RYA Sailing Courses & Cruises

Shearwater Sailing School 2026 Programme Out now

21st to 22nd March 2026 Early Bird Brush Up ICC £320 Fully booked

30th Mar to 3rd Apr 2026 RYA 5 Day Course CC/DS £845 Fully booked

6th to 10th April 2026 RYA 5 Day Course CC/DS £845 4 Spaces available

13th to 17th April 2026 RYA 5 Day Course CC/DS £845 1 space available

25th to 26th April 2026 Boat Handling - sail Brush up £320 Fully booked

4th to 8th May 2026 RYA 5 Day Course CC/DS £845 Fully booked

25th to 29th May 2026 RYA 5 Day Course CC/DS £845 2 Spaces available

20th to 24th July 2026 RYA 5 Day Course CC/DS £845 2 Spaces available

17th to 21st Aug 2026 RYA 5 Day Course CC/DS £845 2 Spaces available

30th Aug to 5th Sept London Return 7d CC/DS/CS £945 See details below

28th Sept to 2nd Oct RYA 5 Day Course CC/DS £845 4 Spaces available

5th to 9th Oct 2026 RYA 5 Day Course CC/DS/CS £845 2 Spaces available

SOUTH COAST SAILS 2026

This is a wonderful sail along the English Channel and out to the Scilly Isles and home. Made up of 3 legs, each about 7 days long. Priced from £1,195, inclusive of marina fees, fuel, food and drink onboard, use of waterproofs, and RYA qualifications — Comp Crew, Day Skipper, or just a sailing adventure or a mile builder, with opportunities to complete skippered qualifying passages for Yachtmaster assessments. The Crew would fund their travel to and from the yacht, as well as their meals ashore in pubs and yacht clubs.

Port stops are flexible; if you have specific requests, please let us know, and we will do our best to accommodate them. Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity for a memorable maritime journey.

Leg 1 - 26th June to 4th July
Join us for an exciting sailing adventure aboard a Bowman 40 from Woolverstone to Plymouth! You will join the boat on Friday evening, possibly sailing to Harwich to make some headway down the river. The following morning, we will make the most of the spring tide when we set sail across the Thames Estuary. We will explore some of the UK’s most interesting ports along the beautiful south coast. Rediscover the charm of Royal Ramsgate, visit the new Dover Marina, Brighton, the Solent—Chichester or Portsmouth—Portland Bill, Brixham, and Dartmouth. Anchoring in stunning bays such as Lulworth Cove, Mupe Bay, or Chapman’s Pool is a possibility. There’s a good chance we will spot dolphins, seals, and maybe even a porpoise. We might stop in beautiful Salcombe before arriving at our destination, the lively port city of Plymouth. Disembarkation is scheduled for Saturday morning.

* examples of possible stops, see below for other options
This is the perfect mile builder (~300nm) and can also be an RYA course (CC or DS)
£1195 — 3 spaces (cabin available).

Leg 2 - 5th July to 11th July
Plymouth to Falmouth via the Scilly Isles. Plymouth is a staging post for many nautical adventures with excellent connections. From here, we have the fantastic Devon and Cornish coastline at our fingertips; we plan to sail to the Scillies via the Helford River (famed for being Daphne du Maurier’s inspiration for her novel ‘Frenchman’s Creek’). We will head for the middle of the Scilly Isles, picking up one of the Duchy of Cornwall’s visitor moorings between Bryher and Tresco. The charming Saint Agnes and its renowned Turks Head pub are high on the list of stops, as are the Tresco Gardens. The less-visited white-sand beaches of St. Martin are also a potential stop before returning to the mainland, making for Falmouth.
A great opportunity to visit this hard-to-reach archipelago. This can be an RYA course (CC or DS)
£1295 — Fully booked

Leg 3 - 19th July to 26th July
Out of Falmouth’s Port Pendennis Marina, Gaudeo is homeward bound for RHYC Woolverstone. The return journey promises a slightly different adventure, probably including charming stops at the stunning Salcombe River, Weymouth Old Harbour, the famous Cowes, Eastbourne, Newhaven, Ramsgate’s historic Royal Harbour*, and then back into the Orwell. Sealife is abundant along the warm south coast in July, and we have seen many pods of dolphins from Falmouth to Brighton; we’ve even seen porpoise and dolphins in the Orwell.

* examples of possible stops, see above for other options
This is the ideal mile builder (~350nm) and can also be an RYA course (CC or DS)
£1295 — Fully booked

SAIL AROUND THE UK IN 2026

In 2026, I am organising a Round UK Sail starting on 4th May 2026. This will consist of a total of 7 legs, each about 7 days long, with a day or two between legs. Each Leg will be priced at around £ 1,295, inclusive of marina fees, fuel, food and drink onboard, use of waterproofs, and RYA qualifications — Comp Crew, Day Skipper, or Coastal Skipper, if requested. The Crew would fund their travel to and from the yacht, as well as their meals ashore in pubs and yacht clubs.

Leg 1 - 4th May to 10th May
RHYC Woolverstone to Newcastle [Set your compass to North and visit Lowestoft, Humber, Historic Whitby, Seaham and finish at the superb marina in Newcastle.
This can be an RYA course (CC, DS or CS)
£1295 — Provisional full.

Leg 2 - 12th May to 18th May
Newcastle to Lossiemouth - including the wilds of Lindisfarne, cross the border to Scotland and sail the amazing Moray Firth, get a great welcome at the fine marina and town of Lossiemouth.
This can be an RYA course (CC, DS or CS)
£1295 — Provisional full.

Leg 3 - 20th May to 27th May
Lossiemouth through the Caledonian Canal to Oban.
This can be an RYA course (CC, DS or CS)
£1295 — Provisional full

Leg 4 - 30th May to 5th June
Oban to Troon - an exploration of the Scottish Western Isles.
This can be an RYA course (CC, DS or CS)
£1295 — Provisional full

Leg 5 - 13th June to 19th June
Troon to Dublin [via Isle of Man].
This can be an RYA course (CC, DS or CS)
£1295 — Provisional full

Leg 6 - 22nd June to 28th June
Dublin to Plymouth [via Isles of Scilly].
This can be an RYA course (CC, DS or CS)
£1295 — Provisional full

Leg 7 1st July to 8th July
Plymouth to RHYC Woolverstone [Sail the whole English Channel via The Solent].
This can be an RYA course (CC, DS or CS)
£1295 — Provisional Full

THAMES SAIL 2026

30th Aug to 5th September 2026 -RHYC Woolverstone to London and Return
London Maritime Cruise in Company. Joining the boats at RHYC on the Sunday evening, returning to our home berth on the 5th Sept 2026. Just past historic Greenwich we plan to take berths at South Dock Marina. Giving us a short walk to the National Maritime Museum, and/or the Cutty Sark, before heading back out of the Thames the following day with a strong tide, like a cork out of the bottle. We the sail down to Thames to an anchorage overnight in the wilderness creeks off the Medway. A welcome stop for the night at Burnham and Brightlingsea on the passage home will see us into our home waters again.
This can be an RYA course (CC, DS or CS) £945 — 7 nights — 6 Spaces available (both Shanti II and Gaudeo will sail together)

6 - 8 Day Mile Building Cruises

Our 6 - 8 day cruises are a great way to go further afield than what we are able to do on a 5-day course. They are ideal for mile building, Yachtmaster Coastal and Day Skipper Qualifications. Regardless of why you choose one of these great sails, it will take your skills and confidence that one step further, while visiting some fantastic sites.