• Competent instructors
• Respectful and joyful atmosphere
• Practically orientated learning
• Easy to understand learning materials
• Feedback culture
• Plan do re-plan re-do
• Holistic approach

We don’t just want to convey knowledge and craftsmanship, but our philosophy and culture of sailing. We want to support and inspire our participants to develop into competent and confident skippers.

Establishing a respectful, open and joyful environment on board is of huge importance to us. Social and leadership skills are tightly connected to each other. We are selecting our instructors accordingly. We want to help students to find balance between prudence and adventure.  Safety is of paramount importance for any activity on the water.

At sea, on your own, decisions must be made. Nature’s feedback is very direct and leaves no room for explanation or excuses. There is no right or wrong, only problems and solutions. The quality of the training, not the certificate issued, is essential. Experience must mature, and above all, this needs time. We want to accompany and assist your progress at your own pace.

We want to help building up awareness of the necessary degree of humility in front of nature, of personal limits, limits of the ship and limits of the crew in order to enable you to plan your endeavors accordingly.

At Miles Ahead sailing you get a well-founded and holistic education. The course contents are similar at different levels. All fundamental areas of the syllabus are important and need to be discussed from the start. In higher level courses, a deeper understanding of the subject matter is sought and expected than in beginner courses.

Therefore, it is possible to combine beginner and higher level courses in the same training week. The beginner will be more concerned with crew tasks such as rope handling or steering, while a prospective or complete skipper concentrates on planning, decision making, instructing and deploying the crew, as well as berthing maneuvers. We try to pick up every participant from where they are. Nobody should be afraid to admit weaknesses or gaps in experience and knowledge. On the contrary, it makes our job easier, since we can address these topics more efficiently. Those who are aware of their weaknesses have a better opportunity to improve.

In training, we put an emphasis on a feedback culture. Maneuvers or exercises will normally be explained, performed and debriefed. Targeted and factual feedback is usually followed by a repetition of the exercise, which means that new knowledge can be immediately put into practice and consolidated.

Sailing requires both skills and knowledge. Ideally, these should be verified, internalized and personalized through experience. The aim is for everyone to find and develop their individual way of managing a vessel based on their experience and level of knowledge.

We are committed to give students the necessary knowledge and skills to have fun and operate a sailing yacht, safely. In addition, we would like to stimulate discussions instead of giving lectures. In the end, students should be able to continue the learning process independently through critical self-observation and analysis.

There are many ways to acquire the skills and qualities that make a good skipper. We would like to accompany our participants on their personal path, whether it’s a taster course or special training, inspiring and supportive.