Price
£875
Nights
Eight
Age range
16-25
Start port
Portsmouth
End port
Portsmouth
DofE
Yes
RYA
Watch Leader
Voyage code
CF889
Bursary
Available
Voyage highlights
This eight-night leadership voyage is for 16 to 25 year olds who already have sailing or outdoor experience (like DofE or the King’s Trust TEAM programme) and want to keep pushing themselves for more.
Sailing on board a 72ft Challenger yacht, you will not just join the crew – you will take charge. TSYT Leadership voyages are led by you.
From day one, you and your team take full ownership of the voyage. That means:
- planning and executing passages,
- managing the deck,
- leading watches,
- navigating offshore, and making critical decisions at sea.
The Skipper and mate are there for supervision and support, but this is your chance to lead and command.
This is demanding, hands on sail training in a live offshore environment, with overnight sailing, rotating leadership roles, and constant collaboration.
You will push your sailing and seamanship skills further while developing your confidence, judgment, and leadership skills.
It is about building more capability — whether that is stepping up as Watch Leader, working toward your RYA Yachtmaster Offshore, or applying what you have learned to future opportunities on land.
You will also take time to reflect, set goals, and explore how the experience can shape your next move — whether that is university, a gap year, your next RYA qualification, or a future career, whatever comes next.
You will finish the voyage with stronger teamwork, clearer communication, and a sharper sense of how to lead, support, and take responsibility in a real-world setting.
To take part, you must have prior experience such as RYA Competent Crew, a TSYT Empowerment Voyage, or similar outdoor learning or residential training.
If you are ready to lead at sea, challenge yourself, and take the next step in your sailing journey, this voyage is for you.
We believe everyone should have the chance to experience a life-changing voyage and realise their potential.
Bursaries Available: We have funding available to support a young person who has faced, or is facing, personal challenges (for example: this could be a learning barrier, caring responsibilities or a young person currently not in education, etc.). Check out our bursary guidance and apply if you need to!
The choice is entirely up to you (under guidance of your skipper and mate).
On Leadership voyages, you are responsible for planning the passages.
You can choose to port-hop along the south coast, visiting places like Cowes, Yarmouth, or Poole, or you could attempt a Channel crossing to locations such as Alderney, Sark, or Guernsey.
You’ll cover essential safety drills and refresh your Challenger sailing skills before you take charge of the yacht to plan, prepare, execute and review each component of the voyage under the expert guidance of the TSYT skipper and mate.
You will take turns to lead the team in all aspects of sailing the yacht, from deck work to provisioning, cooking, cleaning and day-to-day maintenance.
This voyage is a great opportunity to make tangible progress towards achieving your goals, with time to reflect on your achievements and opportunities to learn about yourself as a leader and team player! You will also develop the optimism, aspiration and expertise you need to influence your community as well as your own future.
Each crew member will receive a personal assessment covering their leadership, development — a great addition to your CV.
If you have not yet completed your RYA Competent Crew, you will have the opportunity to be awarded this certificate on the voyage. For those with RYA Competent Crew, there will be opportunities to progress towards RYA Watch Leader.
RYA logbooks are available for purchase on board at a cost of £6 (skippers are only able to take cash for this).
For those who already have a Competent Crew certificate, you will be able to start working towards your RYA Watch Leader certificate.
The RYA Watch Leader syllabus is at an equivalent level to RYA Day Skipper, designed specifically for sail training vessels. It covers the following up to the standard required for taking charge of a watch at sea or in harbour.
- Rigging the deck and preparing lines to slip
- Helming on all points of sail and to a wind angle
- Efficient sail trim
- Awareness of tidal streams and heights
- Basic maintenance and equipment safety checks
- Managing power and water supplies
- Preparing for sea
- Setting up for coming alongside
- Awareness of COLREGS
- Awareness of safety and safety equipment on board
- Emergency steering
- Basics of navigation and passage planning
- Looking after a crew
All voyages of four nights or more qualify for residential section of the DofE Gold Award.
Please let our Reservations Team know before sailing if you want to use the voyage for this.
The Skipper will have the final say on the route and itinerary depending on weather and other variables.
Your Skipper can also recommend you for our volunteer crew training programme, if they feel you have the skills and attributes that we’re looking for. You can speak to your TSYT crew if this is something you’d be interested in and you’d like to find out more.
Our Leadership Voyages have clear learning objectives and outcomes and can qualify for an authorised absence from school/college. Please ask for more details of how we can support your application.
All meals on board are included.
