OUR COURSES AND THE RYA
How our courses compare to the RYA
For many years we were one of the longest-established RYA schools in Spain. Today we teach our own courses, in small groups, under our own names. If you know the RYA scheme, this page shows which of our courses covers similar ground to each RYA level, what you get at the end, and what our courses are not.
We are no longer an RYA recognised training centre
This guide explains how the RYA scheme works, so you can choose well. We don’t run RYA courses or exams, prepare students for them, or issue RYA certificates. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the RYA. We teach our own sailing courses and coaching from Marina Alicante. For a formal RYA course, exam or certificate, you’ll need an RYA recognised training centre. A course you complete with us ends with our own Certificate of Completion, which anyone can check online; on a practical course, your sea miles also go into our digital sea log, signed off by your instructor.
SHORT ANSWER
Similar ground, our own courses, our own certificate.
Last reviewed: 2026-11-12
Most of our courses cover ground similar to one level of the RYA scheme, so if you know the RYA names you can find your level quickly. The lists below show which; the Skipper Masterclass is coaching and is not compared with an RYA exam.
They are our own courses. Costa Blanca Sailing is not an RYA recognised training centre and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the RYA. We do not run RYA courses or exams, prepare students for them, or issue RYA certificates.
A course you complete with us ends with our own Certificate of Completion. On a practical course, your sea miles also go into our digital sea log, signed off by your instructor.
Our practical courses and the closest RYA level
The comparison is about content and level only: what you practise aboard and roughly where it sits. The RYA sets its own syllabus and standards, and only RYA recognised training centres can teach and certify its courses. We do not assess you against the RYA standard.
KEY POINTS
- Try Sailing: similar ground to the RYA Start Yachting course.
- Learn to Sail: similar ground to the RYA Competent Crew practical course.
- Skipper Course: similar ground to the RYA Day Skipper practical course.
- Advanced Skipper Course: similar ground to the RYA Coastal Skipper practical course.
- Skipper Masterclass: coaching for experienced skippers. There is no exam, and it is not preparation for the RYA Yachtmaster exam.
Our theory courses and the closest RYA level
Our theory courses are taught in person in Alicante. They give you the navigation, chartwork and weather knowledge our practical courses build on. There is no RYA exam paper.
KEY POINTS
- Navigation Basics: similar ground to the RYA Essential Navigation and Seamanship course.
- Skipper Theory: similar ground to the RYA Day Skipper theory course.
- Advanced Skipper Theory: similar ground to the RYA Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster Offshore theory course.
Our fast-tracks
The fast-tracks put our own theory and practical courses together in one stay.
KEY POINTS
- 9-Day Skipper Fast-Track: similar ground to RYA Day Skipper theory and practical taken back to back.
- Beginner to Skipper in 14 Days: similar ground to RYA Competent Crew followed by Day Skipper theory and practical.
What you get at the end of a course
Every course you complete with us ends with our own Certificate of Completion. It has a public check address, so a charter company, an employer or a friend can confirm it is genuine. On a practical course, your days, passages and sea miles also go into our digital sea log, signed off by your instructor.
It records what you did with us. It is not an RYA certificate, a licence or a government title, and nobody is obliged to accept it. If a charter company, insurer or another school will look at your experience, ask them what they accept before you book any training.
If you need an RYA certificate
Choose an RYA recognised training centre: the RYA website lists them. Only the RYA and its centres decide what counts toward an RYA course or certificate.
About the names
RYA, Start Yachting, Competent Crew, Day Skipper, Coastal Skipper, Yachtmaster and Essential Navigation and Seamanship are names used by the Royal Yachting Association. We use them here only to describe and compare. Costa Blanca Sailing is not affiliated with, approved by or endorsed by the RYA.
Your instructor, Walter Henderson, personally holds the RYA Yachtmaster and the Master of Yachts 200GT. That is his own record of experience; it does not make our courses RYA courses.
Common questions
OFFICIAL SOURCES
We link official sources, such as the RYA, and local references so you can verify the detail for your own situation.
RELATED
NOT SURE WHICH LEVEL?
Tell us your experience and we will suggest the right course.
Send us your sailing experience and what you want to do next. We reply with the course that fits, from Try Sailing to the Skipper Masterclass.