Vancouver Island Yacht Charters
Whether it is time to hone your skills or build upon your previously mastered competencies and time on the water to achieve the Bareboat Skipper and International Certificate of Competency (ICC) to charter internationally, we have the course to suit all sailing needs.
We offer all of these sailing courses from the Basics to the Advanced Level to safely skipper or crew a sea-going yacht. Our sailing school, based in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island offers Power and Sailing courses for individuals, friends, couples or families.
Come and explore BC’s spectacular cruising ground exploring the Gulf Islands, sailing along the Sunshine Coast up to Desolation Sound, the Broughtons or Circumnavigate Vancouver Island, while obtaining a sailing certification.
Our boating and yachting school’s certification programs range from basic to advanced and include a Yachtmaster Offshore course with Celestial Navigation that circumnavigates Vancouver Island~ Our school teaches Canadian Recreational Yachting Association, (CRYA) and International Yacht Training (IYT) courses.
Nanaimo Yacht Charters & Sailing School offers a range of sailing course accredited by the main industry sailing bodies, the bodies we work with are:
Canadian Recreational Yachting Association
A non-profit organisation that works with various bodies to promote both sailing and powerboating through member clubs, schools and partners.
CRYA’s mission statement is:
Canadian Recreational Yachting Association is dedicated to the training of both sail and power operators on the water with an emphasis on safe boat handling and the skilful use of pleasure craft while having fun.
IYT – International Yacht Training Worldwide
International Yacht Training Worldwide operates more boating and sailing courses with more Government approvals through more sailing schools, in more countries and in more languages than any other boating or sailing organisation in the world.
IYT was started to:
IYT yachting courses are recognised by 25 different Governments worldwide for commercial use including the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
A unique opportunity to access all of the Sailing theory course materials online for free! Visit iytworld.com and create a user ID profile to gain access to a sequence of courses available by eLearning, downloadable PDF and interactive learning:
Perfect for those at the beginning of their sailing or powerboating career – these courses take you from nothing to providing you with confidence.
Duration: 5 days & 5 nights sailing through the Gulf Islands
Pricing: The price of our standard ‘Cruise and Learn’ includes the provisions, comfortable liveaboard yacht and instructor
Ok – you know how to sail and now you want to get more proficient or maybe you want to charter and need certification?
Duration: 5-7 days depending on the Flotilla or Bareboat Skipper, sailing through the Gulf Islands or the Sunshine Coast
Pricing: The price of our standard ‘Cruise and Learn’ includes the provisions, comfortable liveaboard yacht and instructor
All Intermediate Sailing Courses
You can sail, you have extensive experience and now you want to do the real deal or you want to get certified.
Duration – 7-days (Coastal Skipper Advanced) and 14-days circumnavigating Vancouver Island
Pricing – The price of our standard Cruise and Learn includes the provisions, yacht and instructor
Perfect for those at the beginning of their sailing or powerboating career – these courses take you from nothing to providing you with confidence. Choose your boat, your friends and your itinerary; or sit back and relax, sailing as little or as much as you like!
Duration: A customized charter is based on the weekly 7-day sailing rate
Pricing: Dependent on the vessel chosen, instructional skipper fees, moorage, fuel and provisioning*
Here at Nanaimo Yacht Charters & Sailing School, we are honoured to work with a team of fantastic, experienced and fun instructional skippers for our Sailing Season!
Ian MacPherson began sailing at a young age before becoming a worldwide yacht delivery skipper. Just prior to Ian’s 30th Birthday, he launched his 40′ long-distance cruising sailboat, an Endurance Ketch, named ‘Baraka’ that he had spent five years building in Durban. Ian then spent the following ten years cruising the world with Shari and 2 young daughters.
Ian went on to manage the Caribbean, Greek and Eastern Mediterranean charter operations of one of the largest charter companies in the world. However, of all the places that Ian has sailed internationally, Beautiful British Columbia’s cruising ground he still rates as one of the finest in the world. Ian first began the annual Fall circumnavigation of Vancouver Island in 2001 and still teaches the Yachtmaster Offshore with Celestial Navigation annually. This past 2020 season we were lucky enough to facilitate a flotilla of Advanced level sailors at the CRYA or IYT Yachtmaster level.
Andy Den Otter is available as a monohull or catamaran sailing skipper and instructor, to teach from introductory to YachtMaster.
Andy has been sailing everything from windsurfers up to 55 ft ocean cruisers on the Caribbean, Pacific, Mediterranean, and Atlantic for the last 30+ years.
He has a real passion for teaching and loves teaching and sailing Canada’s West Coast. Andy is often chartering with his own friends and families as well as introducing new families couples and groups to BC’s Coastline!
Dave Martin has sailed thousands of Ocean miles and is also an experienced power yacht Instructor.
Dave holds a Sail Yachtmaster Instructor Evaluator Ocean and Coastal Skipper Power designation. He is the Instructor Coordinator for the Canadian Recreational Yachting Association, having trained numerous instructors in both sail and power categories.
As one of our most experienced Instructors in British Columbia, Dave has taught courses for Nanaimo Yacht Charters Team since 2002. Whether you are wanting to learn to sail, operate a powerboat, master Coastal Navigation or practice the fine art of Celestial Navigation, Dave can meet your requirements in a safe, comfortable, skill-testing and times challenging sailing environment.
Gillie Hutchinson has always loved the sea and has extensive sailing experience locally and internationally.
Since 2016, Gillie has skippered private groups on her second boat, a 36ft Catalina, to Desolation Sound, the San Juan Islands and the Gulf Islands of B.C. as well as many international charters and courses.
Gillie’s goal has always been to empower other women in the sport of sailing and is convinced that women teaching women is a good fit. She taught well over 200 new sailors in the nine years she operated LadySail, and inspired many of her students to live the dream and buy their own boats, sail off-shore, or become instructors themselves. She believes “it is never too late to reinvent yourself”, having started her sailing career at the age of 50, and in August 2019 was interviewed for CBC French television. Gillie is bi-lingual and enjoys instructing in French as well as English. She plans to keep calm and carry on sailing!
Jack Dale is a seasoned instructional skipper having acquired over 50,000 miles of coastal and blue-water sailing since he began cruising the Salish Sea since 1984. As a delivery skipper, his passages also include an Atlantic Crossing from Cape Town to Brazil, Victoria to Maui, the BVI to Panama, Northern Atlantic and Southern England.
Jack is also an avid racer and has taken part in many Swiftsure Races, the Van Isle 360 and racing on Galveston Bay.
Jack is a qualified Sail instructional skipper certification for CRYA up to the Yachtmaster Ocean Instructional Evaluator level, a Coastal Power Instructional Evaluator and an IYT Sail Yachtmaster Coastal Instructor.
Tracy Sarich sails extensively throughout Puget Sound and the Southern Coast of British Columbia, including the West Coast of Vancouver Island on her own 54’ cutter sloop.
Her nearly 20 years of sailing experience includes offshore boat deliveries between San Francisco and Seattle, the Baja California Peninsula, and South Florida. Tracy’s teaching focus on some of her biggest passions from sailing education, advancing women in the sport, and leadership development for building strong teams and confident, capable skippers. You are sure to have a fantastic, fun and meaningful sailing adventure aboard a sailing course with Tracy!
These customer-driven instructional skippers contribute to the strong team ready to empower safe boaters and sailors while growing the future of bareboat chartering!
The company is privately owned and not affiliated with any other charter company.
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Nanaimo Yacht Charters & Sailing School Ltd.
1690 Stewart Ave Nanaimo BC, Canada V9S 4E1
Email: info@nanaimoyachtcharters.com
© 2007-2021 Nanaimo Yacht Charters.
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Setting Sail While Staying Safe
Bareboat Charters
Charters can expect a safe & relaxed experience on our docks. Our COVID protocols include boat and cruising area video briefings, thoroughly disinfected boats, and a plan to keep our staff at a distance. Join us for a 2021 bareboat charter today and sail away with your own little bubble.
Sailing School
Instruction is our greatest passion and the cornerstone of our business. Sailing School course will resume when B.C. health and safety protocols allow. Complete this form to join our waitlist.
Your Safety is our #1 Priority
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