A lot of people ask themselves, after finishing sailing school, "Well, where to now?" The answer to this question is us, Capetan.club, with our practical sailing courses dedicated to you, the beginners, and beyond.
To help you understand what we do, let me tell you what the Capetan Sailing School started from, namely the Charter Skipper Practice programme.
Ten years ago, we used to organise flotillas of more than 5 sailboats, where we had to rely on certain skippers who didn't have a common skill set, necessary for the whole event to work end-to-end without hiccups and surprises. This is where the initiative started to create a framework for the skippers we trained to have the same common denominator. In a week of practice we make sure that all participants accumulate basic knowledge that they can then access when needed. That's how our training school was founded.
Later, I noticed that not only skippers of flotillas needed the practical sailing course, but also other sailing enthusiasts who wanted to go out to sea safely and relaxed with family and friends. Following constant feedback, Capetan.club's practical sailing courses have evolved to mould to the needs of the learners and constantly take into account new trends and developments in the field (new technologies, new materials, different approaches).
The plastic acquired, either at a Romanian skipper school or given by the Royal Yachting Association, does not make you a skipper; the way of thinking, practice, experience and seamanship, these are what make up the notion of a skipper. There is no way that a sailing school can take you through the curriculum from A to Z in just 5 days, and even if it could, there is no way you can assimilate so much theory and practice in such a short time.
One of the most appealing things about the sailing phenomenon is the following idea: you can never claim to know or have seen it all! It's a phenomenon that is impossible to pin down, and something new, unheard of, untried is always emerging.
As for the practical courses offered by Capetan.club, they are divided into courses for practice - Hands On Practice (HOP) and Hands On Practice Advanced (HOPA) - and courses for earning miles - Miles Building (MB) and Miles Building Deliveries (MBD).
HOP is the first module, the basic module, the cornerstone. An inspiring and objective description can be found in the article written by Adrian Dragan in Yacht Expert magazine here.
HOPA represents the natural evolution of those who have already been to HOP and involves, besides the repetition of certain manoeuvres from HOP, the introduction to the catamaran area, i.e. exclusively single-handed and short-handed practice. Find all the details related to the HOPA curriculum. here.
Miles Building involves a different, non-stop week of practical sailing where we practice and apply passage planning concepts, experience life on board for an extended period of time and see what it's like at the opposite end of a charter week.
Miles Building Delivery involves the accumulation of miles in tidal waters, the delivery of new or SH boats from various parts of Europe to Croatia, Greece or Romania.
