fire prevention, personal safety equipment, and emergency drills such as recovering a man overboard and deploying a liferaft. Navigation awareness, collision-avoidance rules, and lookout duties are introduced early, while tender-handling practice gives you confidence in using dinghies safely. The course also touches on weather forecasting, etiquette afloat, environmental responsibility, and managing seasickness, ensuring you develop the well-rounded seamanship skills expected of a competent crew member.
By completing the course over three weekends, you’ll experience a variety of sailing conditions on Sydney Harbour, gain confidence through regular practice, and finish with the internationally recognised RYA Competent Crew qualification. Whether you are starting your sailing journey or looking for a flexible way to achieve your first RYA certificate, this format is the ideal pathway to becoming a safe, skilled, and dependable member of any yacht’s crew.
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