Please send your comments to
“Hi Jamie - thanks again, feel free to use this [below] how you wish. Best regards”
The Shearwater Competent Crew Course is an excellent introduction to sailing, but also one that is very useful for any sailor who needs to go back to the basics of sailing to be reminded of best practice afloat.
Over the five day period we spent a lot of time on the water in varying conditions and were constantly learning by doing, often initially the wrong way, but given time, Jamie’s patience, and teaching skills eventually we did it correctly. By the end of the five days both my wife and I, who had considerable sailing experience (but ALLTheory!) had a very good, basic grasp of the principals of sailing and felt confident as crew and even on the helm.
The syllabus is excellent, and you will be surprised how much you learn during the five days but also inspired to continue to learn, as whilst the basics can be grasped fairly quickly it’s on ongoing learning process.
The best thing about the course was its leader Jamie Limond. Sailing instructions can often be quite demonstrative and demanding, Jamie was not, whilst fairly new to teaching Jamie was excellent. He was always encouraging and positive, he made the learning experience fun and interactive, genuinely passing on not only a small part of his considerable skill set, but his love of sailing and ensuring not only we learnt but had fun doing it.
I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Jamie Limond and indeed this course to anyone who is interested in sailing.
Robert Thomson
“I echo everything Bob said Jamie. I am so pleased with our week.
It was also a real treat and pleasure to meet and spend time with you David and Pia.
X and Os to you all”
“Thanks Jamie for the fabulous week. We’ve learned so much and walked away confident. Will send you some pics from Greece next year 😉”
Note: climbing the mast is entirely optional…
“Morning Jamie
Was a great weekend. You’re a great instructor, clear and cool 😎 👍😊 your style encourages confidence in people. It’s always great sailing and learning with you.”
“It’s was a great weekend learned and re-enacted a lot 👍👍👍”
“Thank you Jamie. Really enjoyed it and it very much helped reinforce the skills I learnt last year.”
“We had an excellent time sailing with you. You made us feel really welcome onboard and we have been singing your praises to our family and friends. We’ve been talking about the next steps to continue the sailing adventure, so I’m sure that you will see some of us again in the future. If you see Gareth, tell him that Debbie is looking but I still haven’t bought a boat yet. I have attached some photos, feel free to use any of them on your website. ”
“I highly recommend Shearwater sailing school. I recently took the day skipper course with Mark and his knowledge of sailing, and the local area is excellent. Everything from booking the course to pre arrival information was handled professionally. The food on board was very good, and Mark is an all-round nice guy to be around he fills you with confidence and is very supportive. He also has some great life experience stories to tell which are fascinating. I will hopefully be back for the coastal skipper one day.
Thank you for a great experience
All the best
Gareth”
“Dear Jamie,
Just a short note to say thank you for a fabulous week, I thoroughly enjoyed sailing with you over the last 5 days. Your calm, measured and positive attitude was just what I needed, at no point did I feel as though I had made a silly mistake, as a result of which I learned a huge amount. The boat, Gaudio, was beautiful, maintained to the best standard and consequently very comfortable. The food on board, prepared by Jamie, was of the highest standard, nicely complimented by visiting various quality hostelries over the 5 days.
I am very much looking forward to continuing my Journey with Sheerwater and highly recommend them to anyone who is interested.
Overall, a great team, thoroughly decent and very informative.
Thank you.
James Cooksey”
“Thanks Jamie, All your great training has set us up for a great holiday in Greece. Thank you again and hope you have a good weekend with your family best wishes Kathryn”
“I thoroughly enjoyed my Day Skipper course with Jamie on Gaudeo. From first impressions - friendly faces and a beautiful boat - to disembarking after a great week, I was smiling throughout.
Jamie is a fine instructor, his initial explanations / demonstrations were clear and well judged for the level of detail, plus he picked up when one of us hadn’t understood and found alternative ways to explain. As we practiced, he coached us through whatever we were doing and supplemented the explanations with the nuances that only made sense while actually handling the boat. His feedback was simply superb, he always praised what we got right and was constructive about how to do better where we struggled.
Moreover, Jamie looked after us wonderfully. The skipper being responsible for the crew’s well being is part of the Day Skipper syllabus, but for Jamie it was clearly natural. He has Gaudeo well stocked with all sorts of tea and coffee, snacks, biscuits and fruit and he ensured that we had drinks and nibbles throughout the day. He also engendered a community spirit and we were soon all taking turns to put the kettle on etc. And, Jamie is a very capable cook, I enjoyed every meal he made for us.
Last but not least, I’m prone to motion sickness and (as was always likely) I was unwell when we were at sea. Jamie provided just the support I needed - helping minimise the symptoms as much as possible and with recovering after it got to much. Thank you again for the toast, Jamie. ”
“Hi Shearwater Sailing School,
A few words from myself on our trip from Woolverstone to St. Katherine’s
When I applied to do this trip for my Day Skipper practical I expected just another course with a certificate at the end. It was so much more than that. Jamie and Mark made us feel part of team Shearwater Sailing. Jamie was our instructor and made you feel at ease from day one with his guidance and clear explanations of all aspects of sailing. He happens to be a pretty good chef too 😊. Sailing with two boats on the same trip was awesome and brought a lot of fun into to the trip. I’ll be back for more. Keep up the great work guys.
Many thanks
Roger Burrows”
“Hi Jamie and Mark,
I would like you to know it was an excellent trip course and experience. This flotilla trip to London accompanied with Mark and his crew on Shanti II was One to remember.
Great tuition and direction by Jamie on his beautiful boat Gaudeo, a very calm professional wealth of knowledge and experience. I would recommend them to anyone for all sailing training or trips. Rob Allan
Thanks again guys great fun too
Best wishes”
“Hi Jamie,
thank you for hugely enjoyable week! I am amazed at how much I learnt during it. I particularly appreciated how you constantly provided information as it became relevant, thus not creating overload to what was already a fairly intense experience.
Thanks again, and I hope to sail with you again soon.
”
“Hi Mark,
Thanks again for a brilliant week sailing on Shanti. Missing it already!
I’ve attached some photos from the trip. Got a great one of Jamie’s yacht goose-winging.
Please count Mike and I in for the Yatchmaster Theory in January (weekends, 10th-25th).
Let me know next steps/ if we need to register online.
We also wanted to check if Mike needs to have RYA First Aid and VHF? I’ve got them but he hasn’t.
Thanks,
Sarah”
“My partner and I have been sailing for the last 6 years on day sails and the occasional week once a year, but as passengers on a friend’s boat.
But we have reached a point where we feel we would like to take up sailing ourselves with a view to getting a yacht. A friend had told us about his training at Shearwater Sailing School and recommended it, so we gave it a go and booked to do our Competent Crew and Day Skipper courses.
Skipper Jamie Limond was amazing, he was calm, never rushed and very patient, always willing to explain things again and again if needed.
We covered all elements of the course over the 5 days and covered 100 miles of coastal and estuary sailing from the Royal Harwich Yacht Club to Burnham on Crouch and back. Each day we would eat on board, often at sea, cooking lunch while heeling is a challenge, and at night we occasionally went out for dinner, which was nice.
Whether you are looking to become a yacht owner and start sailing your dreams or looking to upskill and try something new with friendly people in the friendly sailing community and broaden your horizons, challenge your fears, Jamie and Mark are the people for that journey.
Both the Bowman 40 and the Hallberg Rassy are extremely safe, capable go everywhere yachts and an amazing experience to take on the seas and winds on them”
““Continuing my training with Mark at shearwater sailing school, I’ve had yet another great course doing my coastal skipper, I have gained invaluable skills and taken on even more knowledge then expected, Mark himself is a brilliant instructor informative and fun and puts real life situations into the training, onto the next course yachtmaster coastal for me and I’ll be booking in again with Mark!
Thanks again Mark,
Now a member at rhyc with my friend Hans, so no doubt will bump into now and then
Regards
Joe (@Sailingseakat)”
“Good morning Mark. Thanks to your calm, knowledgeable and supportive coaching I managed to achieve my Yachtmaster Coastal certificate - so grateful. Joe, Susan and Besnick were a really supportive crew and in 4 days you managed to mould 4 people (who had never met before yet alone sailed together!) into an efficient crew who supported me brilliantly on the day.
I took a few days to decompress following Sunday’s exam and now it’s all behind me, I am thinking of preparing so I can progress to the next YM level.
”
THE FOOD ON BOARD WAS AMAZINg. TWO EXCELLENT MEALS, PRAWN CURRY WITH CRACKERS AND MEXICAN WITH NACHOS.
I was soon put at ease with the instruction from Jamie.
WE THANK JAMIE FOR A GREAT WEEK AND WOULD CERTAINLY RECOMMEND SHEARWATER SAILING SCHOOL.
Jonathan - Crew July 2026
“Yes, thanks Jamie, a great evening to cap off a great week. Absolutely brilliant instruction, I feel I have learnt so much. You did a great job of bringing the Med to the Orwell (bar the weather, as you say). Would likewise like to sail again with you & learn even more. All best, M.”
“We had an absolutely amazing week on board Gaudeo. Jamie achieved a lovely balance between formal instruction, a lot of fun and some very memorable sailing. In particular, Jamie assessed the weeks weather and planned the week accordingly which meant a wonderful night sail on Day 1. Our meals were amazing too; on and off land, Jamie managed to pick two of our favourite restaurants. The main thing is that we have been so inspired to continue learning and sailing. Thank you Jamie.”
“Just wanted to give a 5 star review for Jamie. My son and I recently spent 5 days sailing with Jamie and we both had an absolutely fantastic time onboard.
Jamie is an outstanding teacher and one of the nicest people you could wish to meet. We came away with what felt like an encyclopaedia of sailing knowledge. At all times Jamie is very calm and methodical in his teachings. We can not recommend him enough and look forward to our next trip with him. It was a fun packed 5 days with good food and the best sailing instructor I have come across, having done other courses previously. Many thanks Jamie all the best Paul and Ronnie.”
“I had a wonderful 4-days. It was also great to brush up and cement some of those skills you taught me on my last course.
Best wishes, and I hope you have a great and safe year ahead.”
“That’s great Mark, same for me had a blast. I really want to do the 8th to 13th Sept to St Katherine’s Dock trip and if possible include DS, I can’t confirm just at the moment as need to take holiday. It shouldn’t be a problem as the kids are back at school by then. Can you pencil me in and I’ll confirm by the end of the week.”
“Please pass on my thanks to Jamie for a great week out on the river / coast. Whilst it may not have been as hot as the previous week, the weather really worked in our favour for the passage to Bradwell, and then we had two glorious days on the Orwell. I even managed to get sunburnt on Thursday. Jamie’s a great addition to the Shearwater roster, and he proved a very patient instructor.
I hope you have a wonderful summer’s sailing - and the 2026 Round Britain itinerary looks fantastic,”
“What a wonderful adventure, so much learning, love and laughter. Thank you all soooo much.. so grateful to have done this part of our journey with you guys.. until next time…”
“Such a brilliant week! I so enjoyed meeting it and loved meeting you all.
”
“I just wanted to say (in writing!) thank you so much for your absolutely brilliant instruction during the RYA Day Skipper course. Always clear, calm, understanding and a really positive “can-do” attitude, with a lovely sense of humour mixed in. All of which made the week tremendous fun, which is ultimately what it’s all about. 😊
Still lots to learn for me of course, so hopefully I will manage to find the time to do some more sailing with you, to build on the basic foundation you’ve given me.
All best and hope to catch up fairly soon!
”
“Thanks Mark L for looking after us so well and sharing your skills. I feel I’ve learnt a hell of a lot and look forward to maybe doing something in September together. Maybe some night sailing and other work to bring us up to coastal skipper.”
“Thanks Mark, looking forward to more sailing! So chuffed to have got the Day Skipper ticket!
Thank you”
“Final leg of a great holiday, it was a pleasure to sail with you all. Mark you are a truly great skipper and instructor so a BIG thank you.”
“I really enjoyed being out on the water last week. Thank you for being a great guide/ instructor/ life coach 🙂.
I’ve attached some photos I took. “Mark is an excellent instructor - he manages to step back and let you lead, but is also there when needed!”
”
“Thanks Mark for a fantastic 5 days on the practical day skipper course, must also thank Aaron, Zak and Rachel for making it such a good course too.
Mark’s teaching style is both friendly and calm, imparting his many years of knowledge in an easy to understand way. Whether it was cold, damp and blowing a force 6, to hot sunny and force 3 (yes we had the full range), his gentle manner remained the same.
Not only was the sailing instruction excellent the food cooked fresh on board was too, obviously the odd trip to a local pub was called for as well!”
“Good afternoon Mark,
Just wanted to touch base and say a huge thanks for being a great instructor on my Day Skipper Course.
I’ve left you a Google review but feel free to post it on your website too, if you wish.
In terms of future progression, can you please forward me more details about your Yachtmaster theory course in terms of dates and costs. I’m very interested to do this.”
