No, you do not need sailing experience to attend the yacht-based edition of Culinary Academy. The skipper handles sailing and safety. Your job is the galley.
What to expect
The yacht-based edition is delivered onboard a working 45 to 50ft sailing yacht. The yacht moves between bays and ports through the week. You cook through some motion every day. It is uncomfortable for the first hour. By the third day it is just the rhythm. By Friday you forget you ever cooked any other way.
The current yacht-based location is the British Virgin Islands, which sits in the heart of the Caribbean charter scene. Sheltered turquoise anchorages, warm trade winds, short hops between islands. Conditions are generally calm and predictable.
Cooking under motion is part of the training: trimming a sauce while the yacht heels gently, plating a dish without sliding garnishes, putting knives down the second they leave the board, stowing anything that is not in your hand. The skipper times sail changes and anchor stops around services where possible.
What you should be comfortable with
Living onboard for the full week in shared cabins.
Working in a tight galley for long hours.
Some sailing motion every day.
Helping with basic crew tasks where useful (line handling on arrival and departure at anchorages, for example), supervised by the skipper.
What you do not need
Any prior sailing qualification.
Any prior offshore experience.
The ability to navigate, helm, or trim sails.
Seasickness
If you have ever been carsick, airsick, or queasy on a boat before, plan ahead. Bring anti-nausea tablets, test them at home before you fly so you know how they affect you, and keep them in your hand luggage. See our seasickness guidance article for what to pack and what is onboard.
If you would prefer no sailing at all, the land-based edition at Fort George on Vis Island is the alternative. Same curriculum, same standards, in a stable kitchen that does not move.