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 Student Testimonials (in chronological order)
Some extracts of what students have said about their Centaur Sailing Limited RYA Day Skipper Distance Learning (Correspondence) Course
  • "Thankyou for your help and support through my Day Skipper Course. I found the course easy to use and very interesting. The layout of the modules was clear and it was easy to follow the step-by-step instructions. I would highly recommend the course to others!" LH of Surrey
  • "I'm really enjoying the course, there is so much to learn, can't wait to put it into practise." NL of Essex
  • "Thanks for all your help. I hope that my passing gave you as much pleasure. Thanks for your wisdom and guidance." WB of Prague
  • "Thanks v. much for an enjoyable course - you're a very patient and understanding instructor. I hope to be doing a lot of sailing this season, and look forward to returning to Centaur Sailing in a year or two for the next stage." BG of London
  • "I am very pleased that I followed the Day Skipper Theory Course with Centaur Sailing. The material is very thorough and easy to follow. The approach of ensuring a given topic is properly understood before moving on to the next is excellent. For anyone wishing to get the most from the practical course the theory course is a must!" PD of Switzerland
  • "Thanks for your encouragement, prompt replies and speedy return of modules, even on the weekend!" RM of Edinburgh
  • "Am enjoying it very much and finding the explanations thorough and clear! And it's nice to be able to go at my own pace. It's just making me desperate to go out and put it all into practice." and "Just back from doing my Day Skipper Practical in Portugal. It was great fun, although very hard work at times as well ... Still, I passed and it was great to put all the theory into practice. Thanks to your course I felt very confident of my theoretical knowledge!" DK of Glasgow
  • "Well just a note to say thank you very much for the course. Has been an enjoyable interlude from life here in Cairo. I sailed with my parents for 12 years all over the place from when I was very young and eventually sailing on a big boat has tempted me once again. I definitely have been inspired from the course to carry on with this." SA in Egypt
  • "My sincere thanks to you for this course. It has been a real pleasure to work through, and I would like to thank you for what has been in every sense a 'massively' professionally compiled and managed course. Centaur's course has without doubt exceeded my expectations. Thanks again." AP of Oxfordshire
  • "I've enjoyed the course and appreciate you always giving feedback promptly." FS in Egypt
  • "Thats wonderful - thanks very much indeed for this, and many thanks for all you help and support along the way - and for bearing with us for so long! I guess we must have the record for the length of time its taken us from start to finish. Its been great fun, and as you say, whats most exciting for us is the possibilities that it opens for the future. We'll be in touch to let you know how we get on. Many thanks again, and wishing you all the best." CL of Essex
  • "Thank you very much for all your help. The course materials were excellent, and I really appreciated the prompt and helpful feedback on the exercises." RL of London
  • "Thank you for a very good course. The worked examples are very well set out and very easy to follow. I certainly learnt a tremendous amount doing the Day Skipper course and have decided to further my knowledge by doing the Yachtmaster. I will post the enrolment cheque tomorrow. I cannot wait to get started." AS of Hampshire
  • "Wow! That was quick work. Thanks for the quick turn-around. I very much liked the course. I must say that I thought there was a lot of material, but the way in which the course is laid out means that the chartwork now all seems pretty much second-nature to me. Many thanks for your help." PG of London
  • "Thanks very much, I have really enjoyed the course and I would like to thank you for your help and for the quick responses to my e-mails. I am leaving in 2 hours time for a weeks sailing from Gibraltar and am really looking forward to putting all the theory in to action." LB in France
  • "Thanks for your help and patience, I received the certificate in good order. I will attend the practical course during the first week of August at Southern Sailing. Next step is Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster Offshore shorebased - I'll be in touch soon." IA in Bahrain
  • "Here are my exams ... I hope that I achieve a pass [pass grades were achieved] but if not I'm still so pleased to have FINALLY completed the course (part of me thought that I never would). I have learnt a lot and I have really enjoyed the process. Thankyou for your patience with me. I know I'm far from a model student. Your advice and guidance have been much appreciated." LF of London
  • "Thank you for all the advice and coaching, I ... was beginning to get really worried as i needed this by Xmas 2006 [Day Skipper practical course]. Your website suggests that the next step is Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster Offshore [shorebased] ... can I do this from the Canary Islands? Once again many thanks, I am really grateful to you." PR of West Yorkshire
  • "I must say that I found the course presentation and content to be absolutely excellent and most informative." DC of Suffolk
  • "An excellent course. Very clear course notes. Thanks for a very interesting and well structured course, and the very quick and efficient turn-around of papers. It was a lot of work, but well worth it. I can highly recommend the course to others." AC of Kincardineshire
  • "I found the course to be of good value, both in terms of the cost and the quality of the materials. The materials had the feel of almost being a transcript of face-face sessions, in that they were teaching materials that led to effective learning, rather than being simply a CD-ROM textbook that transmitted information. All the modules were interesting and well structured, and led to a successful outcome - fantastic. I would unreservedly recommend Centaur Sailing courses to others who are looking for a good quality distance-learning Day Skipper course. Many thanks Rod." DR of Hampshire
  • "Thank you for very efficient service and for your congratulations. I have enjoyed the course even though I have struggled to find the time because of work pressures." PS of Norfolk
  • "I was slightly sceptical of taking a course like this, but the materials are fantastic, I could learn at my own pace and I really enjoyed it. The support is fantastic; modules are marked and returned incredibly quickly. I cannot recommend it enough! I hope to be back to do my Coastal soon!" RM of Surrey
  • "Many thanks for the course. I found the notes clear and to the point and believe they will form a useful reference for years to come." AE of Gloucestershire
  • "I enjoyed the course immensely and was very impressed by the quality of the information given and the feedback given on the final assessments. Very good value for money." PF in Thailand
  • "The clarity and structure of this course made it straightforward to follow and an enjoyable learning experience. I would strongly recommend this course to any would-be Day Skipper. I look forward to completing the practical element at the earliest opportunity." JB of Norfolk
  • "I found the Centaur Sailing course very helpful, extremely informative and learnt much more than I had expected." DW of Norfolk
  • "Thank you for the help. As far as I am concerned there is nothing you can really do to improve the ‘no-support’ course, it was perfect for my needs." and "The assessment process was remarkably quick and easy to complete. Communication was clear and it was simple for me to know how long I had, what format to present the work in etc. The feedback on my ‘mock’ was particularly useful." DB of West Midlands
  • "This is a thorough course giving an excellent basic grounding. The course modules are very well organised, comprehensive and concepts clearly explained, both in textual and graphic form, making learning easy. The extensive suite of student and instructor marked questions helped me to test the extent to which I had understood the concepts and to practice my skills, particularly in chartwork. In this respect, I particularly commend the coverage of materials using both paper and electronic charts – as the latter are increasingly used in the “real world”, skills in using chartplotter software are very valuable (and it seems not so well covered by comparable 5 day and night school courses, according to feedback I’ve had from other students). In addition to course modules themselves, I also found the accompanying materials very valuable – for example the proforma for tide calculations and SOLAS passage planning and trial versions of software such as tidecalc. The outstanding feature of this course is the quality of support offered. You were unfailingly friendly and supportive and offered immediate help and clear explanations when I was struggling to understand concepts. Materials were marked very quickly and clear explanations and advice given on areas for further work. In all, a very enjoyable and fun way to learn!" CD of Devon
  • "I only really got down to doing much more than the basics with the course in the last 5/6 weeks and initially felt that given the time pressures I would ‘learn by doing’ through the mock examination. It was only then that I realised the steepness of the learning curve ... I took the 5 day Day Skipper practical and of the three prospective Day Skippers on the course was clearly the best prepared in terms of theoretical underpinning. The flexibility of doing the course at my own speed has clearly been of great benefit to me ... I now feel on a bit of a roll and wonder about continuing straight on to the Coastal Skipper – what do you think?" MR of Northumberland
  • "Excellent throughout. Principles clearly explained. Very many thanks for helping me through this most interesting course. " LL of Berkshire
  • "Did not rush the course owing to pressure of work and time out of country, however, much enjoyed, excellent course material. First class support post mock exam [no-support course] which clearly indicated weak areas, many thanks." JS of Hampshire
  • "I've enjoyed doing your course, it was particularly easy to follow. Once I've done the Day Skipper practical I will be looking around to try to find a local boat or two that want crew, and when I've done a few more sea days I'll contact you again to do the Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster shore-based course." and " I’d just like to say how impressed I was with the turn-around time for marked assignments. My mock general assessment paper was returned to me marked in under an hour, and the chartwork paper didn’t take much longer. Amazing! All I can say is “Keep it up!” because I’ll be back for more in 2008." SPS in Spain
  • "Can I say that the course materials are excellent and your tidal proformas helped me greatly on a difficult passage on my Day Skipper practical earlier this year." RC of Tyne & Wear
  • "Thank you so much for everything. We would have no hesitation in recommending you to others." and "A very thorough course run extremely professionally." ST of Somerset
  • "The course content was excellent and comprehensive. Everything was clearly explained and was very readable. As someone who came to the course having informally studied and practiced the subject for a few years, I found that I got a huge amount out of it. It certainly formalised my knowledge and has undoubtedly made me a more competent sailor. All communication with Centaur has been efficient and easy and I can’t recommend this course highly enough." and "I only wish I had taken your course before I took my Day Skipper practical last year. I feel much more confident about many things that I now realise that I had never quite mastered from all my self study." RC of Tyne & Wear
  • "I found that Centaur Sailing were very helpful but also direct and honest in advising me how to proceed, with hindsight they were correct. The course brought out areas of weakness and gaps in my knowledge and the test was thorough. Very pleased." IC of Middlesex
  • "I found the course materials excellent and the tools (chart plotter, templates etc) were extremely clear and helpful. I was on an unsupported course and was able to proceed easily and confidently through the programme by following the notes and guidelines. I think that support from an instructor would be invaluable for anyone slightly less confident (or arrogant?) of their time available and ability to work their way through alone. Many thanks – very impressed by the quality." MW of Devon
  • "The correction and guidance regarding the mock exam was brilliant [no-support course], thanks." and "The course and response was fantastic thank you. I’ll be continuing in exactly the same way with the Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore theory with Centaur Sailing. A big thank you once again." CS of East Yorkshire
  • "This is the first distance learning course that I have ever completed and the result gained at the end speaks for the quality of the material [certificate earned]. I never required explanation of anything as all was self explanatory. The only problems were that my outdated Word software and computer knowledge, led to formatting and submission problems at my end. Centaur Sailing's patience in dealing with this has been very much appreciated. Brilliant course. Would recommend to others." BM of Norfolk
  • "I am not sure if I told you how impressed I am by the quality of your materials... extremely good. The lay out is easy to work through and your explanations simple and easily understandable... well done." JH of Buckinghamshire
  • "Fantastic course – I was apprehensive before embarking on it but, whilst challenged throughout, always found it helped me through. I often had to leave it for weeks on end but it was very easy to pick up again where I had left off. All in all very impressive and would recommend it to anyone." CB of Northamptonshire
  • "I have enjoyed every minute of the course." and "The course was very thorough and extremely well presented. Having chosen to expand my horizons from flying to sailing and at the same time starting a new business, I needed a course that could fit around my commitments. I researched the options carefully and chose Centaur Sailing. I am so pleased to have made the right choice and can highly recommend this course and this school. After I have completed the practical next week and built some sea time, I will certainly be back to book the Coastal Skipper course with Rod in the next 2 months." DL of Hampshire
  • "Very good course – most enjoyable and worthwhile. Gold star service – definitely the place for my next course." DL of Middlesex
  • "Thank you for your advice from the mock assessment it made a big difference to my approach. An excellent course." and "Overall I found the course both enjoyable and very useful. The materials were excellent, well suited to a self study approach. I had no difficulty in understanding the concepts." KB of Hampshire
  • "I wasn’t sure I’d be able to manage the no-support course having only a small amount of prior sailing experience but having the option to upgrade to the fully supported course was really useful. However, due to the high quality of the training material provided I was able to complete the course successfully without any further input. I was really surprised to receive such quick responses during the weekend and even the bank holiday, couldn’t have asked for more." RB of West Yorkshire
  • "Wow your course was indeed comprehensive. I have been sailing for over 20 years, (of course thats been as a child too) and I have been bought up around boats, even Sailed From Fiji to New Zealand, You definitely made it interesting for all levels, all of the modules were well written and enjoyable, thank you." AG in London
  • "A great course and I am very pleased with the quality and support I received. Very many thanks for all your help." MW of Oxfordshire
  • "Thank you very much for your email. I am over the moon at having passed. Your comments on the mock papers that I took was very useful and helped me considerably to improve. [no-support course] I have really enjoyed the course." and "The course material was excellent and very thorough. The provided proformas are also invaluable and helped enormously with understanding the techniques and, particularly, with putting them into practice. The flexibility of study options with support or no support courses was very useful." JL of Buckinghamshire
  • "Enjoyed the course and found it to be well structured and thorough. It was handy to be able to complete the course at home without the fuss of travelling to and from a college, thus making the best use of my time. Excellent value." JM of Berkshire
  • "Thanks, it has certainly been a challenge but completely worthwhile, I have learned so much. I foolishly promised to sort the tide sets and rates for the round the island race which we are doing for the first time, wouldn't have even considered doing that a year ago let alone volunteering to help plan the passage. Many thanks for your help and support and I would certainly recommend Centaur Sailing to friends." KH of Hampshire
  • "I would just like to say that the [no-support] course material was excellent. I am a teacher and appreciate more than most the difficulty of getting across complex ideas. The course was fantastic and extremely good value for money." KC of Surrey
  • "I have enjoyed your course tremendously, if fact, it is one of the best courses I've ever done in any area. As an instructor I can appreciate the effort that must have gone into the course to make it the professional document that it is. Ideally suited for an adult learner. The course has good explanations and illustrations, plenty of practice and timely and helpful feedback." KV in Qatar
  • "The enrolment process, via email, was simplicity itself and proceeded without a hitch ... I was immediately impressed by the quality of the teaching material and was able to get going straight away [no support course] ... The style of the presentation suited my needs perfectly ... Everything went like clockwork. I was particularly impressed with the speed of the turn-around and with the care taken in marking the mocks ... For people who have to fit their study around other demands for their time, this course is ideal and I would recommend it to anyone who can study off their own bat. I know I got more from this course than I would have done from a classroom-based one (basically because I spent much more time on it and I think the stuff has stuck). Altogether a slick operation ("slick" in the nicest possible way!). Many thanks for a very enjoyable course." AS of East Sussex
  • "Enrolment went very smoothly ... All was quite straightforward from the CD and accompanying letter ... I was very impressed with the swift responses to all e-mails and the marking of the papers ... It was a very thorough course, with clear explanations and documentation. Responses were quick, friendly and informative. I would recommend the course to others." CF of Northamptonshire

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