Skipper & Crew Academy
From passionate sailor to professional skipper
Structured training pathways, real sea time, and professional development for modern skippers and crew.
Join the Professional Sailing Family
Every year we select talented sailors and transform them into professional skippers and crew through our intensive academy program. This isn’t just training — it’s an entry into a worldwide community of maritime professionals.
Our alumni work across the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and beyond. They deliver yachts across oceans, support charter operations, and build careers doing what they love: sailing.
Captains & Crew Academy is designed as a complete learning ecosystem: licensing pathways, structured courses, sea time, and professional development modules that reflect what actually happens on board — including leadership, decision-making, and people management.
Why Choose Our Academy?
- Complete professional preparation
- Real-world experience, not just theory
- Direct career pathway opportunities
- Ocean delivery placement for top graduate
- Join our professional network
Our approach: structured learning, repeatable skills, professional standards, and the human side of skippering — because great skippers manage people as well as boats.
What You’ll Find Inside the Academy
Becoming a skipper is not a single course. It’s a progression: seamanship, safety, operations, leadership, and experience at sea.
Licensing & Exam Pathways
Clear preparation routes for licences and certifications. We align theory, practice and milestone checks so you always know what to study, what to train, and how to progress — without gaps or guesswork.
- Structured licence preparation routes
- Theory learning pages & revision plans
- On-water coaching aligned to exam outcomes
- Mock exams and readiness checks
Courses & Sea Time
From entry-level training to advanced skills. We focus on repeatable performance, not “one good week at sea”. Sea time is structured to consolidate habits, not just accumulate miles.
- Beginner to advanced sailing courses
- Boat handling and manoeuvres
- Navigation, passage planning and routines
- Structured sea time to consolidate skills
Professional Skipper Development
Charter work is as much about people as it is about sailing. We train leadership, communication, conflict handling and client experience — the skills that turn a competent sailor into a confident professional skipper.
- Onboard leadership & decision-making
- Crew psychology and group dynamics
- Communication in calm and crisis
- Client experience and professional standards
Specialisations & Advanced Modules
Focused training for specific goals: heavier weather, advanced manoeuvring, yacht systems, offshore readiness and operational competence. Ideal for those stepping up responsibility.
- Advanced manoeuvres and port handling
- Heavy weather and risk management
- Yacht systems and troubleshooting
- Offshore readiness and routines
Learning Resources
Short, practical learning assets you can use before, during and after training. Perfect for revision, quick upgrades and “just before you step onboard” refreshers.
- Training articles and guides
- Checklists and onboard SOPs
- Case studies and scenarios
- Briefing templates and decision frameworks
Career Pathways
We connect training to real opportunities. The Academy is built around professionalism: reliability, standards, teamwork and leadership. Top graduates access placement opportunities and our professional network.
- Access to our professional network
- Placement opportunities for top graduates
- Charter and delivery pathways
- Professional references and support
Your Journey: From Student to Professional
We build competence in layers: foundations → structured practice → professional readiness. Each stage has clear outcomes and a next step.
1
Application & Selection
Submit your application and sailing background. We review each candidate carefully to ensure the right fit for our intensive program and professional standards.
Why it matters: the Academy is built on teamwork. We select people who want to learn, can collaborate under pressure, and are ready to step up responsibility.
2
Intensive Training (2–3 weeks)
Hands-on training aboard professional yachts. Advanced navigation, yacht systems, safety procedures, crew management, and commercial operations. Real sailing, real conditions, real preparation.
Practical focus: docking, passage planning, routine leadership, risk assessment, guest management, and the details that separate a hobby sailor from a trusted skipper.
3
Graduation & Placement
Top graduates join our professional team for summer Mediterranean charters or winter ocean deliveries. All alumni gain access to our professional network and career opportunities.
What this looks like in real life: supporting charters, joining deliveries, building certified miles, and gaining references while learning professional routines on active operations.
The Best Skipper Award: Free Ocean Delivery
Every academy session, one extraordinary opportunity awaits the top performer.
This award recognises overall excellence: sailing skills, safety awareness, professionalism, teamwork, and leadership potential — the qualities clients and operators actually rely on.
🏆 What You Win
- Complimentary ocean delivery (€3,000+ value)
- 2,000+ nautical miles of offshore experience
- Bay of Biscay crossing
- Professional offshore routines and watchkeeping
- Official mile certification
- Private cabin on a new catamaran
Why it matters: offshore time accelerates confidence, decision-making and professionalism. It’s one of the fastest ways to level up.
🧭 The Route
La Rochelle → Mediterranean
Deliver brand-new catamarans from French Atlantic shipyards to the Mediterranean. Navigate the Bay of Biscay, follow the Spanish and Portuguese coasts, transit Gibraltar, and arrive in the Med with serious mileage and experience.
Season: November–December
Duration: 14–21 days
Typical learning outcomes: watch systems, fatigue management, offshore navigation, heavy-weather routine, safety discipline, and professional onboard standards.
Selection Criteria: Overall academy performance including sailing skills, safety awareness, professionalism, teamwork, and leadership potential
Not Ready for Full Academy? Join as Guest Crew
Experience ocean delivery without the full training commitment
If you already have a basic level of competence and want serious miles, offshore experience and professional routines, Guest Crew is a powerful way to accelerate your progression.
| Academy Graduate (Best Skipper) | Guest Crew Member | |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean Delivery | ✅ FREE | €1.50/nm (~€3,000 total) |
| Private Cabin | ✅ Included | ✅ Included |
| Experience Required | Academy completion | Day Skipper minimum |
| Professional Training | ✅ Full academy | ⚠️ Limited |
| Career Placement | ✅ Priority access | ❌ Not included |
| Certified Miles | ✅ 2,000+ nm | ✅ 2,000+ nm |
Hear From Our Alumni
Real outcomes, real careers, and real sea miles — from people who started exactly where you are now.
“I went from weekend sailor to professional charter skipper in one season. The academy gave me real skills, not just theory. Now I’m living my dream working in the Greek islands.”
Alessandro P. – Academy 2023, now Charter Skipper in Greece
“Winning the Best Skipper award changed my life. That ocean delivery taught me more than any course ever could. Two years later, I’m running my own delivery business.”
Laura M. – Best Skipper 2023, Professional Delivery Captain
“I joined the ocean delivery as guest crew. Best €3,000 I ever spent. The experience, the miles, the connections – it opened doors I didn’t know existed.”
James B. – Guest Crew 2024, now seeking Yachtmaster Ocean
Ready to Start Your Professional Sailing Career?
Choose your path: Full academy training or ocean delivery experience
Academy Application
Complete professional training program
Career placement opportunities
Chance to win free ocean delivery
Not sure if you qualify? Contact us and we’ll advise the best next step.
Guest Crew Inquiry
Join winter ocean deliveries
2,000+ certified miles
Private cabin experience
Minimum level: Day Skipper (or equivalent). We’ll confirm suitability case by case.
Questions? Email us or follow www.corsiperskipper.com for the latest updates
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