Home / RYA / RYA Better Sailing (Dinghy Level 3)
RYA Better Sailing (Dinghy Level 3)
Consolidate your basic dinghy skills and explore the next stage of sailing.
Better Sailing is the third level of the RYA adult dinghy scheme. It builds confidence in the Level 2 skills and introduces elements of further training, helping sailors decide what to learn next.
After Level 3 the scheme opens out. The advanced modules are chosen by interest, not completed in sequence.
- Who it suits
- Level 2 holders who can sail but know they are working harder than they should be.
- What it is not
- Not a racing course, and not a prerequisite for the advanced modules.
Primary source: RYA training. Course structures and prerequisites can change; confirm the current version with the training body and school.
The course in context
The RYA calls Level 3 “Better Sailing”. It consolidates basic dinghy skills and introduces ideas from further training, helping you decide which direction to take next. It is particularly useful when you can sail around but want smoother handling and more confidence when conditions vary.
Before you start
Level 2 skills or equivalent experience provide the foundation. Arrive ready to explain where you feel uncertain, rather than assuming the instructor can infer that from a previous certificate.
Skills you will develop
Consistency
Refine ordinary manoeuvres so they work repeatedly. Small errors in timing and balance often become more apparent as the wind increases.
Better boat awareness
Notice changes in sail pressure, heel and steering effort. These observations help you make smaller corrections earlier.
Trying the next step
Experience elements of more advanced sailing and discuss which module fits your interests. A taste of a skill is not the same as completing its specialist course.
Training and assessment
This is practical consolidation, not a requirement to race or use a high-performance dinghy. Ask which boats and advanced elements the centre plans to introduce and how the session will suit your existing ability.
Questions to ask the school
- Which Level 2 skills should I refresh?
- What advanced elements will we try?
- Which follow-on module suits my goals?
Related learning
Other RYA courses
RYA Sailing Pathway
The whole RYA cruising route in order, and where you are allowed to skip a step.
RYA Cruising Level 1: Start Sailing
A short introduction aboard a small cruising yacht — the shortest way to find out whether yachting suits you.
RYA Cruising Level 2: Basic Skills
The follow-on from Level 1, adding real boat handling on a small cruising yacht.
RYA Start Yachting
Two days aboard a cruising yacht, for complete beginners who want a genuine taste of yachting.
RYA Day Skipper Theory
The classroom half of Day Skipper: charts, tides, buoyage, collision regulations and passage planning.
RYA Day Skipper Practical Sailing
Five days in which you stop being crew and start being the person responsible for the boat.
RYA Coastal Skipper Practical
Skippering beyond familiar water and beyond daylight — longer passages, night pilotage, heavier weather.
RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore Theory
The advanced shorebased course: tidal work, passage planning, meteorology and collision regulations at Yachtmaster depth.
Australian schools using RYA
These schools advertise training under the RYA system. This does not confirm that every school currently runs RYA Better Sailing (Dinghy Level 3); check the current course list directly.
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.