FAQ’s: RYA Sail Refresher Courses

How much will the RYA Sail Refresher courses cost?

It depends on which refresher course you wish to do, and where you decide to take it. As an example expect to pay around £600/$940/840 EUROS for a five day course.

What will you get out of these courses?

What you will get out of the sail refresher courses is heavily dependent on what you want from them. They are generally for someone who is returning to the sea after a while, wants to skipper or crew, yet needs to re-learn the ropes from a time of inactivity.

For example, you may have a Day Skipper yet have not been afloat for several years and need to be reminded the rules around pilotage, navigation and so forth. Over five days you will get to grips with your weak spots and regain the confidence you once had to go to sea alone.

The same idea would apply to you if you wanted to crew as a Competent Crew, or sail night passages as a Coastal Skipper. You would assess your weaknesses and learn where you feel you need to get up to speed again.

What are your limits on passing a RYA Refresher (Sail) course?

This depends on the courses you wish to get back up to speed with and the outcomes of the course you want. It will help to have a clear idea what you want at the beginning so you’re not 30 miles off the coast at night in a building gale and saying to yourself, “Gosh darn! If only I’d remembered how to get the boat ready for foul weather…”

Are these courses theory, practical or both?

Again, this is heavily dependent on what you want from the course. Where basic deck work can come back very quickly, the finer points of coastal navigation and pilotage are complicated and can go missing in your memory. It would help to have a look at the appropriate syllabus before you go on this course to try to identify your weaknesses…

Where can you take them? In another country?

It is advisable you do the course at an RYA approved training centre. However, you can do this anywhere in the world that offers a similar syllabus – perhaps in the US, Canada, mainland Europe or the Antipodes where there are developed sailing courses.

What level of experience is required?

This course is for someone who is a lapsed sailor. Your previous experience will feed you and you should get back in the saddle more quickly. However this is primarily aimed at someone without recent sailing experience.

How long do they take?

A refresher course can take 1-5 days to complete depending on which course you wish to refresh and what specific skills you want to polish up on.

How do you progress after completing a RYA Sail Refresher course?

You can either go sailing again, confident in your newly remembered skills, or progress through the RYA syllabus according to where you wish to go.