RYA Sail cruising courses available until mid October 2026 and from April 2027 to mid October 2027.

 

​New for 2026 - Debbie has been joined by 2 very experienced colleagues Charles Lyster and

David Bonham both of whom will be running RYA courses this coming season.

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​Instructor:          2026 Dates:         Availability:      Prices:     Course:

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                 David       13 - 18 September          fully booked            £875       Day Skipper & Competent Crew​

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               Debbie        11 - 16   October   2 Comp Crew places     £825      Coastal Skipper & Comp Crew

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Instructor:          2027 Dates:         Availability:      Prices:       Course:

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                 Debbie          4 - 9    April                 5 places                  £875

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                Charles         9 - 14 May                    5 places                  £875

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                 David        30th May - 4th June        4 places                 £875                  Day Skipper & Competent Crew

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                Charles         20 - 25 June                 fully booked          £875                   Day Skipper & Competent Crew

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               Debbie          3 - 8    July                    5 places                  £875

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               David           18 - 23 July                    5 places                  £875                  Day Skipper & Competent Crew

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               David           22 - 27 August               5 places                  £875                  Day Skipper & Competent Crew

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               Charles         12 - 17 September        5 places                 £875

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               Debbie          10 - 15 October             5 places                 £875

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Courses run by Debbie or Charles will be designated as Coastal Skipper or Day Skipper as soon as the first Skipper candidate booking is taken.

Courses run by David will all be Day Skipper.

Places for Competent crew students and for Mile builders are available on all courses.  

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​​Prices based up on a maximum of 5 students sharing a 38' Westerly Ocean Ranger

In the event of one of our instructors being indisposed, the course may be instructed by

another member of the team.

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2026 course candidate feedback​

​​Day Skipper & Competent Crew July 2026 'David was friendly, informative and welcoming. Patient with beginners.' 'Very knowledgeable trainer, very helpful to me specifically as we were able to talk through scientifically.'  'Fantastic home cooked food and great portions sizes.' 'The Instructor's real life experience linked to the various activities in the syllabus was relayed in an illuminating fashion.' 'Alcuin is a charming boat and a good introduction to sailing.' 'Food and supplies were exceptional.' 'David was patient, calm, listens & takes time to check students have understood.' ' Fantastic hands on instructor, very knowledgeable.'

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Coastal Skipper & competent Crew July 2026 'Debbie has been absolutely fantastic in her approach, instruction and manner. Perfectly balanced teaching two groups so we all got what we needed.' 'Really nice food - home cooked, lots of it as well.'  'Thanks for providing such a fantastic introduction to sailing for me. It was everything and more than I was hoping for. I'll be in touch when I'm ready for Day Skipper :)' 'Clear calm instructions, gave detail when requested and always happy to go over other things again.' 'Debbie was supportive and also knew when to step back and let me make mistakes, decisions myself.' Had a great week, feel a lot more confident. Enjoyed having a clam boat even in adverse conditions. Feel ready to charter myself!'

'Debbie is a fantastic instructor with a great teaching style. Would highly recommend to anyone.'

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Day Skipper June 2026 'Debbie was very impressive, able to deal with so many questions and provide detailed answers, all while juggling everything else.  Excellent Instructor.' 'A big thank you to Debbie and Chris.' 'Food was excellent, well prepared, planned and easy to prepare.' ' Boat was excellent.  Tidy, in good working order, perfect size and setup for training purposes.' 'All the course content was covered comprehensively, all students given lots of time on each skill and helpful feedback and advice.' 'I felt the equipment was great and gave me ideas for my own boat.' 'Excellent educator - professional, calm, good at explaining concepts, took time to answer questions, perfect demonstrations of what to do, allowed time to try manoeuvres several times, if necessary clearly explaining what went wrong and how to correct, always ready to step in and encourage if needed.'
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​2025 course candidate feedback​

​​Day Skipper October 2025 'It was fantastic to learn so much and visit such stunning locations, a massive thank you to Debbie and also to Chris for the support and such delicious food'. 'The memory of leaping dolphins off Calgary bay is really special'

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Day Skipper September 2025 'Loved the route, just what I wanted while learning. All syllabus covered in bite sized chunks.' 'Debbie is always supportive, allowing us to make mistakes before stepping in, great catering.' 'Food was "yum", boat fully equipped for course' 'Great cooking from Chris, instruction was clear and well taught'.

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Coastal Skipper August 2025 'Debbie was excellent. Very calm, explained well. Thankyou! Food was excellent, can't fault it, Brilliant week.' 'Great course, would do it again tomorrow if I could (after a good nights sleep), Lovely food thanks Chris.' 'Only feedback would be it would have been nice to have a little extra time for leisure/to explore places.' 'Clear structured instructions.'

 

Day Skipper July 2025 - 'Debbie was patient and considerate, taking time to help everyone on the 2 different courses. Thank you.' 'Instruction really good and course enjoyable, thanks.'  'Communication was always clear and we were given a good amount of trust. The boat was clean comfortable, well equipped and organised, Food was good quality, tasted good, plenty and spare was bought when needed. Great week, built up loads of new skills, particular highlight was the trust when bringing on to pontoons.' 'Debbie has been really clear and instructive, keeping it simple! and gradually introducing more complex skills, knowledgeable.' Many thanks for a great week of instruction and sailing.'

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Day Skipper June 2025 - 'Clear, calm, gentle but firm instructing, and kind. Left enough room for us to learn independence. I'll recommend you to others :)'  'Clear instruction delivered by Debbie in a friendly style, at a level appropriate to the student and repeated/reinforced whenever necessary. Debbie exudes complete confidence and unflappability (and I did test this!) aboard Alcuin. This was very reassuring and made for a relaxed atmosphere amongst the crew. Food excellent. Great quality, variety and quantity.'  'Debbie’s knowledge and teaching style is excellent.  She really brought all of us on and played to our strengths.  Debbie listened to our ideas and was always willing to take these on board. Having done the Day Skipper theory first was very helpful. Really great catering - well done Chris. I really enjoyed the course - thank you so much.' 'An uplifting memorable experience. Confident, knowledgeable explanations for all levels of experience, patience and calmness in all situations.'

​Day Skipper April 2025 - 'Thankyou Debbie and Glencoe, great course, I learned a lot and its set me up for coastal skipper goal. Debbie is very adaptable, energetic and passionate to teach.'   'Very clear instructions, Debbie allowed us to work things out for ourselves and was more than happy to explain if we didn't understand anything.' ' Debbie is very empowering and very patient, very clear instructions for the week. Made sure we all had sufficient practice time but left us to decide for ourselves which is great. Never ate so well on a boat, really lovey that it was prepared and only had to be reheated.'​​​​​​​