Marina Skills & Boat Handling
Booking details
Please select your preferred start date below.
Please select your preferred start date below.
Joining Instructions: Please click here for training course joining instructions
Recommended Reading: Sailing magazines and newspapers, but this is not essential. However, for those looking to sharpen their boat handling skills even further, we suggest exploring articles such as “The Big 5 of Boat Handling” featured in popular sailing publications. These resources offer practical tips and insights that can complement what you’ll learn on the course, giving you a broader perspective and more confidence when tackling tricky berths or challenging conditions.
Course Prerequisites: Ideally RYA Competent Crew or knowledge to this level
Minimum Age: No minimum but Under 16’s must be accompanied by adult. Persons aged 16+ can be unaccompanied subject to other pre-requisites having been met
Holiday Insurance: We would advise ALL our customers to ensure they have suitable holiday insurance in-place. Yachtsman’s insurance is available from a variety of souces like Topsail Insurance and can cover things like cancellations and personal effects cover.
This course will enable students to safely handle a yacht in and around confined marina berths, practicing with wind and tide with and against you.
This course is perfect for anyone who feels their marina skills and low speed boat handling could do with a polish!
Based around our Gosport Marina base and Portsmouth Harbour, we cover entering and exiting marina berths, picking up mooring buoys and anchoring techniques.
Perfect for the whole crew, not just the skipper, this course aims to build confidence and abilities which will mean perfect mooring every time (we hope!).
A great way to compliment an RYA Practical Course, or just to refresh your existing skills.
Mooring techniques for securing a yacht, entering and departing from standard marina berths and tricker ones, dealing with wind and tide with and against the boat, picking up mooring buoys, anchoring techniques
General commands and managing crew for safe and effective berthing, procedures and assessment of weather conditions and how they affect the yacht.
The day covers the basic techniques enabling you to safely get a yacht in and out of a berth without hopefully causing any damage!
We know many skippers find themselves short-handed from time to time—don’t worry, you’re in good company! Throughout the course, we’ll show you how to moor confidently even with limited crew on board.
You’ll discover practical tips for lining up your approach using the natural forces around you—learning how to let wind and tide work for you, not against you. We’ll explore clever ways to set up lines and use fenders for added peace of mind.
Additionally, you’ll practise simple manoeuvres like using spring lines to hold the boat steady, and strategic rope work so you can easily step ashore and secure the yacht with minimal help. Short-handed or not, you’ll finish up knowing exactly how to execute smooth, safe dockings—no extra hands required!
Courses run in a choice of two formats:
Based around our marina base in Gosport, and in Portsmouth harbour.
The course includes all fuel, and safety kit such as lifejackets and waterproofs. We don’t cater for this course but have plenty of free tea, coffee and hot chocolate in our barge offices.
Wet weather gear is provided for your comfort, and you’ll have access to hot drinks throughout the day to keep you going. While lunch isn’t included, you’re welcome to bring your own or pick something up locally—there are plenty of options nearby for a quick bite between sessions. Morning and afternoon tea breaks are also part of the day, so you’ll have the chance to warm up and recharge as you hone your marina skills.
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Fancy going VIP and having your own exclusive private course for you and your friends or family? You can book the whole yacht just for your own exclusive course from only £150 per person.
Enjoy the course in style, with up to five persons on the boat being taught by one of our friendly, experienced Yachtmaster Instructors! What a way to continue your sailing adventure!
Looking for something a bit more tailored? If our scheduled dates don’t fit your diary, or you’d prefer the personalised touch of training on your own boat, just let us know! We’re always happy to organise bespoke sessions—whether that’s one-to-one coaching or a private day for your friends and family, even aboard your own yacht.
Drop us a call or email for a friendly chat about the options. We’ll do our best to craft the perfect marina skills or boat handling experience, right down to the last cleat hitch—so you get the most from your day on the water.
The most common errors we see with boat owners isn’t at sea, but at low speed in mariners and harbours.
It’s always a nerve-wracking moment when you suddenly notice the tide or wind has decided to take your boat exactly where you don’t want it to go!
So, we have put together a course which will deal with all the berthing issues and situations you are likely to face, and make sure you will know how to deal with them in a controlled and safe manner.
We will show you the best way to tie-up the boat at the end of the day, and how to prepare for departure with wind or tide (or both!) with and against you.
We’ll show you the careful use of the boat’s engine power, any prop-walk and how to expertly get the boat where you need it to be!
You’ll also learn better crew communication, commands and timing, the best positions for crew to be in when entering and leaving berths, basically it’s a course for everyone!
A great confidence builder that is also a lot of fun!
You’ll come away with a much better understanding of how windage, prop walk, tide, rudder shape, and prop wash all affect your yacht—sometimes working against you, but often able to be harnessed to help you pull off a perfect manoeuvre. We don’t just show you what to do, but explain the why behind every technique, so you can predict how your boat will react in different conditions and respond with confidence.
Whether you’re dealing with a tight marina on a blustery day or aiming for a textbook-perfect mooring in a busy harbour, this course will give you the practical skills and the knowledge to turn those white-knuckle moments into smooth, controlled moves—every time
Please select your preferred start date below.
The perfect introduction to Powerboats & Ribs, the two day RYA Powerboat Level 2 practical powerboat course will give you the best building blocks to kick-off your powerboat adventure from!
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the RYA Powerboat Level 2 course! You can easily browse upcoming availability—simply select a specific highlighted date to see which courses are running, or search within a date range to find what fits your schedule.
Whether you’re planning ahead or looking for a last-minute adventure, our calendar makes it straightforward to find the perfect start date. Don’t forget you can spread the cost via invoice. Give us a call or email to talk about this option.
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The RYA SRC/VHF Radio Course is minimum qualification required by law to operate the VHF or VHF Digital Selective Calling (DSC) equipment on any British flagged vessel carrying a radio. This is also for anyone who wants to operate a marine radio at sea, weather it is on a Kayak or paddle board, to operating a RIB, Jet ski or a Yacht. This course is one of them you need to stay safe on the water.
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the RYA SRC/VHF Radio course!
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Our Mile Building Weekends are the perfect way to build-up your sea miles and gain valuable experience and knowledge at the helm as Skipper or as crew under the watchful eye of one of our expert Instructors. With longer, more involved & exciting passages, sometimes including night sailing, it’s an adventure outside the confines of the Solent and a great way to gain confidence in the waters around the South Coast.
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the Mile Building Weekend!
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Fun couple of days with the Commodore team doing Day Skipper drills ahead of a YM exam. Very useful and great instruction from Ali.
ChrisCI have used Commodore Yachting for the following courses and would never go anywhere else for training or experience building: Sail - Competent Crew Sail - Day Skipper Sail - Mariner Handling Power - PB2 Power - Own boat tuition Motor Yacht Power - Own boat tuition RIB All the instructors have been great and I have come away with bags of confidence. The Chief Instructor Tom is extremely knowledgable and will guide you as to what steps to take in achieving your goals.
Robert Till