Driven by nature Reviews

Drivenbynature provides an immersive experience, guiding you through their professional learning system from initial contact to certification and beyond. The service is exceptional, complemented by a personalized approach that truly enhances the learning process. The boat is not only beautiful but also fast, equipped with everything you could possibly need. Instructor and Chief Instructor George possesses a unique teaching style that effectively imparts essential skills and competencies. I highly recommend DrivenbyNature for individuals of all skill levels. Whether you're a beginner or looking to refine your skills, this is the perfect place to advance your sailing journey up to Yachtmaster and beyond!

I had a great experience following the RYA Competent Crew with Driven by nature and our instructor Hein. The school communicated all information timely and clearly, and our instructor made sure we all got the attention needed for our specific improvement points .

A friend and I took the Competent Crew week with Richard as our instructor. For both of us was our first experience sailing so we were a little nervous on how sailing for a week and living on a boat would be. All of the nervousness was dispersed as soon as we met Richard. He took the first couple hours to get to know us, what made us tick and build some trust and team spirit. Later on he continued to explain safety which went in quite some detail about rules, features and protocols. The day after on to sail and we were very pleased that it is a completely hands on training, you get to do everything right away (except for mooring approach). Richard adapted the approach based on our conversations, as both my friend and I are engineers, he gave us extra info on technical topics and even overlapped with Day Skipper training. Day 3 sailing in the Wadden Sea and Day 4 in the North Sea with Beafourt 6 which was quite exciting and even with the strong wind we always felt safe as Richard is very clear in communicating instructions. Will stop it here but just to say that after this week we both discovered sailing is something we want to do. I am currently doing the Day Skipper Online Theory and I am looking forward to do the practical Day Skipper next year with Richard.

Thanks for an amazing trip, I highly recommend it, it was great to learn some sailing skills, Sardinia was beautiful definitely worth seeing by sea. Steve made my wife who was nervous to sail feel very comfortable and at ease, she is now looking forward to booking another trip! Thanks Steve you made it a fantastic experience.

Our sailing trip around Sardinia was an unforgettable experience. We became part of the crew as our Captain explained how we helped to tie up or release the ropes from the harbour moorings. We sailed to secluded coves where we dropped anchor and stayed overnight, at one such place we could order bread & croissants that were delivered by speedboat for our breakfast. We were close enough to shore to be able swim there if we chose. Our ‘First mate’ made us delicious meals that we all shared. All the while we were surrounded by beautiful scenery and pastel coloured villages. We would love to have traveled by sail, but the lack of wind meant this was not possible. We would highly recommend this holiday as we were able to relax & unwind in good company as well as have a lot of fun.

Top week gehad aan boord van The Flying Dutchman met Richard als instructeur. Super veel geleerd. Skills binnen het RYA scheme maar daarnaast ook qua mindset en samenwerken aan boord. Waardevol! Voorbij het praktische. Hoogtepunt: nacht tocht over wadden. Ik kijk uit naar een volgende stap richting yachmaster in het voorjaar. Thanks!

Spent a week with our Captain Stephen Moth in the waters of northern Sardinia - so beautiful! Stephen was a great captain and a wonderful person who was not only very patient with us but also fun to be with. Overall great experience. Can’t wait for our next adventure. Thanks Stephen !

Ein unvergessliches Erlebnis!💯

Wir waren im September 2024 mit Steve Moth als Captain rund um Las Maddalena am Segeln. Es hat uns sehr viel Spass gemacht und einen guten Einblick in die Abläufe an Bord eines Segelschiffes ge geben.

I recently attended the RYA Competent Crew course and had a fantastic time. The instructor was excellent, and everything was exactly as promised. The entire experience was well-organized, and I felt supported throughout the course. I highly recommend this school to anyone looking to learn sailing!

Had a great experience learning all about sailing as competent crew. The teacher was very good at teaching and very patient. Everything is included in the price (food, marina, fuel etc) and there’s no hidden costs at all. All in all it has been a great week and I would definitely recommend to go for Driven By Nature if you want to learn according to the RYA standards!

Zum ersten Mal zwei Wochen Bootferien für uns. Und dies mit Skipper Steven rund um die Karibikinsel Antigua! Es war einfach fantastisch schön und bleibt unvergesslich.

Fantastic experience, excellent instructor, great people!

I am glad to meet the school and its staff. Solomon is calmness and judicious that's what you need for learning. The boat, especially the sails, are at the right level. It is a pity that the weather did not allow me to get the most out of all the days of practice, but safety should come first. This is one more plus for the guys. See you.

Excellent week! Very knowledgeable instructor, well equipped yacht, steep learning curve! Def recommendable!

I did my RYA Day Skipper practical with Driven by Nature in late April. 100% positive experience and I will not hesitate to continue my training with them on Coastal Skipper and beyond. Instructor: Salomon was my instructor and there were 3 of us as students. I was doing Day Skipper, my wife was doing Competent Crew, and the 3rd person was doing a miles builder. It was a great learning experience for me and Salomon was super pro. I would go out of my way to find a way to take instruction from him again in the future. Not only did he know his way around the boat (which you would expect from a Yachtmaster), but he was also a patient teacher. He explained things to me multiple times when my sometimes slow brain had a hard time retaining them and he was never impatient or made me feel like I should have already gotten it. He didn’t lavish you with praise for every little task you did, so when he did, it felt much more meaningful. He kept great running notes and logs throughout and we received feedback each day. While you were doing something, he gave you plenty of space, but you knew he was always right there just in case you were going to do something really wrong. I left feeling so much more confident, but still realizing and accepting all of the things that I don’t even know that I don’t know until I get more experience. Salomon listened to what I wanted to focus on and made sure to give me as much opportunity to cover it as possible, while still covering the rest of the RYA syllabus. Some of it was a repeat of the shorebased course, but I appreciated the reinforcement and that it made him more assured of my knowledge when he signed off on my DS certificate. Importantly for me, he took really good care of teaching my wife, too. She is not quite as into this whole thing as I am, so she had much less of a fundamental foundation to start with. The work he did with her on knots alone was worth it. There was a little competition all week - Her vs Knots. The final match was doing 10 of each in a row with no mistakes and it was fun to watch…so much pressure! Beyond that though, once I knew he was watching all of us equally and ready to help educate someone on very basic things as well as more advanced, I was able to shut my mouth and not try to “help”, confident that she was getting her fair share of the education on the trip and enjoying the time on the water. We had lots of time to talk about apps and other tools (PredictWind, Navionics, etc.), what kind of boat we would shop for that might fit us, and we even had time to talk about “sailing fashion” and do some shopping in Medemblik for some gear to keep us a bit warmer and dryer for the rest of the week since it was rainier, windier, and colder than forecast. Salomon jumped right into the store with us to be an objective third party on the gear we were buying. Time will tell whether his fashion advice pays off :) Boat & Facilities: The boat was nice. It was a Beneteau First 40. I don’t have a ton of experience to compare it with other boats, but it felt like it sailed fast and easy and the maneuvering inside the marinas was tight and not as nerve wracking as one would expect from a larger boat. We slept in the v-berth and they provided comfortable bedding and towels. We stayed at a marina each night, so we had access to showers and toilets on shore, which certainly makes it nicer for 4 strangers versus sharing the single head on the boat! Business: The course was supposed to start in Medemblik, but we ended up having to start in Amsterdam, where we also parked our car. The course was also supposed to end in Medemblik, but we ended up on the other side of the IJsselmeer instead. No problem, though. George, the founder and chief instructor, picked us up at the marina and drove us back to Amsterdam where we had parked. He took care of us when the weather and other circumstances didn’t allow us to follow the paper plan. The cost of everything is included, so we didn’t worry about food, fees, or anything else during our course.

This was a true sailing experience. I was hoping that the two week adventure would help convince my wife and myself that sailing would be something for us. We loved every minute of it. If you are a sailor and want to sail, these adventures are for you. If you want to show family and friends how much fun sailing can be, these adventures are for you. If you are on your own and unsure, these adventures are for you. Go for it you'll love it.

Een weekend met instructeur George Janssen van Driven by Nature gezeild. Overweldigend om zijn enthousiasme en professionaliteit mee te mogen maken. Bij George aan boord ben je echt onderdeel van het schip en de elementen. Hard werken, veel leren en ongelofelijk veel lachen met elkaar. Het zeilschip is modern, prima uitgerust, en gericht op een ding: zeilen! En George is er, juist wanneer je denkt dat het niet goed komt met windkracht 8 om de oren. Zoals Hattori Hansoi al zei “very good” 🙏 .