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Certification Courses

on board  VOYAGEUR 10.10

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Sailing Instruction
ADVANCED CRUISING

 

The prerequisites for this course are listed on the Sail Canada website. Proof of these prerequisites must be submitted with your application as well as log of your cruising history.

 

The standard sets out that the student must be able to act safely as a skipper and crew of a sailing vessel of 8-15 meters, operating by day and night in coastal or inland water in any weather.


The standard is broken down into ashore knowledge and afloat skills. The full description of the standard and prerequisites is available in PDF format by clicking here. 

 

All Sail Canada certification courses have a written exam component to them. The theory component of the standard will be covered during the course by lecture, group discussion and discovery. The written exam must be completed before the last day of the course.


Students will be individually briefed at the midpoint of the course on their progress, and skills that need improvement.


A formal evaluation will be completed at the end of the course with each student.

Sailing Instruction
INTERMEDIATE CRUISING

 

​This is the recommended minimum qualification for bareboat chartering.

 

This standard sets out that the student is able to cruise safely in familiar waters as both skipper and crew of a sailing yacht of 8-12 meters in moderate wind and sea conditions by day. This course emphasizes on-the-water skills.

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The standard is broken down into on water and ashore skills.The full description of the standard and prerequisites is available in PDF format by clicking here.

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Many of our Intermediate Courses are 2 weeks long. On these courses we are able to expand the curriculum to include:

    Basics of electronic navigation using
        Radar
        GPS
        Chart plotter
    Sailing with a cruising spinnaker
    Sail repair
    Chartering basics
    Choosing a sailboat – sailboat design

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It is also possible to complete your Sail Canada Coastal Navigation Standard while on a 2 week Intermediate course. This must be arranged in writing with Voyageur Sailing prior to registering. There is a $350.00 up charge if you wish to do this and there must be more than one student taking part in it.  This is an intensive course and will severely restrict any down time that you may have to enjoy the surroundings and other activities

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All Voyageur Sailing Courses challenge participants' abilities,

whatever their level of competency.

Our courses will cover:

 

  • Passage Planning

    • Preparations, Watch Keeping, dealing with Sleep Deprivation

    • Setting off and making Landfall

  • Prevention of and dealing with emergency situations

  • Sail theory, selection and sail trim

  • Preparing for and dealing with heavy weather

    • Reefing effectively

    • Heaving to

    • Fore reaching

    • Storm sails

    • Setting up and using a drogue or sea anchor

    • Safety on and below deck

  • Navigating

    • Traditional DR methods

    • Electronic navigation - chartplotter, radar, AIS, autopilot

    • Emergency navigation - Sextant basics (Advanced Course)

 

  • Tides and currents

  • Weather

    • Global Patterns

    • Preparing and understanding forecasts

    • Forecasting weather while underway

  • Sea survival - Abandon Ship Procedures

    • Immersion suits

    • Ditch Bag - contents

    • Liferaft - simulation

    • Helicopter rescue theory

  • Anchoring techniques

    • Anchor selection

    • Selecting an anchorage

    • Setting a stern anchor

    • Shore lines

EXPERIENCE SAILING

Our sailing adventures force us into an environment that challenges the comforts and conveniences that we may be used to. Sailing immerses us into an awesome natural environment within which we maintain our basic needs of life.

Voyageur Sailing offers instruction in the skills required to confidently embrace cruising and make passages under sail.

 

LEARN BY DOING

We understand that each person has his/her own strategy for learning. On Voyageur, various tasks will be explained and demonstrated. We encourage dialogue and repetitive self practice without our continual prompting. Repetitive personal practice will result in both successful and unsuccessful attempts. Some of our best learning takes place after we have made a mistake. Our courses run for two weeks, with a 2:1 student/teacher ratio providing you with the opportunity to build sailing skills and retain them after your course is completed. Although sailing aboard Voyageur may challenge the boundaries of your comfort zone, the end result is a feeling of being empowered to pursue your future sailing adventures.

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