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Keelboat Courses
Overview
At Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, aspiring sailors can embark on an exhilarating keelboat sailing journey through three essential Australian Sailing courses: the ‘Start Crewing’, the ‘Start Helming’, and the more advanced ‘Start Skippering’. Start Crewing is designed for beginners, offering a solid foundation in keelboat fundamentals such as boat handling, safety, and sailing theory. As participants progress, Start Helming provides an intermediate level of expertise, allowing sailors to take on a leadership role at the helm. Finally, Start Skippering offers an advanced level for those ready to further enhance their skills and assume a skipper’s responsibilities. Graduates then have a few options to continue their keelboat adventures as RQYS Members. Graduates can complete an extra Competency Assessment allowing them to hire the Club Elliott 6 Keelboats for a cruise on the bay with family and friends.
Any of our Learn to Sail Keelboat participants have the amazing opportunity to crew on club members division yachts through WAGS (Wednesday Racing at RQYS) to learn racing skills from our knowledgeable and active fleet. Whether you’re a novice or seeking to elevate your skills, RQYS provides the perfect platform to set sail into the world of keelboat sailing.
Start Crewing (16+ yrs)
The Start Crewing Course at RQYS is tailored for beginners, offering the foundational skills of keelboat sailing. Participants learn the basics of crewing such as, sail trimming, safety essentials, knot tying, and sailing theory, setting the stage for an exciting journey into the world of crewing.
Each day runs from 9 am – 4 pm with a break for lunch. You have the option to bring your own lunch or we have a cafe on site. Bringing sun safe clothes, a hat, water bottle and enclosed non marking shoes are a must! We provide life jackets, but being water confident is essential. Members gain priority registration and have access to our member price. Successful participants will gain their Australian Sailing Start Crewing completion certificate.
COST: (2-Days) $260 Member | $315 non-Member
Start Helming (16+ yrs)
The Start Helming Course is the natural progression from Start Crewing, advancing sailors from crew to taking control of a small keelboat as the helm. This intermediate-level program hones helming skills in a variety of core skills such as, tacking, gybing, reefing, anchoring, heaving-to and Man-Over-board recovery.
Each day runs from 9 am – 4 pm with a break for lunch. You have the option to bring your own lunch or we have a cafe on site. Bringing sun safe clothes, a hat, water bottle and enclosed non marking shoes are a must! We provide life jackets, but being water confident is essential. Members gain priority registration and have access to our member price. Successful participants will gain their Australian Sailing Start Helming completion certificate.
COST: (2-Days) $260 Member | $315 non-Member
Start Skippering (16+ yrs)
The Start Skippering Course is for sailors looking to advance to a leadership role as the skipper. With the extra responsibilities of a skipper the course focuses on advanced manoeuvres such as docking, confined space sailing, and even “rudderless” & backwards sailing! The course also has a stronger theory component covering Rules, Sound & Distress Signals, understanding weather, nautical charts including basic course routing, basic boat maintenance & major gear failure procedures.
Each day runs from 9 am – 4 pm with a break for lunch. You have the option to bring your own lunch or we have a cafe on site. Bringing sun safe clothes, a hat, water bottle and enclosed non marking shoes are a must! We provide life jackets, but being water confident is essential. Members gain priority registration and have access to our member price. Successful participants will gain their Australian Sailing Start Skippering completion certificate.
COST: (2-Days) $260 Member | $315 non-Member
Sail Our Boats
For RQYS Club members who have successfully completed the Australian Sailing Start Crewing, Start Helming and Start Skippering keelboat courses on our Elliott 6 and wish to continue their sailing journey but don’t yet have their own sailing boat. We offer 3-hour sessions that give skilled sailors the freedom to sail independently, at exceptional value.
Embark on a sailing adventure in Moreton Bay! RQYS Club members, having completed our Australian Sailing courses Start Crewing, Start Helming, Start Skippering and a competency assessment, can purchase 10 or 20-sail packages on our Elliott 6. Each session is 3hrs and can be booked 0900 – 1200hrs or 1300 – 1600hrs.
COST: $700 Member (10 pck) | $1,200 Member (20 pck)
Does not include: $160 Keelboat Hire Competency Assessment
Upcoming Courses
If these dates are booked out or don’t suit you, please register your interest on our waitlist HERE