Skipper Academy is a 7-day course that teaches experienced sailors the skills needed to become a professional skipper and prepare you to work the Summer as a Skipper with Yacht Week.
W20 | 09 - 16 May | Croatia | Spots Available |
W21 | 16 - 23 May | Croatia | Spots Available |
Attending the academy comes with a course fee of €850.00, however it's important to note that the cost of running the program is heavily subsidized by Yacht Week to maintain high-quality training. Regrettably, we are unable to offer training to individuals who do not plan to work with us during the summer. This policy helps us allocate resources efficiently, ensuring we can provide opportunities to students who are committed to joining our team.
This is not a beginners' course. You must have sailing experience and a yacht sailing license. A background in racing dinghies, keelboat cruising or similar is ideal but you still need experience handling yachts.
During the course you will practise all from med-moorings to circle rafts and technical yacht knowledge.
You will visit and learn about the main ports in Croatia and prepare you for your first charter. You will get to know the skippers and hosts you will be working together with in the summer.
This is a training course which will get your foot into the sailing industry, you will be recognised worldwide as an experienced, professional skipper. The course ends with a pass/fail evaluation based on sailing skills, yacht manoeuvring, team work and guest communication. Everyone who passes is invited to work for QD as a skipper in the summer.
The course is 7 days long starting from Trogir, Croatia. Each yacht has a dedicated instructor and the yacht is also shared by 4 skipper and 4 host students.
Day 1: Meet on Friday evening for a shore-based lecture and run-through plan for the week. This will be an opportunity to get to know other students before starting the practical course.
Day 2: On Saturday, you will meet the instructor team at the marina. Then it will be straight into check-in and provisioning the yacht. Depending on the weather we aim to sail out on Saturday.
Day 3-7: Practical training on the water. Visit the islands we go to in the summer and practice the skills you will need. During the daytime, it's 100% focused on training and developing the practical skills required. Most evenings we have social activities similar to how it is during Yacht Week. Work during the day, and have fun in the evening.
Day 8: Check out of yacht, end of the course. You will be free to leave by 1400 however a lot of people tend to hang around Split that evening.
Upon successful completion of the Yacht Week Academy, you will have acquired the skills and knowledge necessary to work on any future Yacht Week/QD charter with us.
For anyone who passes Academy, QD will offer you assignments on Yacht Week based on your availability. The number of weeks offered is based on your availability, performance, and number of assignments available.
After successfully completing the academy and setting up your account, you can choose the specific weeks you are available. We then issue as many assignments as possible, giving you the freedom to accept or reject them.
For each assignment, you can invoice between €350 - €700, in addition to any tips received.
We believe it is important for staff to have some proper time off each week. Yacht Week charters officially end on Friday afternoon which means you have a full night off without guests before your next charter starts on Saturday afternoon. This differs from the standard Sat-Sat charter which most charter companies follow.
Once you have completed a few assignments, you become eligible to join our Yacht Week Alumni page, which hosts over 1000 skippers, chefs, and agents. This community is an excellent place to make connections, and many of our staff use it to secure opportunities for the winter season in the Caribbean.