IYT International Crew Certificate — Whitsunday Sailing School

The IYT International Crew Certificate is the course in the International Yacht Training recreational program that turns a beginner into an active, capable crew member on a sailing yacht. Whitsunday Sailing School in Airlie Beach runs it as a six-day liveaboard aboard Eureka II in the Whitsunday Islands, and describes it as the first serious step in a recreational sailing career.

What you'll learn

The focus is practical sailing. By the end you should be able to take on any deck job a skipper asks of you and understand why it is being done.

• Safety and man overboard: where the safety equipment is and how to use it, and repeated man overboard drills so the response becomes automatic.
• Leaving and arriving: departure techniques, handling mooring lines, and anchoring correctly, including choosing and checking a spot so the anchor holds.
• Sail handling: setting sails, and correct tacking and gybing procedures. A good tack is calm and coordinated, with sheets released and trimmed on the helm's call; a good gybe is controlled so the boom crosses without a crash.
• Helming: steering to a course or to the wind, a skill that improves with every watch you stand.
• Introduction to navigation: using the chart, allowing for variation and deviation when converting between compass and true bearings, basic navigation techniques and reading tidal information.

The navigation content is an introduction, not a skipper-level syllabus, but it means you can follow and check what the skipper is doing at the chart table.

How Whitsunday Sailing School runs it

Students complete a free online training component before arriving. The course then runs for six days and six nights living aboard Eureka II, sailing the Whitsunday Islands, with accommodation on board included. Living aboard means you practise the routine of a cruising yacht, from morning checks to anchoring for the night, not just the sailing.

Who it suits

It suits beginners who want a thorough start, people who have done a short introductory course and want to consolidate, and anyone planning to crew on friends' yachts, join passages or work towards a skipper qualification. The school lists no formal prerequisites.

Where it leads

From International Crew, the IYT pathway continues to International Flotilla Skipper (also known as Day Skipper), where you start taking charge of the boat in daylight and fair weather, and then International Bareboat Skipper for chartering. Whitsunday Sailing School also offers an ICC assessment for those who want to charter in Europe.

Full course guide

For the full IYT syllabus and how this certificate compares with other crew courses, read our IYT International Crew (Sail) guide.