What you can expect
Pre-course: You will be sent full joining instructions about four weeks prior to the event. Those instructions will tell you; where to go on day 1, who will meet you and how to contact them, what to bring with you, where to park your car and advice on how to approach Poole by public transport. You should make sure that we are aware of any dietary and medical issues that you might have.
Day 1: All of our practical sailing courses start at 09.00. You will be shown aboard our training yacht, offered some refreshment and introduced to the rest of the crew, Skipper plus the yacht layout and its basic functions. Day 1 is all about familiarisation. You will receive a full safety brief followed by a briefing on weather and tide, that will determine where the course will take you. Next you will be introduced to the yachts deck gear while the boat is rigged and made ready for ‘going to sea’. Sailing on day 1 will usually be in Poole Harbour and Studland Bay, while the crew ‘learn’ their way around yacht while learning or refreshing their ability to tack, gybe and connect with mooring buoys. It is also an opportunity for our instructor to assess the crews’ individual abilities. The yacht will return to Poole Quay Boat Haven for the first night and crew who are ‘local’ can go home for the night if they wish.
Days 2, 3 and 4: As long as the weather allows, we will go cruising. Our cruising area includes many lovely harbours and our instructor will introduce you to as many as possible while covering all of the various course syllabi. We usually return to Poole on day 4, sometimes very late in the day, so that we are not too far from home on the final day of the course.
Day 5: Is usually spent close to Poole giving the crew an opportunity to enjoy demonstrating their new found skills within the beautiful environment of our home base. A short period ‘putting the boat to bed’, plus cleaning and tidying will be followed by individual de-briefs, a general presentation of certificates and departure at around 16.30.
Sleeping on board: Sleeping on board is an essential part of the cruising life style. We restrict student numbers on our RYA courses, well below our yachts’ capacities, so that only couples will be asked to share double cabins and most students will enjoy single cabin occupancy. Two adults of the same sex may be asked to use single saloon berths separated by a couple of metres and the saloon table.
Meals: We include for
Breakfast: Usually cereal, and fruit or porridge.
Snacks: Biscuits, Crisps and Fruit.
Soft Drinks: Water, tea and coffee.
Dinner: We will provide a ‘one-plate’ dinner on those occasions when we are at sea during the evening. Other-wise students will buy their own evening meal on shore.
Berthing: Students will share the cost of overnight berthing when we are away from our home berths.