Welcome!

Powersail Training is a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) recognised Training Centre and Yacht Charter business and provider of sailing corporate events. Our base is Dartmouth on the beautiful South Devon coast during the warm summer months and Portsmouth in the sheltered waters of the Solent from October to March.

We are a small, established, Dartmouth & Solent Sea School dedicated to providing quality Sail Training and Skippered Charters with maximum fun and safety. Our Courses cover the entire RYA practical syllabus from beginner to Yachtmaster plus specialised Master Classes on such topics as boat handling, and sail trim. For experienced Yachtmasters with ambitions to begin teaching  RYA courses, we also offer RYA Cruising Instructor Training courses.

Courses

All our RYA courses are very practical, “hands on” experiences that cater for all levels of experience and ability. During each course we will continually discuss your progress, so you will always know how you are doing. Practical sailing courses available include:

RYA Start Yachting 

The RYA Start Yachting course is the basic introductory course for beginners. The RYA Start Yachting course is run over a weekend and by the end of the weekend, you will have experienced steering a yacht, sail handling, rope work and be aware of safety onboard. Holders of an RYA Start Yachting certificate can obtain a RYA Competent Crew certificate by completing a further two weekends of the RYA Competent Crew course.

The RYA Start Yachting weekend is ideal as an introductory gift and like all our courses we can provide a gift voucher.

2 day Start Yachting course: £310 including all on board costs

Competent Crew

This course is aimed at the complete beginner to sailing – or those who have been sailing, but don’t feel they “know the ropes” as they would wish to when crewing for family or friends. The course covers basic sailing and helming, seamanship, deckwork, safety and living aboard a yacht to enable you to become a competent and confident crew member. And – just as importantly – it will show you what fun sailing can be! . 

The course is run over 5 days (Sunday evening to Friday afternoon)

  • Suggested minimum pre-course experience: none.
  • Assumed knowledge: none.
  • Course content: basic seamanship and helmsmanship.

Ability after course: useful crew member.

5 day Competent Crew course: £695 including all on board costs.

Day Skipper

This course is aimed at those who already have experience of sailing as crew, and who now want to be able to skipper a cruising yacht safely on short passages by day. You will already know the basics of sailing, so the course focuses on pilotage, navigation and boat handling under both power (including getting in and out of that tight berth!) and sail. Equally importantly it looks at the skills and approach needed to become a successful skipper.

The course is run over 5 days (Sunday evening to Friday afternoon)

Suggested minimum pre-course experience: 

  • 5 days/100NMs, 4 night hours.
  • Assumed knowledge: basic sailing skills and navigation theory up to day skipper shore based standard.

Ability after course: skipper a small yacht in familiar waters by day. 

5 day Day Skipper course: £695 including all on board costs.

Coastal Skipper

This is a more advanced course that builds on your skippering experience to extend your ability to cruise further afield, by day and night. Advanced boat handling under sail and power, navigation and pilotage skills and handling emergencies are covered, as well as broader aspects of skippering including passage planning, yacht/crew management and weather forecasting – and what to do if the wind gets up or the visibility goes down. 

The course in run over 5 days (Sunday evening to Friday afternoon)

Suggested minimum pre-course experience: 

  • 15 days (2 as skipper)/300 nautical miles, 8 night hours.
  • Assumed knowledge: navigation to coastal skipper shorebased/sailing to day skipper practical level.

Ability after course: skipper a yacht on coastal passages by day and night.

5 day Coastal Skipper course: £695 including all on board costs.

Yachtmaster Coastal & Yachtmaster Offshore prep and exam

The YachtMaster qualification is for many the pinnacle of their yachting achievement. This special preparation course is an advanced coaching course for those who wish to maximise their chances of passing the exam.  The course gives potential Yachtmasters the opportunity to thoroughly hone their practical skills. 

Sailing will be in local waters as it is normally found that at this level boat handling in close quarters is required rather than long Channel crossings. We will tailor the course to your needs but our experience usually leads us to emphasize the following subjects: Passage Planning, Skippering Techniques, Man-overboard Recovery, Meteorology, Close Quarters Handling and Pilotage in Restricted Visibility.

You are strongly advised to arrive for the course already having a thorough knowledge of the Collision Regulations, particularly in relation to lights, shapes and signals. 

The successful Yachtmaster Coastal has the knowledge needed to skipper a yacht on coastal cruises but does not necessarily have the experience needed to undertake longer passages. Pre Exam previous experience & minimum seatime:

  • 30 days seatime, 2 days as skipper. 800 miles and 12 night hours

The successful Yachtmaster Offshore is competent to skipper a cruising yacht on any passage up to 150 miles from harbor. The Yachtmaster Offshore certificated of competence is acknowledged throughout the world as the top sailing qualification. Pre Exam previous experience & minimum seatime:

  • 50 days seatime, 5 days as skipper. 2500 miles. 5 passages over 60 miles including 2 overnight and 2 as skipper

Qualification: Yachtmaster Coastal or Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence

7 Day Yachtmaster Preperation course including exam: £825 + RYA Exam fee (£200 YM Coastal & £231 for YM Offshore) including all on board costs.

ICC prep and exam 

If you are looking to charter or take your own boat abroad, many countries now insist on the International Certificate of Competence (ICC) as a formal qualification for at least one person on board. 


To obtain an ICC you must prove your competence. If you have attended a RYA practical training course presenting your certificate with your ICC application form may be sufficient, otherwise you will need to take a practical test at a RYA recognised training centre. 


We offer a tailored package to get you up to the standard required for the I.C.C, and then carry out the practical assessment for you. The length of time this will take varies depending on your current skills and experience. A brief telephone conversation will enable us to produce a plan to suit you.


If on the other hand you don’t wish to take any form of training course and just wish to come in for the practical assessment, we are more than happy to oblige.


For more information to include prices etc, please feel free to call us on 07774 745788 or e-mail here

RYA Cruising Instructor 

A Cruising Instructor is able to teach up to the level of the RYA Day Skipper practical course through an RYA recognised training centre. This Course covers how to teach and debrief sailing students and how to plan and deliver consistently excellent courses. You will have the opportunity to practice teaching various parts of the Competent Crew and Day Skipper sail courses with regular feedback from the trainer. Day 5 of the course is moderated by a second trainer.


The successful Cruising Instructor candidate will be expected to give convincing demonstrations of any part of the RYA Competent Crew and RYA Day Skipper syllabus. This includes: knots, sail-handling, man overboard, mooring, pilotage by day and night, IRPCS, basic meteorology, navigation and skippering. 


Cruising Instructor candidates who reach the required standard will be awarded the RYA Cruising Instructor endorsement which is valid for 5 years. After this time, Cruising Instructors must either attend a two day RYA Cruising Instructor revalidation course or apply for the RYA Yachtmaster Instructor course.

Course pre-requisites:

  • Minimum age 18
  • Commercially endorsed Yachtmaster Offshore (Sail) Certificate of Competence
  • In date First Aid Certificate
  • In date Medical Fitness Examination (ML5, ENG1 or Seafarers Medical issued by a National Maritime Authority)
  • Professional Practices & Responsibilities Certificate
  • RYA Membership
  • Successful completion of on-line pre course knowledge check

The cost of the 5 day Cruising Instructor Course and assessment is £800 to include all on board food, mooring fees and fuel.

Cruises

Cruises differ from courses in that the pace is usually slower, allowing you to relax and enjoy the sailing. We undertake longer passages, helping you build up your sea miles and confidence, with your RYA Instructor skipper on hand to give you all the support and tuition you need

All our cruises give you the opportunity to gain experience and sea miles. Itineraries will be tailor made to suit the prevailing weather conditions and experience levels of the crew with the emphasis very much on enjoyment not endurance.

Whether it’s day sailing along the beautiful South Devon coast or longer cruises exploring the Channel Islands, North coast of France or the fabulous Isles of Scilly, Moondust is waiting to take you there at pace, safely and in style.

2 days£310
5 days£695
7 days£825

Please contact us  for details of  dates and availability or to discuss other cruise options.

Corporate Events

What better way to entertain and impress clients or to reward and motivate staff than to spend a day on the water. Exciting, challenging and, for many, a new kind of experience, sailing is now widely recognised as a cost efficient means of corporate entertaining and team building.

During the day, your guests will have the opportunity to safely participate at any level that they feel comfortable with, whether complete novices or seasoned sailors. Tuition and support will be provided throughout.

For larger groups, or those that prefer a more competitive slant to the day, we can arrange for a sister yacht to be provided to enable you and your guests to enjoy a light (or not so light!) hearted day’s racing.

Catering can be arranged on board or we can recommend a restaurant or pub ashore should you prefer a harbour pit stop at lunchtime.

Corporate days are very much tailor made to make sure that you and your guests have a successful and enjoyable day that will be remembered. Please phone to discuss your requirements.

Corporate day rates from £950 for the yacht and skipper.

The Boat

‘Moondust’ is a First 40.7 performance cruising yacht built by Beneteau Yachts of France. She is equipped with all the features you would expect to find on a yacht of her size and pedigree including cabin heating, electric anchor windlass, colour chart plotter, radar and autopilot.

The First 40.7 offers superb sailing performance and you will find that ‘Moondust’ is a pleasure to sail and live aboard. She also meets all the Maritime and Coastguard Agency safety requirements for commercial yachts.

Own Boat Tuition

This really is ‘instruction to suite you’. We can guide you through the early stages of yacht ownership, or for the more experienced, help you to improve your personal skills and become more confident. The advantages are that you can learn at your own pace and get used to the handling of your own boat without the pressure of being on a standard course

We can deliver RYA Instruction, or simply coach you and your crew in specific areas such as boat handling, pilotage or sail trimming. 

We can travel anywhere in the UK or Europe or why not let us help you with the delivery of your new boat and give you the tuition you need en route?

Our fees for tuition aboard your own boat are £275 per day plus expenses