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Yachts moored off the village of Fiskardo, Kefalonia

Seafarer Club Members Area

For everyone who has trained with us in the UK, Greece or Croatia: advice on your next RYA course or sailing holiday, your own sailing mentor and members’ offers.

Seafarer Club

Your next steps Members’ offers

Welcome to the greatest sport in the world

Sailing, as you may already have discovered, can take many forms. For some, a sundowner in the cockpit of your yacht at the end of the day is the perfect image. For others, squeezing that extra half a knot from a close-hauled beat to windward is the goal. The beauty of our sport is that whatever you or your crew have on the bucket list, a day on the water can satisfy everyone.

At Seafarer, we recognise that our students have different goals, from active crew member to professional skipper, and we would like to help you along your own particular path with advice and suggestions on the next steps for you.

You have already trained with us, whether in the UK, Greece or Croatia, so read on to find out the benefits of being in the Seafarer Club.

Your Seafarer Club benefits

  • Advice on the next steps after your RYA course
  • Your own sailing mentor, an experienced sailor to ask
  • Help choosing and booking your first flotilla or charter
  • Members’ offers, including 5% off holidays and courses

Your next steps

Just completed RYA Competent Crew

The RYA Competent Crew course is a great way to start your sailing journey: you are not ready to skipper your own boat yet, but your skills and knowledge are already developing. Here are the next steps once you have completed it.

RYA Day Skipper Shorebased Theory

The next step training-wise is the RYA Day Skipper Shorebased Theory course, which gives you the background knowledge of subjects like navigation, weather forecasting and safety procedures that you need for your next practical course. There are two ways to complete it, depending on your learning style:

  • Online with Navathome: an online course you do at your own pace, split into modules with a test when you feel ready. For most people it takes about 40 to 45 hours, and you can book it with Seafarer: see the Day Skipper Shorebased course. There is £50 off when you book it alongside an RYA Day Skipper Practical course with us.
  • In a classroom: many RYA centres around the UK run the course in person, normally over a week but sometimes over a few weekends or as evening classes. Seafarer doesn’t run these directly, but the RYA website lists the centres near you.

RYA Day Skipper Practical

After the Day Skipper theory, the next step is the Day Skipper Practical course: once you pass it, you can skipper your own yacht. We run it at our Greek sailing school, our Croatian sailing school and our UK south coast school. Our Greek and Croatian schools run the course over a week, while the UK school runs it over five days (Monday to Friday); all offer the same high level of training, just in different surroundings. For advice on the best location for you, get in touch with our consultants or your mentor.

A training yacht under sail in the Saronic Gulf

Milebuilders and other training

For a less formal way to build on the skills from your Competent Crew course, we run milebuilders and refresher courses in Greece and the UK. These usually pair an instructor with students of different levels and cover a longer distance than the normal training courses. You’ll find them on our RYA training centres pages and in our mailing list emails.

Your next steps

Just completed RYA Day Skipper

Passing your RYA Day Skipper Practical course is an important milestone: it allows you to skipper your own sailing yacht on a flotilla or charter and take friends and family on the trip of their lives. Every day on the water is then a chance to learn something new, perfect a technique or simply grow in confidence.

The ICC

One internationally recognised qualification you may have heard of while learning to sail is the ICC (International Certificate of Competence). In most countries it is accepted in the same way as the RYA Day Skipper, but many skippers like to add it by sending proof of their Day Skipper to the RYA: see our ICC page for details.

Flotilla sailing

Flotilla sailing gives you the experience of skippering your own boat with the support of the lead crew, while enjoying the social side of sailing with others. For newly qualified Day Skippers, a flotilla in one of our easier destinations is the perfect start, and at certain times of the season we offer extra discounts to those who have trained with us (see the members’ offers below). We recommend these as a great first step:

See all our flotilla holidays. When you feel ready to book, read the section on booking below, and use the knowledge of your mentor and our consultants to pick the right yacht in the right place for you and your crew.

Yachts anchored in a quiet bay on Ithaca

Bareboat sailing

If the freedom of the open sea appeals, a bareboat holiday might suit you: you are free to take the boat wherever you wish and sail independently. Without the support of a lead crew, we recommend researching the sailing area and choosing one with conditions you would feel comfortable handling. We have our own bareboat fleets in parts of Greece and work with long-standing partners worldwide; talk to your mentor if you would like advice on an area that could suit you. More on bareboat yacht charter.

Further training

At Seafarer we don’t feel sail training should end once your Day Skipper is done: good sailors keep learning, formally through more advanced courses or informally through their own experience.

  • RYA Yachtmaster Scheme courses: the RYA Yachtmaster Scheme continues step by step, each one teaching you to sail longer passages further from land, with its own theory requirement and a required number of sailing miles.
  • RYA specialist courses: programmes such as Diesel Engine Maintenance, First Aid, Radar and Short Range (VHF) Radio add to your knowledge and are run at RYA centres in the UK and further afield (RYA courses).
  • Specialist Seafarer courses: sail handling, power handling and tidal refresher courses in Greece, Croatia and the UK; keep an eye on our mailing list for dates.
  • Milebuilders: a great way to build your skills while covering distance, run through the season, and the miles count towards more advanced Yachtmaster Scheme courses.

Seafarer Club

Your sailing mentor

As part of your continued sailing development, we would like to offer you a sailing mentor: an experienced sailor who understands the challenges of taking up a sport as complex as sailing, and who can advise you on your next steps and help with any issues you are having.

To sign up for the mentorship programme, fill in the form below and we will be in touch shortly.

Your first trip

Booking a sailing trip

There are many options to consider when booking your first sailing trip, so let us help: we know sailing in destinations worldwide first hand. These are the main things to think about.

01

Your crew

The most important part of your sailing experience is your crew. Flotilla yachts take between 2 and 10 people, of whom at least two need some sailing experience: normally a skipper (with Day Skipper or ICC) and a co-skipper with some experience. A group of between 2 and 6 usually gives the best sailing experience, depending on the size of the boat.

02

The yacht

Yachts range from 32 to 50ft and over, and are generally grouped by the number of cabins and heads. Book a yacht with enough space for your crew and the features you prefer, such as the mainsail type or a folding swim platform. Your mentor and our consultants can advise, and it is worth booking early to get the yacht you want where you want it.

03

Flights and transfers

Getting there is part of your holiday, and UK guests can choose whether to include flights and transfers. Booking flights with us, for a small additional fee, means the holiday is ATOL protected. Either way, the boat will be waiting and ready.

04

Deposits

As with a hire car, you generally place a deposit to charter a yacht. Deposits range from about £1,000 to £4,000 and cover the insurance excess for any damage, the deposit being the most you would be liable for. It is usually held by an external operator.

A yacht damage waiver is a one-off payment of between £120 and £240 that means no deposit is needed. We always advise first-time charterers to take it for peace of mind.

05

Extras

Extras such as a stand-up paddleboard or safety netting can be added to a flotilla or bareboat holiday. They are paid extras, but can really add to a sailing trip.

06

Fuel and end cleaning

On a Seafarer flotilla holiday, fuel, cleaning, linen and a welcome pack are included in the price. On bareboat charters, cleaning and linen are often a compulsory extra and you pay for your own fuel, usually organised by the base crew at the end of your charter.

Ready to book a flotilla or bareboat charter? Request a quote or call us on 0208 324 3118.

For Seafarer students

Special members’ offers

We currently have these offers for everyone who has completed a Seafarer training course.

  • 5% repeat customer discount on all holidays and courses
  • An extra 5% off a first flotilla holiday in Lefkas, Kefalonia or Corinth
  • £50 off Navathome online theory courses when booked alongside an RYA practical course

We also post regular offers in our emails. If you are not receiving them, join our mailing list at the bottom of this page.

Talk to our team

Our consultants and your mentor can help you choose the right next course, flotilla or charter. Call or email us, or ask for a quote.

Call or email us

Request a quote

Tell us your dates and party size, and we’ll then come back to you with availability and prices.

Peace of mind

Book with confidence

Every payment you make to us is financially protected, from deposit to balance. Holidays with flights are covered by our ATOL licence, and holidays without flights by our ABTOT membership. Trading since 1995.


  • ATOL Protected — Licence 9511

    All flight-inclusive holidays are fully ATOL protected


  • ABTOT Member — No. 5660

    Additional protection for bookings without flights

Our loyal clients keep coming back

We are very proud that our repeat booking ratio is amongst the highest in the industry, which says a lot about the service, quality and value we offer. Once you have travelled with us, you can enjoy special savings as a repeat booker, and some of our special offers are exclusive to past clients.