Solent Sail – RYA Catamaran Sailing Courses in the Solent

Solent Sail is an RYA-recognised sea school offering sailing courses from Start Yachting through to Yachtmaster including refresher training and specialist catamaran courses.
Beng based in Portsmouth Harbour, we are perfectly located for fast access to the Solent’s tidal waters, busy harbours and a wide range of real-world training environments – ideal for building confidence and competence on the water.

Learn to sail on a large cruising Catamaran

All our courses are run on a  12m cruising catamaran, offering a more comfortable, stable, and spacious platform than a traditional monohull—perfect for learning in style without compromising training quality.
Our aim is simple: to give you real confidence in sail cruising and boat handling, covering all aspects of pleasure boating on a yacht.
Our catamaran familiarisation weekends are especially popular with sailors preparing for a bareboat charter in the Mediterranean or Caribbean, or those transitioning from monohulls to multihulls.

Why train on a Catamaran?

The growth in multihull ownership and chartering means many sailors now need practical, hands-on catamaran experience. Despite the larger platform, courses are limited to just 5 students, ensuring plenty of helm time and personal instruction. Training on a catamaran offers:

• Greater stability under sail and power

• Significantly more space on board

• Excellent visibility for close-quarters manoeuvring

Course Formats & Duration

• Our scheduled courses are shown below.
  → They’re all bookable on-line and you can select options for sleeping arrangements and discount for multiple bookings

• Start Yachting, Refresher Weekends and Catamaran Familiarisation
  → These are single weekend courses (Friday evening around 6pm to Sunday afternoon around 4pm)

• RYA Competent Crew and RYA Day Skipper
  → These courses require a minimum of 5 days, which we spread across three weekends
  → As our courses are effectively 6 days long, you can book any 3 weekends to achieve the full qualification
       (ideal if you don’t want to take time off work)

Catamaran Sailing Familiarisation

• Catamaran features and differences from mono-hulls

• Departing a berth and controlled turns in a marina

• Ferry gliding in a tidal river

• Sail raising in confined spaces

• Sail trim and reefing

• Anchoring techniques, bridles, and anchor recovery

• Picking up a mooring buoy

• Pontoon mooring (wind assisted and wind against)

• Stern-to mooring

• Springing off without lines

• Watchkeeping

• Man overboard (MOB) techniques

Sailing Refresher Weekend

Ideal if you haven’t sailed recently or want to sharpen your skills.

• Passage planning, meteorology, and victualling

• Navigation, pilotage, and rules of the road

• Close-quarters handling under power

• Sail passage making and night cruising

• Helmsmanship and watchkeeping

• Deck work, maintenance, engines, and basic repairs

• Emergency situations including MOB

RYA Start Yachting

The perfect introduction to sailing, all covered in a weekend. No stress, no expectations, just the basics to see if the yachting life appeals.

• Learn the parts of the yacht
• Do some ropework and practice knots

• Understand the Rules of the road

• Some man overboard techniques

• How to use safety equipment and take precautions

• Some basic meteorology

• Use the tender under oars or motor

RYA Competent Crew

Gain hands-on experience living aboard and sailing from place-to-place over 5 days or 3 weekends. This course builds on Start Yachting so that you become a full member of the crew, all while visiting interesting locations and enjoying life afloat.

• Handle sails

• Steer and keep lookout

• Assist with all aspects of running the yacht

RYA Day Skipper

Learn the skills needed to skipper a yacht in familiar waters, mainly by day. Covering 5 days or 3 weekends, this course lead to an important qualification, required by most charter companies before you can charter a boat on your own.

• Pilotage, passage planning and preparation for sea

• Boat handling under sail and power

• Seamanship and dealing with emergencies

• Navigation using electronics and manual back-ups

• Crew management

• Some night sailing