Moosk

What Moosk Does Best – RYA Courses on a Classic Boat

Rigged as a gaff yawl, Moosk is simple and handy to sail with a fine and deep hull that makes her light through the water. 

Moosk offers RYA Competent Crew or Day Skipper in Devon and Cornwall. For these 6 day courses she will only take up to 5 students and you have the luxury and attention of two RYA instructors – her regular skipper and a mate. 

A couple of times a year Moosk also runs Yachtmaster courses for aspiring skippers and more advanced sailors. 

RYA Competent Crew

We want you to develop a love of sailing, and the best way to make a start on any boat is to feel you are a vital and competent part of the crew. On the RYA Competent crew course, we will learn seamanship skills of steering, setting sails, reefing, and tying knots with conviction!

The course is about going places, so you can experience a wide range of sailing experiences: – anchoring in remote bays, mooring in sheltered rivers, coming alongside harbour walls or pontoons, night sailing. The skills you learn will be relevant for modern yachts, but after the RYA competent crew course you should also feel at home on traditional boats and tall ships with blocks and tackles.

If you take your Competent Crew on Moosk it is likely that there will be a student or two doing their Day Skipper at the same time, so you can learn a lot about the next stage up the RYA ladder.

This is a 6 day course. Maximum 5 students to one instructor on any RYA course. 

RYA Day Skipper Practical on Moosk

You need a certain amount of boat handling skills and navigational knowledge to achieve your Day Skipper Practical Course. In a ideal world you will have completed a day skipper theory course first and be happy preparing a boat to set sails, tack and gybe and trim the sails efficiently.

If you are not sure you are ready for Day Skipper Practical – read our article about ‘Ways to Learn Navigation Skills before Your Day Skipper Course’ which offers several ways to learn navigation and chart work. We hope this suits everyone from the classroom phobic to the ‘fast track me to skipper’ types and learning theory at home fans, but you can ring us for advice too on 01872 580022.

Or just buy a RYA Day Skipper Theory Course and learn on line before you sail. There is not time for Moosks’ instructor to teach everyone navigation theory and basic pilotage skills from scratch, but they will do there best to bring any rusty candidates up to speed in the week.

Skippering a boat is fun, and this RYA day skipper course is about taking your first steps towards taking charge, with the safety net of an instructor on board. Everyone will be given a chance to navigate and take control of Moosk on short coastal passages. You will also have plenty of practice at coordinating manoeuvres under sail and power, and learning how to cope with emergencies. Learn big boat watch leader skills on deck, and navigational techniques below with GPS and radar and a large chart table. Successful completion of the RYA day skipper course means you should feel confident enough to tackle short day passages as skipper in tidal waters.

RYA Yachtmaster Prep Course – for the Yachtmaster Offshore or Coastal Exam

Many commercial skippers working on traditional boats today have started their careers on Moosk. A Yachtmaster Prep Course and exam for RYA Coastal Yachtmaster or RYA Offshore Yachtmaster Qualification is possible on request, if we can find 4 candidates for the exam that want to train for and take the exam on a long keeled yacht like Moosk.

Swallows and Amazons Nostalgia – Come Sailing for the fun of it

If you already have RYA Day Skipper or you just fancy sailing a traditionally rigged yawl in beautiful scenery, then there is nothing wrong with signing up for these 6 day sailing courses, just for the chance to do some intensive sailing and a bit of a skills refresher. 

As long as you are happy to participate in a lot of close quarters sailing, handing under power exercises, emergency drills like Man Overboard Recovery and quite a bit of instructional chat….then its a great way to sail in the West Country. 

The likely cruising ground depends on the weather but could typically stretch from Falmouth to Brixham.

If you are thinking about buying a classic wooden boat, or already have one similar to Moosk then this could be a unique opportunity to learn some new techniques or quiz the crew about care and maintenance.

Sail Training Charity

When Moosk isn’t busy with adult RYA courses, the Charity who own her offer sail training and personal development with young people. Moosk was chosen as a brilliant vessel for sail training because she is both adventurous to sail and small enough for young people to take charge of running the boat. If teenagers can learn to do it then Moosk is sea-kindly enough for adults to feel confident too….It also means your RYA  instructors on Moosk are VERY patient and good at explaining things in inventive ways.

Sailing on Moosk for an RYA Course

Moosk is a fast yawl and with two masts there is a lot of sails to set and trim to meet the wind to best advantage. Your learning will help you sail on a variety of small sailing craft whatever their style of rig or construction.

Moosk can sail with ten people on board but that is distinctly crowded. For RYA Course there only five students and two crew making a more comfortable compliment of seven.

Her hull is narrow and the deck is not far above the water line so it is a good idea to have full height waterproof boots. You can either bring your own waterproofs jacket and trousers, or use those onboard.

Accommodation on Moosk

Below Decks

Moosk has 8 guest crew berths in the saloon and two aft bunks for the skipper and mate.  The bottom beds are solid bunks with a mattress and the top berths are a pipe cot type bunk. For RYA courses Moosk will only take 5 students with a RYA instructor and a mate/cook, so you have plenty of room and two staff to learn from and quiz for advice.

 

Moosk 1906 Gaff Yawl

Moosk was built in 1906 as a classic gentleman’s cruiser and she is beautiful and fast. Her distinctive yawl rig and long bowsprit stretch her 39ft decks up to an impressive 58ft overall yet she can be sailed safely by a small crew with the option of flying between 2 and 7 sails. Moosk races competitively in the annual Sail Training International Tall Ships’ Races and often achieves a very high ranking. A strong construction of oak frames and teak planking strapped with iron floors and knees makes Moosk a very sea worthy vessel as she has raced across Biscay with young crews.

You may see photos of Moosk with a cream hull. She is now painted dark green but distinctive from all of Classic Sailing vessels in that she is a yawl. The mizzen mast is behind the tiller.

Built	1906	Falmouth
Length on deck	39 ft
Sparred length overall	58 ft
Beam	10ft 7 inch
Draft	7ft 3 inch

Moosk Skippers

Roo – Skipper

Roo is Moosk’s skipper this year.

Roo was introduced to sailing in 2012, on a residential school trip. “I’m now part of the sea staff, with the opportunity to try and help all the young people that come on voyages as much as I have been helped previously. I really enjoy working with young people, helping them to experience what will hopefully be one of the best weeks of their lives. During my time sailing as a young person I was able to experience a wide range of sailing opportunities and different events, but my overall favourite sailing situation has to be night sailing with cloudless skies. The amount of stars you can see is simply magical. I look forward to welcoming you on board during the year!”

Eli – Relief Skipper

Eli spent her early years living on a boat with her family sailing around Europe. “I started dinghy sailing when I was 6 and competed for my local yacht club (in Spain) until I was 18.  That was when I went on my first tall ship adventure, sailing from Singapore to Australia, it’s simple to say; I was hooked. I decided then and there that this was what I wanted to do with my life and spent any time I wasn’t instructing or working, volunteering on tall ships. I’ve sailed through Biscay, across the Atlantic, from south America to Canada and even around Cape Horn. When a position as Bosun appeared with a sailing trust, I jumped at it and they helped me work my way up the qualification ladder to work as Mate. I then took a small break from sailing to work in the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth as a traditional rigger, making rigging for HMS Warrior, HMS Trincomalee and HMS Victory. I’ve been working with Moosk and Johanna Lucricia for a year now and have loved sailing with so many young people on such awesome boats. See you on the water!”