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How this site works
An independent guide to learning to sail in Australia. Nobody pays to be here, and nothing is published that has not been checked — which is why a lot of fields on this site are deliberately empty.
- Pages
- 188, every one in the sitemap
- Schools listed
- 32, each checked against its own site
- Paid placements
- None. There is no mechanism for one.
- Regulatory facts checked
- September 2026, and dated on the page
Why this exists
Australia has no single register of sailing schools. Learning to sail here means working out the difference between four training schemes, a state boat licence that has nothing to do with any of them, and a commercial certification system that sits outside all of it — mostly from brochures written by the people selling the courses.
This site is an attempt at the other thing: one place that explains what each qualification is, says plainly what it is not, and lists who teaches near you without taking a cut.
What gets verified
Every school in the directory has been checked against its own website. Where a detail was confirmed — the training base, the accreditation, the course types — it appears. Where it could not be confirmed, the field is left empty and the school is listed by name alone.
That is deliberate. Publishing the wrong accreditation for a real business is worse than admitting a profile is incomplete, and a directory that fills gaps by inference is a directory that is quietly wrong about somebody.
The rules we hold ourselves to
- A price is never published without the date it was checked. A dash means no verified figure is held — not that the course is cheap.
- “This course exists” and “an Australian school currently teaches it” are stated separately, because they are different claims.
- Every qualification page says what the qualification is not. Brochures never do, and it is where most expensive mistakes come from.
- Regulatory facts — boat licences, AMSA certificates — carry the date they were checked and a link to the authority, because they change.
- Where the honest answer is “ask the operator, there is no national rule”, that is the answer given.
- Thin pages are not published. A definition that runs to two sentences belongs in the glossary, not on a URL of its own.
Independence, concretely
There is no advertising, no sponsored placement, no affiliate link and no referral fee anywhere on this site. No school has been charged for anything, and there is no mechanism by which one could be. If that ever changes, it will be disclosed on this page before it appears anywhere else.
We are not affiliated with Australian Sailing, the RYA, IYT, American Sailing or AMSA. This site describes their qualifications; it does not deliver, endorse or represent them.
Corrections
If something here is wrong about your school — or about anything else — email hello@sailingschools.com.au. A correction from the school itself is the best source available and is acted on quickly. That includes removal: if you would rather not be listed, say so and you will not be.
Schools are also welcome to send a verified course list and current prices. Both get published with the date they were supplied.
What this site is not
It is not a booking agent, and it takes no bookings. It is not a regulator, and nothing here is legal or safety advice — for boat licensing, check your state authority, and for commercial certification, check AMSA. It is not a directory of yacht clubs: a school can operate from a club and still be listed, but a club that runs an occasional course is not a sailing school.
Can a school pay to be listed higher?
No. There is no paid placement, no sponsored listing and no advertising on this site. Order on a directory page is determined by the data, not by money, and no school has ever been charged for anything.
Are you affiliated with the RYA, IYT, American Sailing, Australian Sailing or AMSA?
No. This site is independent of all of them. It describes their qualifications; it does not deliver, endorse or represent them, and none of them have any editorial input.
Why do so many schools show no price?
Because no verified price is held for them. A price is published here only with the date it was checked against the school. A dash means we hold no figure, not that the course is free or cheap.
My school’s listing is wrong. How do I fix it?
Email hello@sailingschools.com.au. Corrections from the school itself are the most reliable source we have and are acted on quickly — including removal, if you would rather not be listed.
Run a sailing school?
Send your course list, accreditation and current prices and they go up with the date you supplied them. Corrections and removals are acted on just as quickly.