Oceanwest Charters

I had a great time completing the RYA day skipper course with OceanWest Charters in Busselton.

Gary is an extremely knowledgeable, highly skilled and experienced sailor. And maybe the most essential he is excellent in transferring those sailing skills to his students.
He will make sure you understand the theory and principles of sailing and are able to apply them in any conditions.
Gary is very patient, friendly and easygoing with everyone, which makes the whole course even more enjoyable.

If you are looking for a sailing school in WA to learn how to sail or develop existing skills, I would highly recommend Oceanwest Charters from Geographe Bay.

Gary's yacht Samsara is exceptional, near new and extremely comfy. I've been sailing the Mediterranean in the past years and spent weeks in various sailing yachts, but Gary's custom specked Beneteau Oceanis 41 beats them all. And she's fast!

After such a great experience, I have gladly booked another week in April this year to build my sailing skills further - there's a lot to learn from Gary.

Thank you and keep up the excellent work!

Completed my Day Skipper and Yachtmaster Coastal with Gary in 2020. The courses were excellent.
I was a competent day race sailor before I did the courses. Gary's training gave me the confidence to manoeuvre a boat under motor and sail in spaces which I did not think were safe for anybody to do.
Highlights of the course included:
+ fanging through crowded mooring areas under full sail while learning to sail onto morning buoys;
+ night navigating Bunbury harbour with charts and compass;
+ night sailing upwind in 16-20Kt of wind and pushing the boat hard; and
+ lunch and a swim off the Busselton Jetty.
I would recommend anybody interested in sailing completes one of his courses. The course is full of learning but also exposes you to the raw beauty of the WA coastline.

Why book with Oceanwest and Gary:
I booked my Yachtmaster course with Gary with a tight deadline to get a job and travel to the Mediterranean as a skipper for the season. The Yachtmaster certification requires an independent instructor to assess Gary’s students (Gary is not allowed to assess his own students). The assessor Gary had arranged cancel last minute on him. Gary immediately notified me of the cancelation but promised to arrange an alternate assessor. Gary literally scoured the earth for an assessor – he phoned assessors from all over Australia, Asia, Europe etc. before he found an English assessor who was traveling in Singapore. Gary flew out the assessor from Singapore for our assessment. I suspect Gary may have made a net loss on the course. Gary is a man of considerable honour – his word is worth its weight.

The course was everything I expected and more, it was by far the best sail training I have ever participated in. Gary is an exceptional trainer, he is extremely knowledgeable, professional and patient and delivers information in a manner that can be comprehended and then applied practically. The yacht is modern and of the highest standard, it was very clean and well maintained, with comfortable sleeping facilities, the food was plentiful and delicious and offered options for alternative diets. Whatever your needs are for sail training, whether you are experienced or have never sailed before, I highly recommend OceanWest.

I was pleasantly surprised how much I had enjoyed the course. My wife has booked it as a short holiday as she wanted to get more comfortable in handling larger yachts. The course was well structured, the yacht was comfortable to stay on and we were kept nice and busy learning docking, emergency procedures, navigation and so on. Special mention has to come to our instructor Nick he was by far the most relaxed, pleasant and knowledgeable sailor I have ever come across.

Great coaching and support from Day 1 of theory through to the last day of the practical. As an experienced sailor / skipper I was very impressed by how much Gary had to share in terms of his own understanding of the theory as well as very practical cruising tips. The practical was great fun, including winning the "race", with the yacht clean, new and well equipped. Thoroughly recommended.

I did my Day Skipper Course with Ocean West. Great course with great instruction.

I had a great experience that was exciting and active, but I learnt a lot and developed my skills! It's an excellent environment to continue to gain experience and sailing qualifications.
The boat is lovely and in excellent condition. There were opportunities to stop for lunch and have a swim, and the food was really nice and there was lots of it.

Had a great time completing my day skipper course, Gary is a excellent instructor and I learned a lot of new skills during my 5 days on board, would highly recommend to anyone wanting to learn how to sail
or further develop their existing skills.

Just returned from a two week adventure sailing trip from Exmouth to Busselton, it was a fantastic 14 days of learning and adventure. We were welcomed to the yacht early and helped to settle in. Made to feel very welcome. Great introductions and given time to discuss what we wanted to gain from our time on-board. Fantastic yacht, Samsara is a delight to sail and it is a genuine privilege to spend time aboard. The food was varied and plentiful, with careful attention to victualling so that there was always easily accessible and wholesome food available.
Very professional, great instruction focused to individual requirements offering a very enjoyable environment to learn. Nick was so knowledgeable, not only about sailing but also any wildlife we encountered, always willing to share his knowledge. He was inspiring and encouraging throughout the journey, even when asked questions during the night watches. Nick carefully took time to reflect on any skills that needed further development before giving us the opportunity to practice them further.
We had varied conditions from calm seas to some challenging conditions, with far too many highlights to mention… snorkelling in the Abrolhos islands, the humpbacks, sailing out of Steep Point or through Shark Bay… so many. It was truly a memorable experience, and I cannot recommend Oceanwest Charters highly enough.

High end professional training delivery. Packed with skills and fun. Gary gives 11 out of 10 effort.