Julio Verne Náutica becomes the first RYA training center on the Spanish Atlantic

It’s official! In our eagerness to provide the best service in the teaching of yachting and after months of work, our school has been certified as RYA Training Center by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA).

We are honored to become the only RYA training center in the Spanish Atlantic to date, and what is more important: we will finally be able to offer our students the Yacht Master nautical qualifications, by far the best and most recognized nautical training system worldwide.

What is the Royal Yachting Association?

The Royal Yachting Association is the worldwide benchmark in recreational boating education because its courses, syllabi and techniques have been continually tested and improved by recreational sailors over thousands upon thousands of nautical miles over the past 70 years. Not only do they follow the highest standards of training, but they demand practical knowledge from students in the form of many miles sailed.

Obtaining a certificate from the Royal Yachting Association gives sailors an international certification admitted in most of the countries around the world and also facilitates procedures such as boat rental or the processing of nautical insurance in other countries. On the other hand, having professional skills is much easier, faster and recognized.

What are the advantages of your courses?

Its training method has an eminently practical character, focused on real navigation, and a student-instructor ratio that does not exceed 5 to 1. This ensures that the instructor can devote the necessary time to the student, and guarantees a more complete and personalized training.

In our experience, the Spanish recreational training system suffers from a dense theoretical content that is little focused on real recreational sailing, but, above all, it suffers from a practical content that is totally insufficient and that must be compensated with non-regulated training such as sailing courses, private lessons, etc…

What RYA courses do we offer?

This is the brochure of courses that we will be offering at Julio Verne Náutica starting this month:

1. Competent crew: This course is for beginners and for those who would like to become active crew members instead of just passengers. At the end of the course, you should be able to steer, handle sails, watch, dinghy paddle and assist in all daily routines on board. Minimum recommended age 12 years old.
2. Day Skipper: To make the transition from crew member to skipper, developing the practical skills and confidence to take command of a small yacht. Minimum age 16 years old.
3. Coastal Skipper: A course for those with extensive knowledge of sailing and navigation who want to make coastal crossings by day and night. Each student will be the skipper on more challenging crossings under the guidance of the instructor. Minimum age 17 years old.
4. Yacht Master Offshore: The Yachtmaster Offshore certificate allows the holder to captain a sailing yacht up to 24 meters in length 150 miles from a safe harbor. The RYA Yachtmaster Offshore qualification is recognized worldwide and is considered the benchmark in professional yachting.

Can I sail with an RYA certificate in Spain?

Currently the regulations do not allow Spanish nationals to sail in Spain as skipper with an RYA certificate, but this is not the case in most other countries in the world. Therefore, to sail in our country it is still essential to be examined under the Spanish qualifications.

However, RYA courses are interesting for:

1. Learn to sail / improve your sailing skills with the best nautical teaching method available.
2. Obtain a qualification that is recognized as a benchmark by the entire nautical sector worldwide.
3. To become a professional yachtsman.

If you are interested in more information about RYA courses or the available internship calendar, please contact us, please contact us without obligation.