Yachtmaster offshore training, summer 2025

Two weeks live aboard course in June, preparing for the Irish Sailing Association Yachtmaster offshore examination, with the possibility of getting a commercial endorsement. Note that this is not a mile building course, you need to have some previous offshore experience to apply.

We will start from West Brittany, and sail this challenging area for a few days, getting to know each other and perfecting manoeuvres, before heading towards the West coast of Ireland, a challenging sailing area with strong tides, changeable weather, and plenty of pretty and well sheltered anchorages, which makes it ideal for such training. The ISA examnation will be held at the end of the course, and, for those who wish to get their Yachtmaster offshore commercially endorsed, it will be possible to do further STCW and GMDSS training (see below).

About a quarter of the time will be spent on offshore passages. When not on passage, there will be lectures and study time in the evening to prepare students for both the practical and the theoretical part of the Yachtmaster examination.

This course is offered in the spirit of solidarity and generosity.
We’re committed to challenging an economic paradigm which strongly condition our relationship to each other and the world, reducing us to producers or consumers tied to each others by financial exchanges and contracts. We don’t want to enter into relationships in which we are just the providers of a service that can be bought. We want to enter into a wholehearted human relationship in which we can work collaboratively at transforming ourselves and the world.
Through this project, we want to explore an alternative economic model based on the life affirming practice of mutual generosity. In this gift economy – rooted in solidarity and mutual generosity – we give what we can, and take what we need.
Note however that we don’t have any independent means of financing the course, so we do need financial support to make it viable. But we appreciate that your financial circumstances might mean you can only give little more than the cost of your food. This should not stop you attending the course, as we strongly believe that money is not the only way to contribute, and that economic difficulties or marginalisation should not be an obstacle to attendance. We are therefore open to discussing donations in the form of skill sharing and other offers of work to support the project.
When you apply for the course, you will be asked what you think you can contribute to the project, financially, and otherwise. This is just one of the many criteria used for assessing your application.

We look forwards to meeting you in a spirit of mutual generosity.

Dates and duration to be confirmed, but don’t let this stop you from applying.

How to apply

To apply for this course, you must be able to show proof that you have sailed at least 2500 miles.  Ideally, at least half of this should be in tidal waters. You must also have spent at least two full nights at sea and have sailed a passage of more than 200 nautical miles as an active crew member. Application from people who do not meet these criteria will not be considered.
A GMDSS short range (VHF certificate) will be an advantage, as will previous experience as a skipper, even if only in coastal waters.
Application form here

Christophe likes to say that he is a wise old salty dog. (did you hear wild? Well, in any case, wisdom may be little more than an aspiration).
The has many years of professional experience in the yachting industry and has sailed all along the Atlantic coast of Europe from Scotland to Gibraltar. He has visited the Canaries and the Azores archipelagoes several times, sailed the Caribbean until he got tired of it, crossed the Atlantic single-handed, and even went to Antarctica. He now dreams of sailing the West coast of Patagonia, and probably will soon, for he is a man that has always followed his dreams.
As a former manager for Glenans Irish Sailing club, he used to train the club’s skippers and after a long break pursuing various other interests, he is looking forward to sharing again his passion for sailing to wild and wonderful places with kindred spirits.
He holds a  Yachtmaster offshore commercially endorsed and a GMDSS general operator certificate, and he is qualified to act as a professional skipper anywhere in the world on any boat up to 24 meter and carrying up to 12 passengers.