37 Courses

All our skippers and instructors are either fully qualified RYA Yachtmaster or Cruising Instructors with many years of experience sailing in Scotland and with years of offshore experience, sailing across the seas and oceans. They all have various other RYA qualifications and are keen to share their knowledge with you. If you would like to talk about your sailing plans and aspirations, or are interested in customised training at sea or ashore, please contact us at admin@gowestsailing.com

This course teaches you astro navigation, ocean passages, worlwide meteorology, and the practical skills required to use a Sextant for Ocean Navigation.

The Day Skipper shore based course sits in the RYA Syllabus as preamble to the Day Skipper practical course and will give the aspiring skipper the knowledge that is needed to navigate familiar water. The course also provides an introduction to lights to help you on your way with sailing in the dark. The course will give you the confidence to be able to plan your passage on inshore and coastal routes, and ensure that you and your crew are safe. The course includes: Basics of seamanship Essentials of inshore navigation and pilotage Chartwork (plotting tidal streams, estimated positions and courses to steer) Electronic charts Position fixing Passage planning Weather forecasting and meteorology Tidal height calculations Collision regulations Construction, parts and equipment of a cruising boat Emergency and safety procedures including distress calls, the use of flares, safety harnesses, lifejackets and liferafts

The RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased course is for experienced sailors. The course builds on the theory learnt on the Day Skipper course, which is the knowledge level required at the outset of this course. It will give you the experience and confidence to plan and achieve your passage in offshore and coastal routes. Unlike the Day Skipper course, it includes precision tidal calculations. The course will increase your theory knowledge to the required standard for the Yachtmaster Coastal and Yachtmaster Offshore exams, concentrating on advanced navigation, IRPCS and meteorology subjects. This is an intense six day course, from 0900 hrs to 1700 hrs every day (1 hr for lunch plus 2 x 15 min breaks), that will teach you advanced navigation techniques. The syllabus contains: position fixing course shaping and plotting tidal knowledge use of almanacs and admiralty publications electronic position finding equipment taking and interpreting forecasts plotting weather systems weather predictions using a barometer and by observation collision regulations customs and excise regulations for cruising abroad

This is the course for sailors who would like to pass on their sailing skills and experience on the water. The title RYA Cruising Instructor will allow the successful candidate to teach up to Day Skipper level. The course is for experienced Yachtmaster Offshore candidates, with commercial endorsement, who on successful completion of the exam be able to instruct practical courses. The course is taken over 5 days with a moderator joining at the end of the week. It is a combination of assessing the candidate's knowledge, providing a structured framework to instruct, coach, observe and deliver constructive feedback, and ensure the structure and standards required of RYA courses are understood. Prior to the course the candidate is required to have their RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence commercially endorsed. Your Professional Practices and Responsibilities certificate (PPR this can be done online) Your original, completed ML5 or ENG1 (for cat 1 or 0 waters) medical fitness form A copy of your RYA Basic Sea Survival certificate or STCW Personal Survival Techniques A copy of your RYA Marine Radio SRC Certificate or other acceptable GMDSS Marine Radio Operator's Certificate. The course is for the experienced skipper with theoretical and practical knowledge well in excess of the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence. Candidates are required to pass an online Pre-Course Knowledge Check prior to attending the Cruising Instructor course. Access to the online check will be issued with the course Joining Instructions, which will be sent out 6 weeks before the course starts. As with all our courses, onboard food, fuel and marina fees are included in the cost. The course starts on a Monday morning (0900 hrs) and departs from Largs Yacht Haven, Scotland. Candidates are invited to arrive on Sunday evening and familiarize themselves with the yacht.

RYA first aid, sail training, first aid at sea course, 1st aid training

Join us to gain experience and log miles. Perhaps you have the skill to complete the next level in RYA qualification but need more miles, or maybe you wish to refresh your capabilities as a qualified skipper or a crew member. This is the perfect opportunity to join like-minded people, practice your skills and log those required miles. You will be part of a crew of five, along with one of our experienced instructors who can help you with the skills and drills required for all levels of RYA courses. During a 5-day course you will visit some of the most beautiful harbours and anchorages on the west coast of Scotland. You will be living on one of our fully coded, well equipped, yachts. Food, fuel and marina fees are included. A weekend course will not venture so far, and the emphasis will be on short passages to local harbours or marinas, with lots of activities en route. What is included in the price: 5 nights on board (2 nights on a weekend course), all on board meals and snacks, all marina fees, fuel and gas. Optional extras: oil skins hire - £3.50 per item/day; cleaning fee £12.50/per person or the crew can clean the boat; sleeping bag can be hired at just £15 per period.

Unravel the mysteries of astro navigation, using a sextant, ocean passage making, worldwide meteorology and electronic navigation aids. This course is for those aspiring to blue water cruising and is ideal for holders of the Yachtmaster Offshore certificate who are preparing for their first ocean passage. Topics covered include: The earth and the celestial sphere Practical guide to use and care of sextant at sea Meridian altitudes Sun, star and other sights Ocean passage planning Prior to the course your navigation skills should be at the standard of the Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore shorebased course. If you are working towards your Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate of Competence, completion of this shorebased course exempts you from the written exam. The course is taught over 40 hours with one exam paper. It can be covered as a series of short sessions, as an intensive week-long course, or by distance learning. Included in the price : 40 hours of tuition students pack prep. materials certification tea and coffee snacks

Yachtmaster preps course for those wanting to practice and perfect their skills for the Yachtmaster Coastal exam or Offshore exam. Book online, join us in Largs, west coast of Scotland.