One manoeuvre you cannot do reliably is enough to ruin a week afloat. On this course we do nothing else: berthing, leaving, picking up a mooring buoy and recovering a man overboard. Short hops between four marinas and dozens of repetitions with an RYA instructor beside you.
Most skippers are confident at sea. Then comes Friday afternoon, a full marina, a crosswind and a very expensive boat right next to you. On this course we take that moment apart and then repeat it until it stops being stressful. We sail short legs – Kaštela, Milna, Maslinica and Trogir are only a few hours apart – so the time other cruises spend on passage, you spend on the helm in tight water. We practise with the wind on the beam, stern-to the quay, on a lazy line and between buoys, with a full crew and with just two of you. The instructor sits beside you and touches the helm only if damage is about to happen.
| Skill | What you will learn |
|---|---|
| Berthing | alongside and stern-to, on a lazy line and between buoys, with the wind on the beam or astern |
| Leaving | getting out of a tight gap, working with springs, using the wind instead of engine power |
| Boat under power | how the boat behaves astern, turning in her own length, prop walk working for you |
| Anchoring and buoys | picking up a mooring buoy, anchoring with a line ashore, checking the anchor holds |
| Man overboard | returning to a MOB under power and under sail, recovering a person on board |
| Crew work | preparing lines and fenders, assigning roles, commands and signals without shouting |
The course starts on our simulator at Marina Liptov, before you go anywhere near the sea. You stand behind a 70 cm wheel and a single-lever throttle, we set any wind, current and marina layout you like – and you repeat the manoeuvre as many times as you need, with no paint at stake. What goes wrong in virtual reality stays in virtual reality. You then step aboard in Dalmatia already knowing the manoeuvre, and spend the week confirming it for real. The VR session is included in the price.
You can take the course as a full week or as a shorter three-day version. The week gives you room to work through every manoeuvre repeatedly and to try them again in conditions quite unlike Monday's. Three days are enough to shake off the worst of the uncertainty and will fit into a busy calendar. Both versions are led by an RYA instructor, both start from Kaštela, and the VR session is included in both. Dates and prices for each are in the calendar.
Mile-building cruises are a core part of sail training at NYS Sailing School, an RYA Training Centre. We choose each destination for what you will learn there – and central Dalmatia, with marinas of every size a few miles apart, is the best close-quarters training ground within reach. The course is also good preparation for RYA Day Skipper and RYA Coastal Skipper, where manoeuvres are assessed.
No. It is enough that you have been on a boat and want to handle her yourself. The course does not end with an RYA certificate – you get your miles logged and, above all, confidence in tight water.
As many times as it takes. The legs between marinas are short, which leaves time for dozens of repetitions. We routinely come back to one manoeuvre until everyone on board can do it alone.
It depends on the time you have. Three days are enough to shake off the worst of the uncertainty at the quay. The week also lets you repeat the manoeuvres in different weather and in marinas of different sizes, so they stick.
It is not a choice between the two – the VR session is the first part of this course and is included in the price. On the simulator at Marina Liptov you run the manoeuvre with no consequences; in Dalmatia you arrive prepared and spend the week doing it for real.
Both. A manoeuvre depends on the crew as much as on the skipper: lines and fenders ready, the step ashore, working the springs. You swap between the helm and the foredeck through the week.