Round the Island Race 2026 – Leadership Voyage

Taking all the skills from your leadership voyage, you will line up on the famous Royal Yacht Squadron start line at Cowes, setting off in ‘classes’ of vessel.

The race takes you west towards Yarmouth, out past the Needles Lighthouse, eastwards round the back of the Island before rounding the eastern point near Bembridge before charging towards the finish line at Cowes.

The choice is entirely up to you (under guidance of your Skipper and mate). On Leadership voyages, you are involved in all aspects of the voyage planning. 

Leadership Skills. Offshore and Race Experience. Bullet List Sailing. Sense of Achievement and Growth. 

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 leading 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, and to 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, teamwork and communication skills — a great addition to your CV. ​

For those who already have a Competent Crew certificate, you will be able to work towards your RYA Watch Leader certificate.

The RYA Watch Leader syllabus covers the following up to the standard required for taking charge of a watch at sea or in harbour. It is at an equivalent level to RYA Day Skipper, designed specifically for sail training vessels. 

• 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    

 RYA logbooks are available for purchase on board at a cost of £6 (skippers are only able to take cash for this). 

If you have not yet completed your RYA Competent Crew, you will have the opportunity to be awarded this certificate on the voyage.   

RYA logbooks are available for purchase on board at a cost of £6 (skippers are only able to take cash for this). 

All our voyages of four nights or more qualify for the DofE Gold Residential award.

Please let our Reservations Team know before sailing if you want to use the voyage for this. ​

We believe every young person 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!

Flexible Booking Options:  

• Book your place with just a 30% deposit 

• The remaining balance is due 8 weeks before your voyage 

• Need more flexibility? We can set up a payment plan to suit your needs—just contact us for details. 

You’ll be asked to enter your passport details as part of the booking process.  

If you don’t have these to hand, please contact us as soon as possible after submitting your booking form to let us know your details, as we cannot accept your booking without this information. 

You must present your valid passport to the Skipper at the start of the voyage.

The Skipper will determine the final route depending on weather and other variables.

If you share our values and are keen to do more, you may be able to support our vital work by joining the TSYT Volunteer Crew. Your Skipper can 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.

All meals on board are included.