ISSA Accredited SchoolISSA sailing school courses
ISSA sailing school courses at FairHelm. Yacht Crew, Inshore or Offshore is chosen in the interview; RYA Day Skipper is a neighbour path, not our ticket. We suggest you read How to become a skipper.
Last updated: March 15, 2026
Online
VHF Radio Online
Online VHF radio training - procedures, distress, GMDSS. Optional ISSA SRC certificate. Required for charter in most countries.
Theory
Sailing theory - Yacht crew
Coming soon
Sailing theory - Yacht crewSailing theory - Inshore
Coming soon
Sailing theory - InshoreOn board
Yacht Crew - Mindhelm
Incl. yacht stay & instructor
See current dates in the schedule, or ask us by letter.
A crew week with Mindhelm: sheets, lookout, helm under instruction. Group of up to four. Right now only Vadim Nareyko leads it.
Inshore Skipper
Incl. yacht stay & instructor
See current dates in the schedule, or ask us by letter.
After Yacht Crew you plan a coastal passage and run it, give orders, and stand night watches near shore. Group of up to four. The instructor watches and corrects, and does not take the helm for you.
Yacht Crew without Mindhelm
Incl. yacht stay & instructor
See current dates in the schedule, or ask us by letter.
A crew week without Mindhelm: sheets, lookout, helm under instruction. Group of up to four.
Offshore Skipper
After Inshore you practise running a long passage to your plan, long watches, and decisions without shore contact. Watch of two participants plus instructor.
Mooring workshop: back off and come in again
Incl. yacht stay & instructor
Mooring workshop: stern to the dock, bow to a rock, or a buoy. Seven days, no more than four people. Six nights, Saturday evening to Saturday morning.
Workshop for setting and adjusting the sails
Incl. yacht stay & instructor
Setting and adjusting the sails. Sweden, Turkey, or Croatia. Up to four. Seven days.
Instructor training
Incl. yacht stay & instructor
ISSA instructor training. Five full days on board, a group of up to four. The range is 1,500-2,500 euros per person (plus VAT, if required).
Training and assessment
Training and assessment are not the same thing.
Training
You go out on the boat and learn. That is not the assessment yet.
Assessment
As a rule, most people receive the certificate. The instructor makes the final decision at the exam: we do not know in advance whether the students will study.
Why the training does not itself issue the paper is on Why a training week does not guarantee a certificate or passing the exam.
Mooring and sails
These two trainings are not the steps Yacht Crew, Inshore, or Offshore. People come to them for a separate skill, not for the next skipper step.
VHF/SRC, the VHF radio
The radio on a yacht is called VHF. The paper for that radio is called SRC. It is not inside the skipper step: a charter base can accept the skipper certificate and still ask for the radio on a separate line.
Why radio is asked separately is on Why radio is asked separately from the skipper step.
People often ask
- Is FairHelm an ISSA-accredited academy?
- Yes. ISSA accredits the training organisation. FairHelm is an academy with that accreditation. A person goes through assessment and holds a certificate. What that document confirms, and what it does not give, is written on Certification and ISSA fees.
- Which week should I take?
- It is named in the interview: Yacht Crew, Inshore, or Offshore. Who takes which step is on How to become a skipper.
- How do I enrol?
- Write to the academy, and we reply in 2-3 days. Dates that are already set are on Schedule. If your date is not there, the course is not cancelled: the date is named when you write.
- Do you teach RYA Day Skipper or RYA Yachtmaster?
- No. FairHelm trains and assesses on the ISSA ladder (Yacht Crew, Inshore, Offshore). RYA Day Skipper and RYA Yachtmaster are a UK neighbour path. We name them so you can compare tickets; we do not issue RYA papers and do not sell RYA training as ISSA.
- What about ASA, bareboat skipper tickets, or other sailing-school brands?
- FairHelm is an ISSA-accredited sailing school. ASA and many bareboat skipper tickets are other brands. Charter bases set their own acceptance rules; ask the base which paper they want, then read How to become a skipper for our ISSA steps.
If you are choosing a training
Below are the order of the association's steps, the dates that are already set, the page where you listen to the radio, and the page where you write.
Write to the school
Write if you are choosing a training, or if you do not see your date. We reply in 2-3 days.
Leave a request or ask a question