Flotilla Training Program

The exclusive Flotilla Training program offered by NAVTOURS is ideal for anyone wishing to improve their cruising skills on a keelboat. It allows people to acquire experience as a skipper or to obtain an intermediate cruising certificate under the supervision of a certified instructor, but in a less formal context that of a sailing school.

Objectives

• Allowing qualified sailors to charter a bareboat, but under supervision (thus with less stress, on-the-spot advice and handling correction)

  
  

• Giving the opportunity to beginners to cruise on a bigger yacht than they would normally be authorized to do with only their elementary or intermediate cruising certification, while taking advantage of advice from a certified instructor (therefore, being able to charter a larger yacht and diversifying their experience as a skipper, and not just crew)

  
  

• Offering a new way to obtain Intermediate or Advanced (bareboat) cruising certification, while gaining practical experience as the official skipper onboard (you will undertake a cruise without the permanent presence of an instructor with you but one will always be near on the lead boat).

  
  

• Offer the possibility of obtaining Intermediate or Advanced (bareboat) cruising certification, or to be initiated into cruising in foreign waters (which opens the door to bring the moment closer when you can charter a yacht outside the country!)

How this Flotilla program works?

As part of its sailing school programs, NAVTOURS designates an instructor to help relatively inexperienced skippers prepare and undertake a flotilla cruise lasting from 4 to 7 days aboard a chartered boat or the lead boat. The hallmark of the Flotilla program is its flexibility, whereby both enjoying a simple cruise and structured training can be the focus, according to participant interests. 

Those who choose this type of cruise will be able to upgrade their skill level by profiting from the wise advice of a certified instructor before and during the cruise, not to mention during port visits and mooring.

The training component is only open to those who have an elementary cruising certificate and who wish to obtain and intermediate cruising certificate, acting as a skipper on a sailboat from 32 to 40 feet in length over a period of from 4 to 7 days. Participants in the training component must pass official theoretical and practical exams.  The prerequisite for the advanced cruising certificate is the intermediate cruising certificate. The training program is sanctioned by the Quebec Sailing Federation (QSF), the Canadian Yachting Association (CYA) and the International Sailing Schools Association (ISSA).

Except on the lead boat, participants may be accompanied by other course participants, friends and family, without extra fees except those related to chartering the boat and the cost of certification. So reserve a spot on the lead boat or charter a bareboat right away to be participate in this activity.

Content for practical component of the Intermediate Cruising course:

Planning the cruise: meals, fuel, water, route...

Advanced theory

Engine operation

Marine navigation: maps, guides, tides, currents...

Electronic equipment: VHF radio, GPS, radar

Boat handling in marinas and small ports

Advanced sail trim/shape

Boat handling in various wind conditions

More knots

Safety equipment and procedures

Sailing pleasure (yes, this is part of the program).

Rates

Bareboat charters rates vary according to the destination chosen, as well as the type and size of the yacht. Participants seeking intermediate or advanced certification should plan for additional fees to cover the cost of supervision, course notes, CYA logbook, the Pleasure Craft Operating Card and the theoretical exam.

For course participants aboard the lead boat, payment of the charter rate in force at the time is required. Transportation, transfers and meals are not included.