RYA Competent Crew Sail
Train to be an active crew member on a sailing boatThe 5-day RYA Competent Crew course is a sail cruising course for beginners and those who would like to become active crew members of a sailing yacht rather than just passengers. The course lasts 5 days. Open group courses normally run from Monday to Friday. If you have done the Start Yachting course, you can complete the Competent Crew course in 3 days.
Taught in English
All RYA courses are taught in English. We recommend a minimum level of B1 for 1-day and 2-day courses and a minimum level of B2 for longer courses, theory courses and specialised training, such as SRC (VHF) radio.
Quick facts
Here’s what you need to know about The Boat School RYA Competent Crew courses..
5-day intensive practical course
All teaching takes place on-board
Expect to sleep aboard
Taught by a qualified RYA Instructor
Not a skipper's qualification
Our boats
The sailing boats we use for training on Competent Crew courses are specially equipped for sail training. Their sail plan means we can run sail courses even in light winds.
All our vessels are commercially coded and inspected by the RYA.
The details
Click on the tabs for more detailed information.
The 5-day RYA Competent Crew course is a sail cruising course for beginners and those who would like to become active crew members of a sailing yacht rather than just passengers. The course lasts 5 days. Open group courses normally run from Monday to Friday. The Boat School course to obtain the RYA Competent Crew certificate is taught in small groups with a maximum of five students.
Is this course for me?
The Boat School’s five-day RYA Competent Crew course aims to provide beginners with a thorough introduction to sail cruising. This course requires no previous sailing experience. Virtually all the course is hands on. You are the crew – without you the sails won’t go up and the boat won’t be steered! By the end of the course you should have all the basic skills you need to be an active and useful crew member on a sailing yacht. When you finish the course, you should be able to steer, handle sails, keep a lookout, row a dinghy and assist in all the day to day duties on board. Please note that this is not a skipper’s licence; with the RYA Competent Crew certificate, you won’t be able to charter or skipper a yacht without a qualified person on board.
You can choose to complete the course either as part of an open group or you can rent a boat for the day and complete the course with family and friends.
Open groups
With an open group booking, you book a place on a course and we’ll admit up to a maximum of five students onto that same course. This is the most economical option; however, it’s also the least flexible option if your availability is limited. The price of a seat on an open course includes fuel and mooring fees away from our base.
We publish regular course dates all year round and you can book the course directly online. If you don’t find the dates you’re looking for on our training calendar, please contact us; we schedule courses in accordance with the availability of students interested in the course.
Price per person in open group: €995
Rental & course pack
With this option, you charter a sailing yacht and we provide the instructor and teaching materials. This option gives you the maximum flexibility in terms of dates and the kind of boat we’ll use in training (subject to availability). With the rental and course pack, you’ll also have more say in the itinerary. As with any charter, you’re responsible for paying the fuel for the boat as well as mooring fees away from our home port.
The RYA Competent Crew course can be combined with other RYA courses in the sail cruising scheme. This means that you can choose a rental and course pack and have, for example, two participants preparing for the Competent Crew certificate and two candidates preparing for Day Skipper.
Please contact us for a quote for own boat tuition.
Own boat tuition
If you already own a yacht, or if you have a friend who owns a sailboat, we’re more than happy to run an RYA Competent Crew course on your own boat. This option is significantly cheaper than open groups and charters; however, you do need to make sure that your boat is up to the standard required by the RYA for training.
Please contact us for a quote for own boat tuition.
What’s included?
Your RYA Competent Crew course with The Boat School includes:
RYA Competent Crew certificate and materials
Use of light-weight inflatable life jackets
Cold water on the boat
Fuel and mooring fees (open groups only)
This course includes accommodation aboard; however, we cannot guarantee that you will have your own cabin (this depends on the type of yacht used for your course). We do guarantee:
- Couples (or friends) will have their own cabin
- Female participants will only share a cabin with other female students
- Please contact us if you have any questions about accommodation
Practical skills, including…
- Steering under sail and power
- Sail handling & ropework
- Keeping a lookout at sea
- What to do in emergencies (man overboard and fire fighting)
& just the right amount of theory, including…
- Sea terms and parts of a sailing boat
- The Rules of the Road
- Weather information
We only run this course for under 18’s if the parent or guardian is taking the course at the same time.
You won’t need a medical certificate but you should be in reasonable physical shape.
Book your RYA Competent Crew course
995€ per person in an open groupBook a place in an open group
If you choose to book a place on an open group, we’ll put a maximum of four other people on your course. Click on the “Book Now” link to get course dates. We run RYA Competent Crew courses at least once a month all year round. If you don’t see the dates you want, please contact us and we’ll try to make a group.
Rental with Course Pack
Please us the contact form below if you’re interested in chartering one of our sailing yachts and running the course during a holiday.
Own Boat tuition
If you’re a boat owner (or if friends have a sailboat), you can also choose own boat tuition for maximum flexibility for small group tuition (up to 5 students) or one-to-one training. Please contact us by completing the form below if you’d like to run a course on your boat.
RYA Competent Crew
5-day open group course
Ready to book? Got any questions?
If you’re interested in this course, please complete the form below and we’ll get back to you.
Or give us a call
Call our Chief Instructor, Tim Wood on 00 34 651 956 208 for a chat about this course in English.
The Boat School
Recognized by the Royal Yachting Association to conduct Powerboat Training, Sail Cruising courses in the Yachtmaster (sail) scheme and Shorebased (theory) courses.
Recognized by the Spanish Directorate General for Merchant Shipping, the Comunidad Valenciana and the Region of Murcia to conduct sail, motor, powerboat and VHF training.
Operational Base Denia
Marina de Dénia (Sail courses)
Darsena de babor s/n
03700 · Denía
Alicante · Spain
Marina El Portet (Powerboat courses)
Moll de la pansa, s/n
3700 · Dénia
Alicante · Spain
Classrooms & pick up for certificates
Carrer de Fora Mur, 12
03700 · Dénia
Alicante · Spain
Madrid Office
Greenwich Náutica
C/ Marqués de Lema 7, Local 6
28003 · Madrid · Spain