Select a date below to register your place. Maximum 5 students per course.
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to yachting and leads to a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) certificate. The course is designed for novice sailors who want to become valuable and active crew members. By the end of the course, you should be able to steer, handle sails and mooring lines, and assist in all boat and sail handling procedures on board.
The RYA Competent Crew course takes place over 5 days, Monday to Friday, aboard a Beneteau First 40.7 cruiser-racer on Sydney Harbour. No prior sailing experience is required — just enthusiasm and a willingness to learn.
Topics covered include:
Students are asked to bring their own lunch and snacks.
No prior sailing experience is required for this course. All you need is a sense of adventure and a reasonable level of fitness. The course is conducted in all weather conditions so please come prepared with warm, weather-appropriate clothing.
Minimum age is 14 years (accompanied by an adult). For students under 18, a parental consent form is required prior to the course start date.
After completing your Competent Crew course, the natural next step is the RYA Day Skipper — a 5-day practical course that teaches you to skipper a yacht by day in tidal waters. You'll also need to complete the Day Skipper Theory course (available online) before the practical.
Flying Fish runs a full progression from Competent Crew through to RYA Yachtmaster — the professional qualification for skippers wanting to work on yachts.
"Great, friendly, and knowledgeable trainers, lots of fun! Highly recommended."
"I just completed the Competent Crew course and wanted to thank Jen who ran a superb interactive course, making us all feel more confident with our seamanship."
"Matt is a deadset legend. He took a group of 5 adults who knew absolutely nothing about sailing to a place where we all felt proud and exhilarated! He was calm, funny, specific, and clear."