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IYT Sailing Course Pathway
The IYT route in order, with a catamaran variant at every skipper level.
A simplified yacht pathway is:
Not every student has to complete every course.
Eligibility and prior-experience requirements become increasingly important higher in the pathway.
IYT's current recreational-school course levels include:
Dinghy
Introductory yacht sailing
Crew and skipper
Catamaran
Advanced recreational
Racing
Navigation and weather
Communications
ICC
Multiple ICC endorsements exist for sail, power, coastal and inland operating categories.
- Who it suits
- Anyone deciding which IYT course to book next, particularly with multihulls in mind.
- What it is not
- Not every student takes every course, and eligibility rules bite harder the higher you go.
Other IYT courses
IYT International Crew
IYT’s entry-level yacht course, and its closest equivalent to RYA Competent Crew.
IYT International Flotilla Skipper
Command of your own yacht, but within a flotilla with a lead boat in reach.
IYT International Bareboat Skipper
The charter qualification — and emphatically not a beginner course.
IYT Catamaran Sailing Qualifications
The clearest multihull pathway of any scheme: a catamaran version at every skipper level.
IYT Yachtmaster Coastal
IYT’s first Yachtmaster level, in sail, power and catamaran versions.
IYT Yachtmaster Offshore
The offshore level, for passages well beyond sight of land.
IYT Yachtmaster Ocean
The top of the IYT recreational pathway, celestial navigation included.
IYT ICC
Recognised in a number of countries, mainly European. Not a worldwide sailing licence.
Which course should you actually book?
Three questions — your experience, the boat you want to sail, and your goal — give you a starting course and the schools that teach it near you.