RYA Competent Crew Course

We had a week long RYA Day Skipper Course and our VHF SRC Exam with Alex. He is an amazing and very patient instructor. His approach to training is different and absolutely significantly more helpful than the instructors I had experience before. Our boat was also great. Overall, we had a very enjoyable experience and learnt a lot in such a short time. In addition to the course, Lynn was very responsive and helpful in organising and keeping track of everything. I would definitely recommend Alex, Lynn, and the Sailing Life Academy.

On the one hand, the team were very helpful and responsive when we were making inquiries and getting ready to come, and I did learn a lot about sailing during the course (I was completely new to it). On the other hand, the instructor was quite easily irritated and we experienced a lot of tension during our 5 days aboard. We were in our 40s and 50s, but we found that when we asked "too many" questions, the instructor became frustrated, or misunderstood us, or talked down to us. She also became very stressed every time we docked or moored, and did not seem entirely confident in all aspects of sailing. We would have also appreciated knowing a few things in advance: at the Marmaris marina, the facilities are excellent, but the noise levels from the waterfront clubs are unbearable (on our first night, the deafening music did not stop until 4am). The stops along the course were all at restaurants, where we had to eat in return for mooring - not something that was completely clear to us before, so we had dutifully stocked up with lots of food in the fridge that we then didn't use! We had expected at least one anchoring stop away from a (again often noisy) marina, but this did not happen, and the discussion about this with the instructor again became highly tense. The course brochure had promised a "mix of business and pleasure", and so we expected a relaxing experience that would at the same time help us get to grips with the basics of sailing, but the instructor did not always seem to see it that way. We met another student from completely a different sailing school, who had even worse stories to tell about her RYA instructor, so perhaps the RYA training approach itself promotes this kind of tone/experience? Overall, I learned a lot, but I did not enjoy many aspects.

Alex is a brilliant trainer. Among the best I have had in all walks of life. He has just the right balance of guidance and allowing us to learn for ourselves. It left me with much more confidence in my sailing abilities. His debrief was spot on, honest, helpful and inspiring. I will most definitely return for the next level course soon. Lynn is an excellent organizer and helped walk me through all the preparations before I arrived with frequent communications and rapid responses to my questions.

Just finished 4 days out on the high seas with Alex doing a competent crew cause. I couldn’t of hoped for a more professional teacher a learnt a great deal about sailing and at all times felt safe. On top of the learning side of things had a fabulous time visiting amazing coves and restaurants that most people would never get to see !

Another Brilliant week with Alex onboard Sailing Life. First class tuition. My second week with Sailing Life Academy and will definitely be back for more training and mile building. Fantastic value for money, brilliant administration. Thanks Lynn and Alex