Become the captain
of your own charter
ISSA
Inshore Skipper + VHF
14
interactive lectures
7 days
practice at sea
2015
school teaching since
The Academy is run by our partner school, Family Yacht Club. They teach, examine and issue the certificates. TrimTeam introduces you, keeps the application in one place, and welcomes you onto the fleet once you're licensed.
TrimTeamFamily Yacht Club
We know what you're actually asking
Five things every future skipper wants to be sure of before they sign up.
01
Understand the yacht and the sea
Knowledge that makes you a skipper able to decide in any situation — not someone repeating a checklist.
02
Learning without stress
Online lectures at your pace and practice in small groups, so the attention goes where you need it.
03
Real skills
From mooring to working the VHF — everything you need to feel certain at sea, not just informed.
04
An experience that stays
Seven days sailing the Mediterranean gives you the miles and the memory that outlasts the course.
05
An official licence
An international ISSA certificate and VHF ticket that open the door to sailing on your own terms.
Family Yacht Club
A sailing school that began as a family, in 2015.
A family in love with the sea set out to share it. Sailing had taught them to work as one crew, to trust each other in any weather, and to value the time spent together — and that is what they pass on to every student.
Family Yacht Club is a school and a community at once: people arrive for the licence and stay for the flotillas. Ten years on, everything still runs out of the same place in Kyiv — lectures, sea weeks, regattas and their own social sailing programme.
What they run
“The power of the wind” — their social sailing programme
Teaching women to sail as a route back to confidence, and to a new profession. Covered in the Ukrainian press.
Based in
Kyiv, vul. Pryrichna 30
Teaching since
2015
Certifying body
ISSA
Sea weeks in
Greece · Croatia · Turkey
Two certificates, no expiry date
After the exams we order both documents for you. They are international, recognised worldwide, and never need renewing.
ISSA Inshore Skipper
Command a sailing yacht in coastal waters.
VHF Radio Operator
Operate marine VHF radio legally at sea.
Three steps to the certificate
Theory you can take from anywhere, a week that puts it into your hands, and the licence at the end.
Theory, online
Fourteen interactive lectures you take at your own pace. A test after every topic confirms it landed, and every student keeps access to the materials and the lecture recordings for good.
Practice at sea
Seven days aboard a 43–45 ft yacht in the Mediterranean — Greece, Croatia or Turkey. Mooring, sail handling and VHF in real conditions, in a small crew where you actually take the helm.
Your licence
Once both exams are passed we order your ISSA Inshore Skipper licence and the ISSA VHF radio operator certificate. Both arrive as international documents with no expiry date.
Fourteen topics, start to exam
Each one ends with a test, so nothing is left half-understood before you step aboard.
- 01Handling a sailing vessel
- 02Ship systems and power on board
- 03Pilotage
- 04Navigation
- 05Meteorology
- 06Tides and currents
- 07Collision regulations (COLREG)
- 08Mooring
- 09Special situations on board
- 10Survival at sea
- 11VHF radio communication
- 12Passage planning
- 13Written theory exam
- 14Practical assessment at sea
Send your application
Your application goes straight to Family Yacht Club, who run the programme. They come back with the nearest intake, the full fee breakdown and what to prepare.
Reply within one working day
the school confirms places by email
No payment at this step
the application is free and non-binding
Ask anything
the school answers directly — the form has a field for it
The training contract, teaching, examination and certification are provided by Family Yacht Club. TrimTeam acts as an introducer and is not the training provider.
Before you apply
Who runs the Academy — TrimTeam or the school?
Family Yacht Club runs it. They deliver the lectures, take you to sea, examine you and order your ISSA certificates. TrimTeam introduces you to them, keeps the application in one place, and puts our fleet at your disposal once you hold the licence.
Do I need any experience to start?
No. The programme starts from zero: the fourteen lectures assume nothing, and the sea week runs in a small crew with an instructor. Some students step aboard a yacht for the first time on the course.
What exactly do I get at the end?
Two international documents: the ISSA Inshore Skipper licence and the VHF radio operator certificate. Both are recognised worldwide and never expire.
Can I sail a catamaran with this licence?
Yes. The ISSA Inshore Skipper licence covers monohulls and catamarans up to 24 metres in coastal waters.
How long does the whole thing take?
Theory is at your own pace — most people take a month or two for the fourteen lectures. Practice is one week at sea, and you pick the week that fits your calendar.
What if I can't make my sea week?
Tell the school and they move you to another week. Your theory access stays, so nothing is lost — the practice simply waits for a date that works.
Can I charter with TrimTeam once I'm licensed?
That is the idea. With the licence you charter bareboat on our fleet — and Helm will help you pick the yacht and the waters for your first season in command.
What people say afterwards
“I came in sure I'd be the one holding the group back. By day three I was docking her myself.”
Iryna
Theory + Greece, 2026
“The lectures are the part I expected to skip. They're the reason the week at sea made sense.”
Dmytro
Theory + Croatia, 2025
“Having the licence changed the holiday. We chartered bareboat the next season, just us.”
Serhii
Theory + Turkey, 2025
The next yacht could be yours to command
Places on each sea week are limited and held by the school. Send the application and they'll reserve one while you decide.