POWER & Helm Skills weekend

Improve your boat handling skills and become confident, competent and proficient at manoeuvring a yacht in all places, all conditions!

Learn the correct methods for safely manoeuvre a cruising yacht in a harbour and in confined spaces. Understand the fundamentals of boat handling and get the skills to master manoeuvring anywhere.

THE COURSE OVERVIEW

This course will show you the methods and techniques for parking up successfully in every harbour, every type of condition, every kind of boat, every time. It's a bold claim, but we aim to demystify what boat manoeuvring and power handling is all about. You will learn the "base manoeuvres" which will form a solid foundation for all your power skills, and you will learn how to apply them and combine them in virtually every situation you may ever encounter.

The course also focuses on becoming a proficient helmsman, whose responsibilities include attaching the boat to mooring and using special techniques for helmsmanship whilst sailing and motoring enroute. You will be drilled in organising and directing the crew, also the responsibility of the Helm as you are in charge of yacht manoeuvres.

This course follows the principles and learning plans of S.T.E.P. and is an exclusive and tailor-made course, not available anywhere else, and it is carefully constructed to last over several weekends only (Sat-Sun). This is so that you don't have to spend your precious vacation days for training, but rather allocate them where they belong: To your sailing adventures!

This course is suitable for skippers at any level and for any reason; certifications and holidays alike. You can be a beginner or advanced sailor, and it is also suitable for aspiring skipper wanting to come well prepared to their skippering certification. This is simply because he methods and procedures that you will learn do not change depending on your experience, but your proficiency and ability to execute them will.

Course Content & Schedule

As power handling and helmsmanship is such a large topic, it requires several days to cover the different techniques. Therefore this course is designed to contain the techniques you will use in most mooring situations, so that you come well prepared for your sailing adventures. Each day has a specific area that is covered and each day will also include a recap of previous methods, along with constructive feedback from your instructor. When you participate again, repetition of previous manoeuvres will be included, but also more advanced situations, and other manoeuvering techniques. Time permitting, this is what you will cover:

SYLLABUS Weekend 01
  • Boat physics part 1.
  • Close Quarter Manoeuvring.
  • Alongside forward.
  • Departing: fwd/back spring
  • Boat setup & crew management.
  • Boat physics part 2.
  • Rope handling.
  • Reverse driving & Reversing to pontoon.
  • Mediterranean mooring.
  • Reversing into a box.
  • Sailing/Motoring helmsmanship.

  • SYLLABUS Subsequent Weekends
  • Manoeuvres from course 1, different configurations.
  • Reverse Alongside.
  • Alternative departure manoeuvres.
  • Powering on a line.
  • Tidal manoeuvering.
  • Lock procedures
  • Anchoring.
  • Tactics and strategies.

  • What to expect

    THE CORRECT METHODS
    Many books, courses and instructors tend to overcomplicate boat handling, and students are often taught a gazillion methods for an equal amount of situations. We move away from this inefficient approach and take a more streamlined methodology with a set of defined, repeatable and bulletproof methods. This enables you to have a "toolbox" of techniques that you can apply in every kind of situation.

    There is unfortunately a lot of uneducated quesswork on how a boat behaves, which has been so engraved in the boating world that experienced instructors and large training organisations still teach these incorrect and outdated methods. We move away from this nonsense and aim to give you a practical approach with techniques that actually work - every time and in every situation.

    MADE BY A PROFESSIONAL
    Your instructor is a certified RYA YachtMaster Ocean and YachtMaster Instructor, who has more than a decade of teaching under his belt. He has made it a personal mission to understand, dissect and master power handling and is quite proud to have disproved several common misconceptions, such as the incorrectly taught pivot point. He has lots of valuable information to pass on to you during the course (and is quite a nice guy to hang out with…).

    A PROPER COURSE
    We also limit the participants to 4 people, so that there will be enough time for everyone to do the exercises. Also, there will be plenty of handout material during the course, from the S.T.E.P. resources. Keep in mind that the aim of the course is NOT to make you fully proficient immediately upon completion. This is simply not possible, and anyone that claims to be able to, is lying. Power handling skills is something you will practise and improve on for the rest of your sailing life. The goal is for you to get the correct techniques and methodology so that you get an ideal foundation and can practise and improve your skills after the course.

    What's included

  • Food: ingredients for breakfast, lunches and a delicious onboard dinner. Snacks, coffee and tea also available.
  • Harbour fees.
  • Diesel.
  • Bedding, Pillows.
  • All necessary trainingmaterial.
  • Diploma (upon successful completion)
  • What's not included (and what to bring yourself)

  • Transport to/from the yacht.
  • Bring a notebook, sleeping bag, appropriate clothing.
  • Seasickness pills, special snacks.
  • Various logistical information:

    The course is limited to a maximum of 3 singles or a couple (sharing a cabin) and 2 singles. This is to allow enough time and training for each student, and also to give you the privacy of your own cabin. For the 2-cabin yachts, one person will have to sleep in the saloon due to the layout of the yacht. You are of course welcome to choose an accommodation ashore for the night if you prefer.

    The course starts at 0900 on Saturday and finishes at 1700 on Sunday. Expect to cover theory or practical exercises on Saturday evening as well!

    There are showers and toilets in the harbours, and of course also on the yacht.

    The yacht has ingredients for breakfast, lunch and a delicious dinner. However, you are welcome to visit a restaurant in the evening if you prefer.

    Unless you are notified otherwise, the course start and finish is at one of our bases in Zeeland. Currently we primarily sail out of Kats and Wemeldinge which you can reach by car (Kats - Google Location), (Wemeldinge - Google Location), or take a train to Goes and a taxi from there. If you prefer to arrive the night before, there are several hotels and B&Bs in the area.

    As a participant of the course, you are expected to clean the yacht on Sunday afternoon, before leaving.

    The course is held in English, and it is heavily advised that you are fluent enough to get the most value out of the course.

     

    S.T.E.P. Academy Courses Schedule

    In the calendar below you will find all the planned courses for the year. Please click on the course you are interested in to see more information and the course cost.

     

    Please be aware that the schedule and courses may change. Therefore, it's advisable to come back here regularly and keep yourself updated with the current schedule. Please use the form below to make an enquiry about the course you are interested in.