Ready to lead your own live-aboard cruise?

This live-aboard intensive prepares you to skipper and crew a cruising yacht on a five-day coastal passage. Master advanced sailing skills, passage planning, and the systems management skills you'll need for bareboat charters and multi-day cruises.

What you'll receive

Live-aboard cruising experience: Spend five days sailing and living aboard Student Driver in BC's Gulf Islands. You'll make daytime passages, anchor in new harbours, manage boat systems, and build the confidence that comes from real-world cruising.

Skipper-level skills: Take command as skipper or support as crew. You'll

Refine your sail trim skills with traveller and jib car controls
Learn to sail with an asymmetrical spinnaker
Practice mooring pickups and advanced docking
Navigate into unfamiliar harbours
Learn how to handle common emergency scenarios

Systems and seamanship: Learn to manage vessel systems hands-on: engine troubleshooting, electrical and water systems, galley safety, and provisioning for extended cruises. These are the practical skills that keep you safe and comfortable.

Navigation in practice: Apply your coastal navigation knowledge on an actual passage. Plot courses, take fixes, use charts and tide tables, and pilot into harbours you've never visited.

Sail Canada certification: Earn either Sail Canada's Intermediate Cruising or Intermediate Crew standard. These credentials qualify you for bareboat charters worldwide and open the door to longer open water passages.

A conversation about your sailing journey: Each course ends with time to reflect on what you've learned, discuss your goals, and explore next steps, whether that's more training, club sailing, or planning your own adventures.

Course format

Five full days (8+ hours per day) living and sailing aboard
Daytime passages in moderate wind and sea conditions
Theory sessions covering boat systems, weather, and seamanship
Sail Canada's Intermediate Self-study Guide
An evening for the Sail Canada written examination

Prerequisites

Sail Canada Basic Cruising or Basic Crew standard
Sail Canada Basic Coastal Navigation or Coastal Navigation standard
ROC(M): VHF with DSC endorsement
Pleasure Craft Operator's Card

Recommended:

Experience as skipper or crew on at least ten day sails
Standard first aid and CPR certificate

Who should enrol

This course is for sailors ready to:

Take on skipper responsibilities for multi-day passages
Charter a bareboat or plan their own coastal cruises
Build confidence through real-world cruising experience
Master the systems and seamanship of live-aboard sailing

Registering, deposits & final payment

Course fees exclude meals. Your instructor will help you create a nutritious meal plan that suits your tastes and your budget, and help you with meal preparation onboard.

This course is limited to four students. We require a minimum of three students for the course to proceed. If we don't meet our minimum enrolment, we'll work with you to find a convenient alternative date.

Students are required to pay a 25% deposit upon registration. The balance of course fees is due a month before the course starts.

Please see Wild About Sailing's course booking, refund and cancellation policies for more details.

Learn to Cruise!