X-SailingRYA Training Centre

training@x-sailing.com

RYA Training Centre · X-Yachts Friend of the Brand

YOUR SAILING STORY STARTS
ON AN X-YACHT

RYA RECOGNISED

RYA PRACTICAL COURSES —
THE GOLDEN STANDARD SINCE 1875.

Xara, our X-Yacht X4³ training yacht, moored in Croatia
MEET XARA

XARA — OUR TRAINING YACHT,
THE X-YACHT X4³

The boat you'll actually train on — not a stock photo, not a fleet, one boat.

  • RYA Yachtmaster Instructor
  • 20+ Years Offshore Experience
  • Maritime Heritage Since 1882
  • X-YACHTS FRIEND OF THE BRAND
  • RYA Recognised Training Centre
X-Yacht sailing
WHY WE TRAIN ON X-YACHTS

Most training yachts are built for capacity. An X-Yacht is built for sailing.

The difference reveals itself the moment you take the helm. The wheel responds to every shift of weight, every trim decision, every degree of heel. The deck layout is designed for the sailor who is working — flush decks, optimally positioned winches, rod rigging tensioned to give real control over sail shape in real conditions. Below deck, Scandinavian craftsmanship and rational design. Nothing is there for the catalogue.

Beneath all of it: a continuous steel frame connecting keel, hull and mast step into a single structural unit. The keel is bolted to steel, not fibreglass. The mast loads transfer directly into the same frame. It is one of the reasons X-Yachts are among the most structurally sound GRP sailing yachts built.

This is why X-Sailing trains on X-Yachts. When the boat responds honestly to every decision you make, you learn faster, deeper, and with a precision that stays with you long after you step ashore.

On an ordinary yacht, small mistakes are absorbed by the boat. On an X-Yacht, you feel everything — which means everything you learn is real.

Dobo on board
Dobo-FOUNDER · PRINCIPAL · CHIEF INSTRUCTOR

FOUR GENERATIONS. ONE PASSION.
THE SEA

My family has been connected to the sea since 1882. As an RYA Yachtmaster Instructor and X-Yachts Friend of the Brand, I do not just teach sailing — I guide people through the complete journey of becoming a confident, capable sailor. What brings them to X-Sailing is rarely the same. What they share is a refusal to accept ordinary.

Dobo is the founder, Chief Instructor and Principal of X-Sailing. All activities delivered under the X-Sailing name are conducted by instructors who hold equivalent qualifications and share the same philosophy and personal commitment to seamanship that X-Sailing was built on.

MASTERCLASSES

For sailors
who already know.

Instructor Preparation
I

Instructor Preparation

For serious candidates approaching the RYA Yachtmaster Instructor or RYA Cruising Instructor assessment. Delivered by a highly experienced RYA Senior Instructor and Examiner. The preparation is built around the RYA standard that an instructor candidate is expected to demonstrate during the assessment days. Maximum 4 participants.

Max 4 · 1:1 attention
On request
Contact us for upcoming dates
Skipper Masterclass
II

Skipper Masterclass

For established skippers who demand more from themselves and their seamanship. This is not a classroom exercise — every session takes place in real conditions, on real water, at real sea states. Harbour manoeuvres under pressure, man overboard recovery by day and night in wind force 5-8, heavy weather sailing, traditional navigation without electronics, emergency scenarios that demand real decisions under pressure. Delivered at the highest professional standard — practical, demanding, and fully aligned with good seamanship practice and international maritime law. Maximum 4 participants.

Max 4 · 1:1 attention
On request
Contact us for upcoming dates

Logbook of a Yachtmaster.

Notes from the sea
ARTICLE: Safety
Featured · Safety

Safety first is not a slogan

Day two of a practical sailing training, Tenerife. We dock next to a beautiful X-Yacht with a broken boom. What I saw on that pontoon is exactly why safety comes first on every course I run.

DECEMBER 2021 · 6 MIN READ
Read more

Day two of a practical sailing training. Marina San Miguel, Tenerife.

We are preparing a docking manoeuvre — alongside berthing. I brief the crew as always: wind, current, environment, escape plan. We are going to dock next to a beautiful performance X-Yacht 4.3 with a French flag. The name on the stern: Agecanonix.

As we approach, I see something strange. The carbon boom is broken. And broken in the wrong place — quite far aft, not where the shrouds make contact after an accidental gybe. I know this boat. I was sailing the same model just two weeks earlier. Something doesn't add up.

Later on the pontoon I meet the guys taking care of Agecanonix. Young French crew, good mood. I ask them: what happened, how did the boom break?

"Accidental gybe. Hit one of the crew — he died. And the boom broke."

I laugh. Yes, for sure. Good joke.

But the guys are not laughing. They are serious.

Suddenly, it is true.

A few minutes later I find the article. During the ARC, mid-Atlantic, around 500 miles west of the Canaries. A 73-year-old crew member, coming up to take the helm for his night watch. The boom hit him in the head. The skipper managed to hold him back from falling into the water — but he died suddenly. The skipper, injured himself, and his son were evacuated by a 300-metre cruise ship in force 8 and four to five metre seas. The yacht was abandoned in the middle of the ocean.

One man dead. A skipper and his son who will carry that night forever.

Knowing the X4.3 very well, I keep asking myself how this could happen. The boom on that boat is above two metres — well above head height inside the cockpit. Very probably he was outside of the cockpit. And in addition, the boom was not secured with a gybe preventer.

So where was the basic safety — the things we brief and learn from the first day stepping on board a sailing yacht?

Probably, and very suddenly: not there.

I know there are many sailors who don't find it very cool, or appropriate to their skipper reputation, to "waste time" briefing and talking about safety.

But sailing downwind, in rough sea, wind force 8, with an unsecured boom, not clipped on, and outside the cockpit — isn't cool anymore.

It is a seamanship destroyer. And in this case, it ended in the most dramatic way possible.

A gybe preventer takes three minutes to rig. Five minutes is all it takes to explain to everyone on board the most dangerous part of the boat — the boom. What happens in an accidental gybe. How to rig and use a preventer. Why you always stay and move on the windward side. An accidental gybe takes less than a second.

This is why, at X-Sailing, the safety briefing is the first lesson — not because the syllabus requires it, but because I have stood on that pontoon in Tenerife. I have seen the broken boom. I have met the crew.

Please, skippers and sailing friends: keep enjoying sailing. But safety first.

Hold fast and fair wind.

R.I.P. Max Delannoy

Dobo — Founder, Chief Instructor, X-Sailing

Source: Yachting World — "ARC yacht abandoned after fatality mid-Atlantic," November 2021 (link to https://www.yachtingworld.com/news/arc-yacht-abandoned-after-fatality-mid-atlantic-135592)

UNITED KINGDOM · HERITAGE

150 years of the RYA

I came across this piece on the RYA's history and found it genuinely fascinating — enough that I wanted to share it here, because I think every student who trains with X-Sailing should understand exactly what standard they are training under.

NOVEMBER 2025 · 5 MIN READ
Read more

I came across this piece on the RYA's history and found it genuinely fascinating — enough that I wanted to share it here, because I think every student who trains with X-Sailing should understand exactly what standard they are training under.

The RYA began in 1875, not as the organisation we know today, but as the Yacht Racing Association — a body formed largely to agree race rules for the "gentlemen's yachts" of the era. It became the Royal Yachting Association in 1952, and has carried royal patronage ever since, from the Duke of Edinburgh's presidency in the 1950s through to the Princess Royal today.

What struck me most were the numbers. The RYA now oversees more than 2,200 recognised training centres worldwide, over 24,000 instructors, and trains roughly 270,000 people every year. Its OnBoard programme alone has introduced more than a million young people to sailing since 2005. RYA courses have become the template for maritime training used by lifeboat crews, police services, and even naval forces in the UK.

One detail I didn't know until reading this: it was only in 1973, following pressure from a cruising yachtsman, that the RYA took responsibility for the Yachtmaster qualification from the Department of Transport. Before that, it sat with the Board of Trade and the Admiralty. The Yachtmaster standard that every one of my Yachtmaster candidates works towards has a much longer and stranger history than most people realise.

The RYA's approach has always leaned on a simple principle: education, not legislation. The belief that trained, competent sailors keep themselves — and each other — safer than any amount of regulation could. Having spent twenty years at sea, I happen to agree with that philosophy completely. It is the same principle I train by.

This is the organisation whose standard sits behind every RYA course I deliver at X-Sailing. Worth understanding where it came from.

Full article: "150 Years of the RYA: How a Gentlemen's Club became the World's Sailing Powerhouse" — Yachting Monthly (link to https://www.yachtingmonthly.com/news/150-years-of-the-rya-how-a-gentlemens-club-became-the-worlds-sailing-powerhouse-102954)

ARTICLE: Heritage
More entries coming soon
FAQ

Frequently asked
questions.

Where do X-Sailing RYA courses take place?↓

X-Sailing is based at Marina Frapa, Rogoznica, Croatia — our single RYA Recognised Training Centre location, as required by RYA regulations. All RYA courses run aboard Xara, our X-Yacht X4³, in the Adriatic.

What boat will the training take place on?↓

Every course runs aboard Xara, our X-Yacht X4³, based at Marina Frapa. She's not a rotating fleet boat — she's the one yacht you'll train on, maintained to the same standard we hold ourselves to.

Do you deliver training or private tuition outside Croatia?↓

Yes. Alongside X-Sailing's RYA courses in Croatia, Dobo delivers private tuition, deliveries, and instruction for individual owners and other training centres across the North Sea, the Mediterranean including Greece, the Canary Islands, the Atlantic, and the Caribbean Windward Islands. These are separate from X-Sailing's RYA-recognised courses, which are run exclusively from Croatia.

What level of experience do I need?↓

Competent Crew — no experience required. This is where most sailors begin. Day Skipper — you should have the equivalent of Competent Crew level ability: roughly 5 days at sea, 100 nautical miles, and 4 night hours as crew. You do not need the certificate itself if you have equivalent time on the water. Coastal Skipper — built for sailors who already have skippering experience, not just crewing. Without it, you won't get full value from the course. Yachtmaster Preparation — you should already be competent and confident in navigation, boat handling, and passage planning. The course sharpens what you already know rather than teaching it from scratch. For the Yachtmaster Offshore exam itself, the RYA requires a minimum of 50 days at sea, 5 as skipper, and 2,500 miles logged, including 5 passages over 60 miles and 5 night hours. If you're unsure where you fit, tell me your real experience when you get in touch — not the certificate you hold, but the time you've actually spent on the water. I'll tell you honestly which course is right for you.

Why the 4:1 maximum ratio?↓

So every crew member is genuinely involved in every manoeuvre, every navigation decision, every moment on deck — not watching from the side. It also means the skipper is managing a real, workable crew, the way it happens on an actual passage, not an oversized group built around the boat's capacity.

What qualification does my instructor hold?↓

Every X-Sailing instructor holds an RYA Yachtmaster or Cruising Instructor certificate — which is not a one-time achievement. It must be revalidated every five years through a full practical, on-the-water reassessment: three days with one RYA Examiner, followed by a second, independent examiner joining on the final day to verify the assessment. First Aid certification is renewed every three years, and instructors must hold a valid medical fitness certificate. This is not the case at every training centre. Anyone can put "instructor" in their email signature. Very few can prove it, on the water, to two independent examiners, every five years, for their entire career.

What's included in the course price?↓

Everything you need once you step aboard: accommodation on Xara, our X-Yacht X4³, breakfast, drinks, all training materials, harbour fees, fuel, and RYA certification fees. You arrive, you sail, you leave with your qualification — nothing else to organise. Your flight to Split and dinners ashore are the only things you'll need to arrange yourself. For those who want the complete experience — private airport transfer, a dedicated host on board, and time built in to properly unwind after a demanding day at sea — X-Sailing's Premium Week takes care of everything beyond that too. Ask me about it when you get in touch.

When do I arrive, and when do I need to leave?↓

Arrive at Marina Frapa on the Sunday before your course starts, from 14:00 — this is a welcome-aboard day with a safety briefing and course overview, no sailing. Training runs Monday to Friday, 09:30–18:00, finishing around 17:00 on the last day. You're welcome to stay aboard until 08:30 Saturday morning. Flying into Split? It's about 35 minutes to the marina, and we can arrange a transfer for you.

Where's the nearest airport?↓

Split Airport (SPU), approximately a 45-minute drive to Marina Frapa, Rogoznica.

Do I need to bring my own lifejacket?↓

If you already own one — good instinct, that's one point earned for choosing safety before anyone told you to. On board Xara, our X-Yacht X4³, everyone trains in the latest generation Spinlock lifejackets, the choice of professional sailors worldwide, kept current to the newest safety standard. Consider it an upgrade, not a requirement.

Are the certifications internationally recognised?↓

Yes. RYA qualifications are recognised by training centres, charter companies, and maritime authorities worldwide, and form the basis for the Competent Crew through Yachtmaster pathway used internationally.

Ready to begin?

Whether you are considering your first RYA course or looking to sharpen your seamanship at the highest level — it starts with one conversation.

Get in touch

Contact.

Have a question about a course, or simply want to talk sailing? I read every message personally.

Email
training@x-sailing.com
PHONE/WHATSAPP/SIGNAL
+43 650 955 8080
OPERATING
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