RYA Coastal Skipper Practical

Price: from £649 (Finance now available)

Location: Starts from our base at Premier Gosport Marina, and visits different ports around the Solent and adjacent waters.

Duration: 5 days

RYA Coastal Skipper Practical: Master Solent Navigation in 5 Days

The RYA Coastal Skipper Practical training course is designed for sailors looking to enhance their coastal navigation and passage planning skills at Premier Gosport Marina. As the next progressive step from the RYA Day Skipper qualification, this training course delivers advanced sailing techniques and navigational expertise for executing longer passages. With over 30 years of Solent-based experience, Commodore Yachting equips you with the confidence to tackle essential Channel crossings. View our live course calendar for RYA Coastal Skipper Practical dates at Gosport Marina.

This Course in Summer?

You may notice that the RYA Coastal Skipper Practical isn’t often scheduled during June, July, or August. This is quite intentional. One of the key elements of this advanced course is meaningful night sailing experience. The long daylight hours of summer simply don’t allow us to provide enough genuine night time navigation for every student. To ensure you gain real-world skills—like plotting courses in darkness and handling a yacht after sunset—we schedule these courses more at times of year when darkness reliably falls early enough for proper night passages.

Every aspect of the course is designed for focused, in-depth learning. We limit numbers to just four students per yacht, all learning at the same advanced level. This lets our RYA instructors tailor tuition to the needs of budding Coastal Skippers. Please note: students must be at least 17 years old, and anyone under 18 will need a parent or guardian on board. But don’t worry we do run them but we have smaller numbers in the summer so we can get those night hours in!

Ready to navigate with confidence, day or night? Here’s what’s included in your training:

Booking details

Training Course Information

Joining Instructions: Please click here for training course joining instructions. This handy document provides everything you need to prepare for your RYA Coastal Skipper Practical course—including precise directions to our base at Premier Marina Gosport, recommended kit list, arrival times, and essential pre-course details. We recommend downloading and reviewing these joining instructions ahead of your course start date to ensure a smooth and stress-free beginning to your sailing adventure.

What is included in the training course cost:

  • Yacht hire
  • RYA Qualified Instructor
  • RYA training course materials and certificates
  • Breakfast, lunches, snacks and three evening meals (One evening meal is taken ashore at the students own cost, food is simple mainly vegetarian food for evening meals)
  • Tea, coffee & soft drinks
  • Accommodation on board
  • Diesel
  • Cooking gas
  • Wet weather kit hire (not footwear)
  • Hire of a Baltic automatic life jacket

We can accommodate most dietary requirements, such as vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian or gluten free. Just let us know when you fill out the booking form.

Recommended Reading: RYA Yachtmaster Handbook Sail (G70), RYA Yacht Sailing Techniques (G94), RYA Yachtmaster scheme and syllabus (G158)

Training Course Prerequisites: 15 days at sea, 2 days as skipper (Not on a training course), 300miles sailing, 8 night hours sailing. Yachtmaster Theory (or knowledge to the level of).

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.

Student-to-Instructor Ratio

To ensure you receive plenty of personal attention and hands-on experience, the RYA Coastal Skipper Practical course maintains a small group size—each yacht is limited to just five students per qualified instructor. This close-knit ratio means plenty of time at the helm, space to practice skills, and a supportive environment for your questions and learning needs.

The RYA Coastal Skipper training course can only be run over 5 consecutive days due to the sea-miles you will be covering and the timing of the sailing you will be doing. This training course will only have RYA Coastal Skipper students and RYA Competent Crew students onboard. You will start your training course with a quick recap of the RYA Day Skipper skills first thing on the first day and then move onto longer passages and lot more night navigation.

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Six newly certified RYA Coastal Skippers celebrating with certificates after successful practical exam completion
RYA Coastal Skipper crew collaborating on helm navigation during coastal passage

Who is the training course for:

The RYA Coastal Skipper Practical training course is designed for anyone who has successfully completed the RYA Yachtmaster Theory training course (or has sufficient theory knowledge to this level) and wants to learn the skills and techniques required to skipper a cruising yacht safely on coastal passages by day and night.

You will need to have completed the Yachtmaster Theory training course or have knowledge of navigation theory to this level before taking the RYA Coastal Skipper training course as there is insufficient time to teach you the theory during the week. It is also preferable that you have completed the RYA Day Skipper Practical training course as there is insufficient time on the training course to teach the required basic boat handling techniques.

You will learn more about advanced passage planning, pilotage by day and by night, boat handling and emergency procedures on this course.

This course acts as the key steppingstone between the Day Skipper qualification and the Yachtmaster Coastal Certificate of Competence Exam. Over five consecutive days, you’ll build on your existing experience and confidence as a skipper, honing your ability to manage longer passages—often including plenty of night sailing and more complex pilotage.

Who should take this course?
You should already be a well-practised and confident Day Skipper, able to handle a yacht and its crew safely. If you have the RYA Day Skipper Practical course completion certificate, that’s ideal, but the main thing is that you’re a competent sailor ready for more advanced skippering challenges. The course is not designed for beginners or those needing to learn the basics of boat handling or navigation theory.

Building experience & progression
The Coastal Skipper Practical course is perfect for those looking to bridge the gap to Yachtmaster, and completing it can reduce the mileage required for your Yachtmaster Coastal Certificate of Competence Exam. While you’ll be challenged to demonstrate skippering skills at a higher level, the course is also a great opportunity to build further experience—even for those who have already completed it previously.

Many participants use this course to sharpen their skills and gain more confidence before taking on the Yachtmaster exam, and it’s not unusual for sailors to return for additional training as they continue to develop their expertise. To get the most out of your week, ensure you have the necessary prerequisites and come prepared to take charge.

Remember, If you are short of a few days experience then why not try one of our sailing mile builders!

Certificate Issuing Criteria

To be awarded the Coastal Skipper Practical Sailing Course certificate, you’ll need to demonstrate that you can safely and confidently take charge of a yacht on coastal passages—by both day and night. This means being able to plan, skipper, and execute coastal passages, manage your crew, and handle navigation challenges in changing conditions. In essence, you’ll show your instructor that you are capable of skippering longer coastal passages while keeping everyone on board safe and sound.

What if I don’t meet the required skill level during the course?

If you’re not quite ready to skipper at Coastal Skipper level by the end of the week, don’t worry—safety and competency are our top priorities. Certificates are only awarded to students who can demonstrate the necessary skills and confidence to take charge of coastal passages, day and night.

For those who need a bit more time or experience, your instructor will offer honest feedback and helpful guidance on the areas to focus on next. Remember, many skilled skippers build their confidence and ability over time, sometimes signing up for additional sailing or mile-building trips to consolidate their learning. There’s no rush—our team is here to support you on your journey to becoming a safe and proficient Coastal Skipper.

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What we cover on the training course:

“This is an amazing training course to help build your confidence as a Skipper. It takes your skills to the next level.” “You’ll learn vital techniques for when things go wrong, like sailing to a pontoon and berthing under sail. The training course also covers handling a yacht in confined spaces.” “Plus, you’ll practice rare navigation skills to find your position when lost—skills you’ll be glad to have when you need them.”

Passage planning

  • Can plan a coastal passage including a consideration of the capability of the yacht, navigation, victualling, weather, ports of refuge, tidal heights, and tidal streams, publications required and strategy
  • Know Customs procedures

 

Preparation for sea

  • Is aware of safety equipment required for offshore passages
  • Can prepare a yacht for sea including stowage, safety briefing, watch keeping, delegating responsibilities and equipment and engine checks

 

Pilotage

  • Can prepare a pilotage plan, with consideration of surroundings, transits, clearing bearings, buoyage, port or harbour regulations and tidal considerationsb. Can pilot a yacht by day and night

 

Passage making and ability as skipper

  • Can take charge of a yacht and direct the crew
  • Can organise the navigation, deckwork, and domestic duties of a yacht on passage
  • Is aware of the significance of meteorological trends
  • Is aware of crew welfare on passage
  • Can use electronic navigational equipment for planning and undertaking a passage, including the use of waypoints and routes

 

Yacht handling under power

  • Can control the yacht effectively in a confined space under power
  • All berthing and unberthing situations in various conditions of wind and tide

 

Yacht handling under sail

  • Characteristics
  • Can use the sails to control the yacht in a confined space
  • Anchoring and mooring in various conditions of wind and tide
  • Can sail efficiently on all points of sailing

 

Adverse weather conditions

  • Preparation for heavy weather and yacht handling in strong winds
  • Navigation and general conduct in restricted visibility

 

Emergency situations

  • Recovery of man overboard under power and sail
  • Understands action to be taken when abandoning to the liferaft and during helicopter and lifeboat rescues

Please be aware that RYA Coastal Skipper Training Courses completed in the Solent and other tidal waters are demanding.
This training course is held in high regard with yacht charter companies worldwide due to the challenging waters, winds, tides and busy waterways you will encounter. Training courses run in the non-tidal waters of the Mediterranean are generally not accepted by the UK yacht charter industry. 

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Sunset over the ocean, viewed from a boat deck with a British flag waving in the wind. Calm waters and colorful sky.
A group of people sitting on a sailboat's edge, enjoying a sunny day on calm waters, with clear skies and gentle waves.

Training Course formats & details:

Training courses run in a choice of three formats:

  • 5 consecutive days: (Monday to Friday)
  • 5 consecutive days: (Saturday to Wednesday)
  • 5 consecutive days: (Wednesday to Sunday)

The training course includes accommodation aboard our immaculate, well-maintained yachts with breakfast, lunch and snacks and three evening meals onboard with the remaining evening meal taken ashore at the students cost. We also include all fuel and safety kit such as lifejackets and waterproofs. Every student has their own bed on board for the duration of the training course. In some instances sharing a cabin may be required.

We also offer our Complete RYA Coastal Skipper Package which includes both the RYA Yachtmaster theory and RYA Coastal Skipper Practical training courses. This will take you from having a good level of sailing experience and knowledge through to passing your RYA Coastal Skipper first time round if you follow the instructors advice.

We highly recommend Students do a one day marina skills day before the course. It is also highly recommended that you also have your SRC VHF licence.

Fancy going VIP and having your own exclusive private training course for you and your friends or family? You can book the whole yacht just for your own exclusive course from only £899 per person.

Enjoy the training 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!

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Our Chief Instructor says this about the RYA Coastal Skipper Training Course:

This training course steps things up a bit from your RYA Day Skipper level but teaches an excellent range of really useful additional skills which are essential for more adventurous sailing. It’s a great training course to undertake as you really do get out there for some cracking sailing and longer passages! Make sure you’ve got the pre-requisites for the training course beforehand, by spending a few days brushing up on your skills to ensure on the day you are fully prepared and ready to go!

You’ll be in safe hands throughout the course with one of our Yachtmaster Instructors on hand to ensure you get the best out of your five days with us. So what are you waiting for? 

RYA Coastal Skipper candidate winching jib sheet to trim sails during coastal navigation

Booking details

Please select your preferred start date below.

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Customer reviews

Fun couple of days with the Commodore team doing Day Skipper drills ahead of a YM exam. Very useful and great instruction from Ali.

ChrisC Avatar ChrisC
4th August 2025

I 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 Avatar Robert Till
30th July 2025

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