Before your first sail
How to reach our Phuket base, find the training yacht and prepare for a comfortable, safe course in the Andaman Sea.
Important
This page is a general preparation guide. Your booking confirmation and the joining instruction assigned to your course run contain the final yacht, berth, boarding time, instructor contact and any course-specific requirements. Always follow those confirmed details if they differ from this page.
Find your yacht
Our principal sail-cruising training yacht is Andaman Cruise 2, a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 42DS. Unless your course-run instructions state otherwise, use Dock B as the meeting point and look for the yacht name across the transom.
Marina map
Use this marina plan to locate Dock B. Your course-run joining instruction confirms the final berth.
Arrival and boarding
Phuket International Airport is the nearest airport. Confirm your arrival information in the participant form, allow sensible time for traffic and baggage collection, and complete any personal shopping before the yacht departs.
Phuket Yacht Haven Marina is around 10 kilometres from the airport and normally about 20 minutes by road. Airport taxis, Grab and Bolt are practical choices. Contact the school at least 48 hours beforehand if you would like help arranging a private transfer; availability and price are confirmed separately.
View travel guidance →Do not rely on a generic website time. Check the boarding date and time in your booking confirmation, joining instruction and participant form. Contact the school promptly if your travel is delayed.
When you reach the Yacht Haven parking area, call or message the course contact shown in your confirmed joining instruction. They can meet you or direct you from the marina entrance to Dock B and the correct yacht.
Storage aboard is limited, so pack in a soft, collapsible bag. Hard suitcases can be stored securely in the Phuket Sea School office during your practical course; keep valuables, travel documents and essential medication with you.
Before the course, we normally create a WhatsApp group for the students, instructor and school team. We use it for final arrival coordination, yacht updates and practical questions. The invitation is sent to the WhatsApp number provided with your participant information.
Start Yachting includes a simple lunch, drinking water, tea and coffee on both training days.
Five-day liveaboard sailing courses include a simple breakfast and lunch on each sailing day, drinking water, tea and coffee, plus provisions for one simple onboard dinner when the itinerary requires an evening at anchor.
Seven- and fourteen-day programmes include a simple breakfast and lunch on each sailing day, with provisions for simple onboard dinners when a longer passage or anchorage makes dining ashore impractical.
Dinners ashore, soft drinks, alcohol, snacks and additional personal provisions remain at each student’s cost. Tell us about dietary requirements and allergies before arrival, and buy any personal extras before departure.
Packing checklist
Choose practical items that can get wet or marked. Phuket is tropical, but wind, spray, rain and air conditioning can make a light warm layer useful.
Life aboard
Accommodation depends on whether you are joining a liveaboard practical course, a weekend Start Yachting course or classroom training. Your instructor will explain the shared onboard routines at the start of the course.
Onboard accommodation, prepared bedding and one onboard towel per participant are included during published liveaboard courses. Bring a separate beach towel. The yacht has a shared, fully equipped galley and onboard heads and showers.
Start Yachting does not include overnight accommodation. Overnight accommodation may occasionally be arranged in advance, subject to availability. Classroom and shorebased students arrange accommodation ashore. If you arrive early, depart late or prefer not to sleep aboard, book suitable accommodation separately.
The school supplies the catering stated for your booked course. Students share simple meal preparation, washing-up and normal yacht housekeeping as part of cruising-yacht life.
Tell us about dietary requirements and allergies before arrival. Course-specific profiles, your booking confirmation and the joining instruction assigned to your course run remain the controlling sources if arrangements differ from this general guide.
Onboard essentials
Use the cooker, electrical appliances and yacht systems only after the instructor’s safety briefing. Keep the galley ventilated, never leave cooking unattended and ensure gas and electrical equipment are switched off correctly after use.
Fresh water aboard is finite. Use showers and taps considerately, follow the instructor’s directions for the heads and never put unsuitable items into a marine toilet. Ask before operating pumps, heaters or other onboard systems.
Bring a reusable bottle and help reduce single-use plastic. Keep general waste and recyclable bottles, cans and paper separated as directed, and never discharge rubbish into the sea or leave it at an anchorage.
Phuket is warm throughout the year. November to April is generally drier, while the southwest monsoon from May to October brings fresher winds, tropical showers and more swell on exposed routes.
Conditions can still change quickly in any season. Bring sun protection and a light waterproof layer. The instructor selects the safest and most useful route for the forecast, sea state and course objectives.
Arrange travel insurance that explicitly covers the sailing activities in your booking, overseas medical treatment, personal belongings, cancellation and disruption. Read the policy wording rather than assuming recreational sailing is included.
Tell the school confidentially about any medical condition, allergy, medication or mobility consideration that may affect safe participation. Bring sufficient medication for the complete trip.
Course timing
The patterns below explain our usual formats, but the CourseRun boarding and checkout times in your confirmation remain authoritative.
Start Yachting
Saturday and Sunday, 09:30 to 17:00 each day
Not included; occasional advance arrangements are subject to availability
Five-day practical course
Check in Sunday from 18:00; board by Monday 09:30; course ends and checkout Friday 17:00
Included during the published liveaboard programme
Yachtmaster preparation and exam
Check in Sunday from 18:00; checkout the following Sunday by 14:00
Included during the published liveaboard programme
Mile Builder
Seven-day trips check in Sunday from 18:00 and check out the following Sunday by 14:00; other trips use their published times
Included during the published liveaboard programme
New to sailing?
You do not need to memorise these. Your instructor will explain the language and demonstrate each action aboard.
Cannot find the yacht or running late?
Use the instructor contact in your confirmed joining instruction first. For general assistance, call +66 80 082 5086 or email info@phuketseaschool.com.
Phuket Sea School
Phuket, Thailand
We are awaiting our initial RYA recognition, with an inspection confirmed for November 2026. Our weekly RYA courses are planned to begin on 30 November 2026, with Mile Builders and private courses starting on 2 November. Please contact us for more information.