Learn to sail during an amazing long weekend!
Long-weekend trip and beginners course
Whether you want to become skipper on your own boat or sail as a crew with others, our comprehensive beginner’s course in sailing will give you a good starting point. This sailing course is organized as a long-weekend trip. Like on all our courses and tours, you will be sailing, learning and experiencing a lot along the way. Join us on this weekend sailing course!
Learn to sail underway
The sailing course is thoroughly set up, to give a good introduction for what to master before setting off in your own boat, or crewing for others. This course is for those who want to learn sailing and boat handling right from the start. Most people who take this course have little or no prior experience, while others have some experience they want to refresh. During this course you will primarily learn from trying and failing. We want you to get the most out of the course so you will get feedback and guidance along the way to learn as much as possible.
Topics we include in the sailing course:
- Boat handling by engine and sails
- Sailing at different wind angles and trimming of sails
- Navigation and techniques when using paper charts
- Navigation by chartplotter and electronics
- Boating and maritime rules
- Role allocation on board and operation of vessel and crew
- Safety on board and use of safety equipment
- Manoeuvring in port
- Mooring and knots
- Anchoring
- Choice of boat and equipment – advantages and disadvantages of different types
Learning by doing
The more you ask and participate in tasks and duties along the way, the more you will learn! Upon registration you will receive our instruction booklet and you will get tips and advice for other books and resources that will be helpful to read in advance. As with any sailing trip we naturally depend on the wind and weather. And with four days at our disposal we have flexibility and can expect different sorts of weather, and work on understanding different wind and weather conditions.
Start and end times
We start the first day at 5pm and ends the last day at 3pm. Detailed information regarding meeting time and place and packing lists will be provided to you after booking.
Great sailing course, and very good with the rotation on all tasks. So that everyone could participate in everything happening onboard under sails.
Terje, Ålesund 2023
What is included?
- A trip experience with sailboat – experienced skipper/instructor with local knowledge on board
- The course compendium (in Norwegian), our extensive online documentation.
- Lots of testing and practice on both theory and practical exercises
- SeilNorge Competent Crew course certificate
- All food we eat on board during the trip
- Our Comfort Package, which consists of accommodation on board in a shared double cabin (bunk or double bed) with a ready-made bed (warm and nice duvets and pillows!)
- A lot of time outdoors – raw and honest nature experiences
- Personal safety equipment; Helly Hansen inflatable lifejacket
- Instruction, advice, guidance and practical training in boating and sailing
Important info
Departure and arrival
The course starts and ends at the specified location.
You find more information on travel, equipment and other tips under Practical info.
Syllabus, compendium and online course
We recommend that you have studied the documentation you have access to before coming to the course.
The course will be held in Norwegian, if not specified otherwise. Contact us for a private course.
- You can find our course compendium (in Norwegian) HERE. It’s free, but you have to log in.
Duration
The course runs over 4 days, with accommodation on board.
We start the first day at 5pm and ends the last day at 3pm.
Sleeping, food and drink
Accommodation on board is in a shared double cabin (bunk or double bed) with a ready-made bed (warm and nice duvets and pillows!). All the food we eat on board during the trip is included.
On our trips, you will be part of the crew on board and get the chance to participate in all tasks for the operation of the boat. This includes cooking and preparing food – everyone take turns in the galley! Skippers and crew assist as much as they can along the way.
Clothing/equipment
As with all activities, there is plenty of special equipment and clothing for sailing. If you don’t have any of this, you will get very far with normal hiking/outdoor equipment. You do not need to buy a lot of new equipment to join our trips. Use what you have, borrow what you need from a friend, purchase used equipment, and if you have to invest in new equipment – buy quality items that will last!
What you need is something waterproof and windproof on the outside, and layered warm clothing underneath.
Read more and see our packing tips here:
PS: In a sailboat, you pack in a bag or sack, not in a rigid suitcase. 
Certification
After completing the course, you will receive our SeilNorge Competent Crew course certificate. At many places, this can be sufficient for renting a boat, but some will request the next level ICC certificate.
More sailing!
After this sailing course, and if needed some more training, you can take part in our ICC course if you need certification. Our trips and long-weekend course also gives you more time for practice and learning.
This course is well suited as a start if you are thinking of taking the ICC as most of the exercises and theory are reviewed.