All photographs on this website have been taken by us on and around the spectacular Firth of Clyde.
WELCOME TO BRITSAIL
We are a family-owned and operated RYA Training Centre operating out of Kip Marina, Inverkip, Scotland's Premier Marina. We offer a full range of RYA practical, classroom, and online courses, including Start Yachting, Competent Crew, Day Skipper, RYA Coastal Skipper/ Yachtmaster, Radio Marine (VHF), CEVNI, PPR, ICC, First Aid Cat 2, all the way up to RYA Yachtmaster Ocean. We can also deliver on-premise theory and full-boat practical bookings for individuals, families, companies, schools and clubs.
For those looking for classroom-based courses on the Scottish East Coast as a precursor to a practical course with us on the Scottish West Coast, we recommend our partner and friends at Edinburgh Marine Academy in South Queensferry.
We started Britsail because we enjoy meeting people from all walks of life while introducing them to sailing or supporting their continued sailing aspirations as much as we enjoy sailing ourselves.
We are a friendly bunch and believe we are delivering a very personal touch, so drop us an email or give us a call, and we'll do anything we can to help you get out on the water and have as much fun learning as we do instructing!!
Happy sailing
Deborah Gulliver
Britsail Principal & RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Instructor
For those looking for classroom-based courses on the Scottish East Coast as a precursor to a practical course with us on the Scottish West Coast, we recommend our partner and friends at Edinburgh Marine Academy in South Queensferry.
We started Britsail because we enjoy meeting people from all walks of life while introducing them to sailing or supporting their continued sailing aspirations as much as we enjoy sailing ourselves.
We are a friendly bunch and believe we are delivering a very personal touch, so drop us an email or give us a call, and we'll do anything we can to help you get out on the water and have as much fun learning as we do instructing!!
Happy sailing
Deborah Gulliver
Britsail Principal & RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Instructor
Join our Cruising Club WhatsApp Group to be the first to receive discounted offers, special member sailing weekends and whatever else we can come up with to get you out on the water.
A picture speaks a thousand words, so as we are too busy sailing to write a thousand words, we have started to load our course photos to Instagram so that you can see for yourself what a Britsail course looks like.
We are often asked where we sail during our courses, so rather than telling you, we thought we would show you by sharing our personal Strava feed… but sometimes we use it for other stuff!
We post photos, videos, course advertisements, special offers and much much more on our Facebook page, so give is a Follow and keep in touch with what we haver going on at Kip Marina and out on the water.
Practical Courses
While many of our costs have increased since we set our 2024 prices, we have decided it is too much of a hassle to update our website, so we will not be increasing our prices for the 2025 season. Okay, that's not the real reason; unlike everything else, we just thought we would give you lovely potential crew mates one thing that isn't going to go up in price over the coming twelve months :-)
Course Dates
WEEKDAY Course Description
Booking
OUR 2025 SEASON WILL BE STARTING ON SUNDAY, MARCH 30TH, WITH OUR FIRST 5-DAY RYA COMPETENT CREW AND DAY SKIPPER COURSE RUNNING FROM SUNDAY, MARCH 30TH UNTIL FRIDAY, APRIL 4TH.
Course Dates
WEEKEND Course Description
Booking
OUR 2025 SEASON WILL BE STARTING ON SUNDAY, MARCH 30TH, WITH OUR FIRST WEEKEND RYA START YACHTING, COMPETENT CREW AND DAY SKIPPER COURSE RUNNING FROM FRIDAY, APRIL 4TH UNTIL SUNDAY, APRIL 6TH.
* Note, Competent Crew and Day Skipper courses require three weekends to complete.
Classroom Courses
We continue to add classroom courses throughout the season. If there is a particular course that you are looking for, get in touch, and we will see what we can do to support you.
Calendars
If you don't see the course you are looking for on the date you wish to join us, get in touch and we will do everything we can do to support you.
Why choose BRITSAIL…?
While we could implement an automated booking system, we prefer to engage with everyone who wishes to sail on a one-to-one basis first, whether through email, WhatsApp or verbally, to ensure that we offer the best possible support for your sailing aspirations. This may take a little more time and effort on both sides, but this initial human interaction delivers the best possible outcome for everyone.
Unlike many other training centres, we have no intention of emulating a low-cost airline, so, at Britsail, the listed price of all of our RYA Scheduled Practical courses, Mile Builders and Experience Builders, is always the price you pay.
Unlike many other training centres, we have no intention of emulating a low-cost airline, so, at Britsail, the listed price of all of our RYA Scheduled Practical courses, Mile Builders and Experience Builders, is always the price you pay.
- You don't get a random freelance instructor; you get Deborah or one of our friends who happens to instruct for us. We can confirm the instructor before you book if you like.
- We don't charge for using our coastal sailing waterproofs (saving up to £25 per week).
- We don't expect the students to cover the cost of moorings and marinas during the week (saving £35-£45 per night between students). During a five-day course, we aim to use marinas for three nights and moorings for two nights so that you qualify, having experienced both, with the choice of overnight stops being the student's decision, with some guidance from the instructor and a nudge from the weather!
- While you may choose to eat onshore during the week, we cater for eating on board every night rather than making an assumption and catering accordingly.
- We don't charge extra for fuel used during your time onboard.
- While we expect all students to treat our gear as if it were their own, accidents do happen, so we don't charge students for any accidental damage.
- The cost of running a course doesn't change significantly during the year, so we don't ramp up prices during the summer months just because we could charge more due to the higher demand.
- We don't cut our courses short; some sailing schools are back in base by as early as noon on the final day of sailing.
Sailing Practical and Theory Courses
Practical Course Frequently Asked Questions
We are a family owned and operated RYA Training Centre operating out of Kip Marina, Inverkip, Scotland's Premier Marina. We offer a full range of RYA practical, classroom, and online courses, including Start Yachting, Competent Crew, Day Skipper, RYA Coastal Skipper/ Yachtmaster, Radio Marine (VHF), CEVNI, PPR, ICC, First Aid Cat 2, all the way up to RYA Yachtmaster Ocean. We can also deliver on-premise theory and full-boat practical bookings for individuals, families, companies, schools and clubs.
For those looking for classroom-based courses on the Scottish East Coast as a precursor to a practical course with us on the Scottish West Coast, we recommend our partner and friends at Edinburgh Marine Academy in South Queensferry.
We started Britsail because we enjoy meeting people from all walks of life while introducing them to sailing or supporting their continued sailing aspirations as much as we enjoy sailing ourselves.
We are a friendly bunch and believe we are delivering a very personal touch, so drop us an email or give us a call, and we'll do anything we can to help you get out on the water and have as much fun learning as we do instructing!!
Happy sailing
Deborah Gulliver
Britsail Principal & RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Instructor
For those looking for classroom-based courses on the Scottish East Coast as a precursor to a practical course with us on the Scottish West Coast, we recommend our partner and friends at Edinburgh Marine Academy in South Queensferry.
We started Britsail because we enjoy meeting people from all walks of life while introducing them to sailing or supporting their continued sailing aspirations as much as we enjoy sailing ourselves.
We are a friendly bunch and believe we are delivering a very personal touch, so drop us an email or give us a call, and we'll do anything we can to help you get out on the water and have as much fun learning as we do instructing!!
Happy sailing
Deborah Gulliver
Britsail Principal & RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Instructor
Join our Cruising Club WhatsApp Group to be the first to receive discounted offers, special member sailing weekends and whatever else we can come up with to get you out on the water…
We are often asked where we sail during our courses, so rather than telling you, we thought we would show you by sharing our personal Strava feed… but sometimes we use it for other stuff!
A picture speaks a thousand words, so as we are too busy sailing to write a thousand words, we have started to load our course photos to Instagram so that you can see for yourself what a Britsail course looks like.
We post photos, videos, course advertisements, special offers and much much more on our Facebook page, so give is a Follow and keep in touch with what we haver going on at Kip Marina and out on the water.
Practical Courses
We must be doing something right… with the exception of a few cancellations we have been 100% fully booked through our 2024 season and now only have a small handful of spaces left.
Course Dates
WEEKDAY Course Description
Booking
WOW… THAT'S ALL OF OUR 2024 5-DAY COURSES SOLD OUT. IT FEELS LIKE ONLY YESTERDAY WE WERE STARTING THE SEASON.
Course Dates
WEEKEND Course Description
Booking
WOW… THAT'S ALL OF OUR 2024 WEEKEND COURSES SOLD OUT. IT FEELS LIKE ONLY YESTERDAY WE WERE STARTING THE SEASON.
* Note, Competent Crew and Day Skipper courses require three weekends to complete.
Classroom Courses
We continue to add classroom courses throughout the season. If there is a particular course that you are looking for, get in touch, and we will see what we can do to support you.
Calendars
If you don't see the course you are looking for on the date you wish to join us, get in touch and we will do everything we can do to support you.
Why choose BRITSAIL…?
While we could implement an automated booking system, we prefer to engage with everyone who wishes to sail on a one-to-one basis first, whether through email or verbally, to ensure that we offer the best possible support for your sailing aspirations. This may take a little more time and effort on both sides, but this initial human interaction delivers the best possible outcome for everyone.
Unlike many other training centres, we have no intention of emulating a low-cost airline, so, at Britsail, the listed price of all of our RYA Scheduled Practical courses, Mile Builders and Experience Builders, is always the price you pay.
Unlike many other training centres, we have no intention of emulating a low-cost airline, so, at Britsail, the listed price of all of our RYA Scheduled Practical courses, Mile Builders and Experience Builders, is always the price you pay.
- You don't get a random freelance instructor; you get Deborah or one of our friends who happens to instruct for us. We can confirm the instructor before you book if you like.
- We don't charge for using our coastal sailing waterproofs (saving up to £25 per week).
- We don't expect the students to cover the cost of moorings and marinas during the week (saving £35-£45 per night between students). During a five-day course, we aim to use marinas for three nights and moorings for two nights so that you qualify, having experienced both, with the choice of overnight stops being the student's decision, with some guidance from the instructor and a nudge from the weather!
- While you may choose to eat onshore during the week, we cater for eating on board every night rather than making an assumption and catering accordingly.
- We don't charge extra for fuel used during your time onboard.
- While we expect all students to treat our gear as if it were their own, accidents do happen, so we don't charge students for any accidental damage.
- The cost of running a course doesn't change significantly during the year, so we don't ramp up prices during the summer months just because we could charge more due to the higher demand.
- We don't cut our courses short; some sailing schools are back in base by as early as noon on the final day of sailing.
Frequently Asked Questions