Courses
Specialty Courses

Bareboat Charter Preparation
This one-day, nil experience required course will have you on your way to the most enjoyable sailing holiday imaginable. You will gain knowledge to safely and competently charter your own desired yacht by providing practice picking up moorings, planning your trip, advice on what to expect and what to pack and take. Upon completion you will obtain an Introduction to Sailing – Bareboat Charter Preparation Certificate which is recognized by all reputable charter operators so your briefing time on commencement of your charter is reduced and getting you out on the water sooner.
Boat Handling
One of the most challenging aspects of yachting is not out in the open ocean but rather at the very beginning and ending of most journeys – ‘parking’.
This one-day boat handling course helps students to confidently manoeuvre a yacht under power within a marina. Onboard one of our own yachts (or for your own, see Own Boat Tuition), you will learn-by-doing under the guidance of one of our highly skilled skippers.
Skills you will enhance are:
- Exiting and entering a berth
- Springing on and off
- Reversing in to a berth
- Using stern kick
- Turning in a tight circle
- Confidence in unfamiliar conditions
- Mediterranean mooring (if planning/chartering a vessel abroad)
Own Boat Tuition (Sail and Power)/Personal Coaching
Have you purchased a boat or wish to learn new skills to more confidently handle your current boat? Under the calm and experienced guidance of our skippers, you will gain confidence and skills for more enjoyable boating.
100% tailored to suit your needs and areas of improvement.
Common skills for further development include:
- Docking/Mooring
- Boat handling
- Sail trimming
- Navigation
- Launching and retrieving for trailer boat owners
- Reviewing vessel equipment and layout with emphasis on safety aspects
- Executing tight turns for entering and leaving marinas
For owners planning travels beyond Moreton Bay, our skippers can accompany you on multi-day passages and deliveries to broaden experience with passage planning, navigation, bar crossings and night sailing.
Tuition can be as short as an hour on weekdays, one full day or multiple days depending on your personal requirements.
Call or email if you wish to discuss your private tuition needs further. (Maximum 4 onboard)
Offshore Sail Training & Coastal Experience/Mile Builder
Southern Cross Yachting offers offshore sail training courses and mile builders to coastal destinations from Mooloolaba to the Whitsunday’s.
These voyages are ideal for completing qualifying passages for Yachtmaster exams or for simply gaining experience offshore with an experienced instructor. Depending upon the voyage timeline, there will be night sailing opportunities as well as evenings in marinas or at anchor.
As with any offshore sailing trip, destinations are weather dependent and alternative stopovers or routes may be chosen to suit weather conditions. As a participant you will be involved in preparing meals and keeping the vessel clean during the trip.
If your dream is to cruise the Queensland coast or beyond this is a great opportunity to experience offshore sailing and help prepare for your own voyages in the future.
The following are some of the training areas covered on these offshore trips:
- Passage planning
- Watch keeping and crew organisation
- Preparation for sea and safety checks
- Practicing pilotage and navigation skills
- Adverse conditions and managing the yacht in heavy weather
- Choosing sails and reefing
- Spinnaker sailing in suitable conditions
- Helming offshore
- Night passages
- Emergency situations
International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft (ICC) & CEVNI
International Sailing Qualifications required for chartering in Europe are the ICC (International Certificate of Competence) and CEVNI (required for inland waterways such as the French Canals). Southern Cross Yachting is one of the first training centres in Australia to be accredited to test for the ICC & CEVNI.
Most European countries are now requiring skippers of charter and private boats to hold an ICC to operate these vessels in their open and inland waterways. This Certificate is issued by the RYA and it is important to check with your charter company or the maritime authorities of the countries you are intending to visit to find out if the ICC is required. An ICC can only be issued to persons holding passports or residents of: Australia, the United Kingdom and its territories, the USA, Canada and New Zealand.
The ICC can be issued directly to persons holding the RYA/YA Day Skipper practical certificate or higher. For people not holding these qualifications, but who have suitable prior experience, a direct test is available. The test is both a practical and theoretical assessment and takes approximately 4 hours. It can be undertaken on your own suitable vessel (power or sail) or onboard one of our fleet (sail only).
We can also arrange for a one- or two-day course during which the test will be completed.
The ICC can be issued for power and/or sailing vessels up to either 10 or 24 meters, consecutively, in length. Specify whether you require an ICC for power or sail when booking.
For those wishing to skipper a vessel in the French inland water ways there is an additional short theory exam called the CEVNI rules. This covers rules specific to the French canals and includes signs, buoyage, light and sound signals and general steering rules. This test is taken on-line.
Contact Southern Cross Yachting to discuss the assessment that is right for you.
Ladies Sailing
Women who participate in our weekend or 5-day ‘Ladies Only’ courses do so for a multitude of reasons:
- To further contribute to the sailing of their own yacht with their partners
- To learn with, and from, link-minded women
- To understand and practice safety procedures including person overboard drills
- To gain skippering skills and experience to confidently helm their own vessel
This is a specifically designed course where you can gain Certificates in a range of RYA competencies on a female only vessel.