BeachYachting

Departure Date

Where are you going?

Travellers

How long are you going for?

Choose Your Departure Date

Where are you going?

Adults

Over 12 years old

Children

2 to 12 years old

Infants

0 to 23 months old

Competent Crew Course

Take your Day Skipper

If your aim is to become a skipper and take the helm as captain of your own ship, then you will need a Day Skipper qualification, the follow-on course after Competent Crew

Learn More

Take your ICC with us

If you can already sail but have no piece of paper to prove your ability, then the ICC is just what you need! About a half day assessment which can be taken in the UK or Greece with us.

Learn More

Our Tuition Yacht

Our Sun Odyssey 439 is a modern cruiser, fully coded for instructional purposes and the perfect live aboard yacht with 3 sleeping cabins and everything you need for cruising the Ionian.

Learn More

Taking your Competent Crew with us

The RYA’s complete basic sailing course [Competent Crew] is suitable for beginners and you can take it with Ocean Elements in a week’s holiday aboard a shared training yacht from Lefkada in the beautiful Ionian.

Our training yachts take 4-6 people and you can book as a sharer (by the cabin) or as a family or group of friends wanting a private yacht and instructor. We often mix Competent Crew with Day Skipper pupils on the same yacht. A great family discovery holiday where you all get to go home with a new qualification!

Do ask our sales team about holiday options for taking your Competent Crew course with us.

Our Yacht Experiences

7 Nts aboard: 5 days sailing, 1 day off
Book a double cabin or single occupancy
Book a tuition yacht, privately
Very practical hands-on course
Lots of sailing and relaxation (of course!)
Great for families
Sun Odyssey 439 (4 cabin training yacht)
Enjoy a free day at our Vassiliki Beach Club

About the course

Competent Crew (Practical, Tidal)
Minimum age: 12
Pre-course Requirements: None
Course runtime: five days sailing, one day off

This hands-on course for the absolute beginner which will teach you the basics of sailing. It is very practical with lots of sailing and you’ll see lots of the beautiful Ionian along the way.

It’s a great holiday with plenty of downtime to enjoy the sun, lunchtime swimming and sociable evening meals ashore; not forgetting the chance to visit our Beach Club in Vassiliki for a complimentary day of water sports or relaxation.

Our tuition boat tends to visit the same harbours as our Flotilla but with a bit more sailing in between, so you get the social benefits of the Flotilla and our evening entertainments.

View Syllabus

Course Prices	Day Skipper, Coastal Skipper, Competent Crew (per berth)	Gatwick Flight & transfer to marina
	Jeanneau 439
	7-Nts	Sunday-Sunday
July 7- July 28	£649	£199*
July 28 - Aug 25	£699*	£299*
Aug 25 - Sep 1	£649	£249*
Sep 1 - Sep 8	£599	£229*

*Flight prices are estimated, Book early for cheapest flights. Call for our latest prices

Single cabin occupancy: 50% supplement on the above prices

*Yacht may only booked for private bookings (see below)

Sleeping Cabins: The Sun Odyssey 439 has 4 cabins: 3 doubles and 1 bunk-cabin with single beds. There are 6 berths for guests (3 cabins) and 1 cabin for your instructor.

Prices are per person: 7 Nts live aboard a shared tuition yacht with 5 days tuition and one day off. For ‘day off’ we offer a free visit to our Vassiliki Beach Club for inclusive watersports.

Price also includes provisioning for breakfast and light lunch each day, all mooring fees and port taxes, end stay yacht clean, bed linen and all fuel. And course completion certificate. You need extra: Flights and transfers (ours are from £199)

Private yacht bookings: We ask for a minimum of 4 persons to book a tuition yacht privately, and single cabin occupancy supplements will apply. If 3 people wish to book, they may pay for the empty bed. [more info here]

Learn More About Tuition

About our RYA Competent Crew course

During our Competent Crew course, you will spend 6 days aboard the yacht visiting many of the harbours and anchorages of the Ionian and have the opportunity to complete a longer passage and to experience some night sailing.

We often meet up with our flotilla groups and share evening meals.

You will learn about sail handling and rope work including setting, trimming and adjusting sails. You will learn about the use of halyards and sheets to control the sails and safe use of winches.

You will also learn eight essential knots and how to handle mooring ropes.

Candidates will live-on-board for 7 nights and the course includes 5 days of tuition with practical hands-on sailing every day, and one day off. The day off is often taken in Vassiliki where you can relax in the sun, take in the sights and make use of the facilities at our Surf Hotel Beach club, perhaps try dinghy sailing, windsurfing or just chill by the pool.

View Course Content & Syllabus

Private Charter

If you value your privacy, you can book a yacht and instructor for private charter to work towards your RYA day Skipper or Competent Crew.

You’ll charter a dedicated training yacht, not shared with other pupils, with your RYA instructor alongside to guide and instruct.

It’s great for families and groups of friends and we often mix Competent Crew with Day Skipper, as the two disciplines complement the learning process. Minimum booking size is 4 to a yacht, to a maximum of 6; and our student-instructor ratio is 5:1

Your instructor will generally live aboard in their own cabin. By special arrangement, your instructor can live on the Lead Boat after the day’s sailing to give you some private downtime to relax on your yacht whilst at anchor.

Living Aboard

You can book a double cabin as a couple or pay a supplement for single occupancy. All students will live aboard for the duration of the course and you will visit many different harbours and anchorages to practice pilotage and mooring techniques.

We often join our flotilla for some of the evenings which is a sociable experience. You will have five full days with a lot of sailing and you will complete at least 4-night hours of night sailing to experience pilotage and identify lights at night.

Provisioning

We will provision the yacht with tea, coffee, snacks, bottled water for sailing and ingredients for breakfast and a light lunch each day except lunch on the day off.

Private bookings

You can book a tuition yacht for private charter. We often mix Competent Crew with Day Skipper, as the two disciplines complement the learning process. Minimum booking size is 4 to a yacht, to a maximum of 6; and our student instructor ratio is 5:1

Course Content & Syllabus

The RYA Competent Crew Course aims to introduce the complete beginner to cruising and to teach personal safety, seamanship, sailing skills and helmsmanship to the level required to be a useful and competent crew member of a cruising yacht.

You will learn about sail handling and rope work including setting, trimming and adjusting sails. You will learn about the use of halyards and sheets to control the sails and safe use of winches. You will also learn eight essential knots and how to handle mooring ropes.

Safety is paramount in all RYA courses and you will learn how to operate flares, life jackets, safety harnesses, life-rafts and how to assist in the recovery of a man overboard. At the end of a successful week, you will be awarded the RYA Competent Crew Certificate and be an asset to any crew you join.

View Syllabus

Travel

Our charter yachts and flotilla holidays are sold without travel included so you can organise your own flights (to Preveza airport) and transfers to the marina base.

Alternatively, we can organise everything for you as a one-stop shop. Flights and transfer packages are from £250 PP with us.

A transfer from Preveza to Lefkas marina takes about 25 mins and taxis (for the self-travellers) are easy enough to pick up from outside the airport.

Marina Address: Lefkas Marina, East Shore Lefkada, 311 00 Greece

Safety at Sea

Our Tuition yachts are regularly inspected and comply with RYA / MCA guidelines and Codes of Practice for Sail Training Yacht. All instructors are RYA certified. And our yachts comply with Greek and British RYA maritime regulations.

You are under the supervision of an RYA qualified instructor whilst at sea.

All our RYA instructors hold the requisite first aid certificates and are fluent in English (all courses delivered in English, as per RYA regulations).

Safety equipment on our tuition yachts complies with British RYA and Greek maritime authority regulations.

All yachts have DSC VHF radios, handheld VHF radios

Slimline inflatable life jackets, harnesses and crotch straps are provided for each person aboard, with spares carried on board.

Our tuition yacht is equipped with electric anchor windlass, a Bimini sun top ( a cockpit sun shade), hot water with cockpit shower, fridge, cooker, hobs, sinks, fully equipped kitchen.

How to Book

If you're looking to book any of our sailing courses then you'll need to give us a call to check available dates. Our expert sales team have extensive knowledge of our programme and ready to help

So call on 0844 770 40 70 and our team will talk you through the options and get the best price for you.

Great Tuition and Staff!
Cannot praise Ocean Elements staff highly enough - excellent tuition and every member of staff was professional, friendly and fun but then was also no pressure to do things if you didn't want to. Will definitely recommend you.
Anon, Nidri 2014