The Bristol Maritime Academy
The Bristol Maritime Academy is a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Recognised Training Centre operated by a highly experienced and dedicated team. We work closely with all of our clients and assist them in becoming well-trained and skilled operators, be they marine professionals or leisure enthusiasts.
The Bristol Maritime Academy is the only RYA coastal training centre based in the Bristol Harbour, providing you with the perfect training location, whether you need inland, river or coastal courses.
Quality of safety, training, staff and equipment are key to our packages and our flexibility ensures that customers always receive the highest quality training that they are looking for.
Superyacht Training
We offer Bespoke Crew Training delivered globally to Superyachts including marine and watersports training to meet with owners, captains and management companies needs. We also offer a full RYA Personal Watercraft (Jet-ski) Instructor training service at your location including all documentation and support.
STCW Training
We are now offering the STCW95/2010 training package as part of our Superyacht Crew Training. Working on a super yacht is an exciting career option, leading to travel and adventure opportunities worldwide. The STCW95/2010 training packages to work on a commercial vessel, which includes all of the essential codes of conduct. Key skills such as Sea Survival, Fire Fighting and Ship Security are taught giving you the necessary skills and qualifications to kickstart your career in this prestigious industry.
STCW Training Centers
The Bristol Maritime Academy have their training center located in Bristol, United Kingdom.
Terms and Conditions
View the training school's Terms and Conditions.
Customer Reviews
The Bristol Maritime Academy reviews as published on Google:
Simon Jones
I attended the RYA Powerboat Level 2 course at Portishead Marina 6/7 May 2025. The facilities are excellent, everything at hand right by the marina. The boat was in very good condition and we were provided with all necessary equipment. Nigel, our instructor, was a very patient and knowledgeable gentleman who presented the subject in a straightforward way and took plenty of questions. Plenty of practical experience and time at the helm. I learnt a great deal, having little practical experience of the subject before arrival and found the course invaluable. Highly recommended.
Richard Lamb
I attended the RYA Level 2 Power boat course, 8th-9th Feb. There were only three of us, our instructor was Harry. It was a great course and Harry was an excellent and patient instructor. Great course!
Jack Harber
I recently completed the RYA Powerboat Level 2 course at Bristol Maritime, and it was a fantastic experience from start to finish. Chris, our instructor, was outstanding—knowledgeable, patient, and enthusiastic. His clear instructions and supportive approach made the learning process smooth and enjoyable.
The course was well-organised, with a great balance of theory and practical skills like navigation, safety, and boat handling. Chris ensured that everyone, regardless of their prior experience, felt confident by the end of the course.
The facilities were excellent, and the boats were well-maintained. I left feeling competent and ready to safely take on new challenges on the water. I highly recommend Bristol Maritime and Chris to anyone looking to improve their boating skills and get PB2.Helyne Slade
I recently did the RYA Day Skipper course at BMA in Underfall Yard. Great course. Andrew as the instructor did a great job of accommodating different levels of knowledge, bringing the theory to life (often through his own experiences), dealing with questions, and keeping the energy going and us all on track. I'd be delighted to recommend this course to others.
Steve McCoy
I would recommend BMA to anyone, Nigel our PB2 instructor was extremely knowledgeable, great fun, very patient and relaxed.
Phillip Turner
The training was fantastic, Sam was excellent. A thoroughly enjoyable course.
Amber Anderson
I completed the Level 2 powerboat course which I would highly recommend! It was great fun and Harry was a brilliant instructor. He was very patient and he was very clear with his instructions. He made the whole course interesting from the inside classroom work to the outside skills on the boat. We got to experience going through a lock, going down the river and going out to sea. We learnt skills in the classroom such as chart plotting, knots, buoy colours and loads more. On the boat we learnt how to park, manoeuvre in tight areas, planing, man over board, handling and more. It was definitely worth it and I had an excellent experience! Thank you!
Alex Moulton
Highly recommend BMA for boating courses. Harry is a great instructor. Very knowledgeable, patient & passionate. Will definitely use BMA for any future courses.
george kol
Good fun, our instructor Harry was very experienced and made the course very enjoyable and easy for everyone. We took the level 2 Powerboat qualification and are certainly considering further training. Thank you!
Dominic Breese
I recently completed my Powerboat Level 2 course at Bristol Maritime Academy, and it was an outstanding experience. The instructor was knowledgeable, passionate, and create a supportive learning environment. The academy's brilliant facilities and well-maintained boat, set against the beautiful Bristol waterfront, made the training enjoyable and effective.
Safety and professionalism are top priorities here, with meticulous planning ensuring confidence and competence on the water. I highly recommend Bristol Maritime Academy for anyone looking to advance their maritime skills—it's a truly exceptional place to learn.Ben Tivadar
Tremendous couple of days on the water with Bristol Maritime Academy to earn my level 2 in power boating. Great blend of theory and hands on. Small group size meant lots of time at the helm. Our instructor even doubled as a tour guide pointing out interesting bits of Bristol history. Couldn’t ask for more.
Alexander Stone
Recently completed the RYA PB2 course. The facilities and equipment were all top notch and the instructor (Jerry Harper) was as good a teacher as I’ve ever had. I think I'll ask myself 'what would Jerry do?' going forwards! For the knowledge and skills gained, and the fun time we had, I think the course was great value. Wholeheartedly recommend!
Dimitra Chrysikou
Really great experience doing the Powerboat course 2. The instructor, Chris, was really good, calm and made sure we practiced as much as we needed all the way to end of the course. Highly recommend it!
Jeremy Srokosz
Excellent one day emergency outdoor first aid course. Fantastic teacher, relaxed, supportive, good level of questioning and opportunity to practise and plenty of opportunities to ask any questions throughout the day.
Steve Morrison
What a great weekend we had on the Power Boat Level 2 Course. Excellent instruction from Sam. I was pleased to find it covered so much more than I had expected. I now feel confident and comfortable on the water with a power boat. Highly recommend if you wish to improve or learn boating skills.
Carey Huscroft
I took the RYA Powerboat Level 2 course this week with Bristol Maritime Academy. What a great experience! Kat, our instructor, is extremely knowledgeable & skilled, patient, encouraging and very nice as well! She tailored her coaching to each person and took the time so everyone on the course learned and practiced every skill.
The Bristol Harbour was a great place to learn skills and the trip down the Avon into the Bristol Channel was exciting! I'm already planning more classes with them - first aid, sea survival, and offshore safety. I am very happy that I went with Bristol Maritime Academy for my course!Claire Howe
RYA Powerboat Level 2.
A brilliant hands on course with some classroom learning. We spent more than half our time on the water. Plenty of opportunities to ask questions. The course really improved my knowledge and confidence. The trainer was excellent. I’m looking forward to practicing my new skills.connor hardy
I recently completed the Power Boat Level 2 course and had an amazing experience. Cat, our instructor, was not only a brilliant teacher but also made the learning process enjoyable and interesting. The course covered everything from map reading, course plotting, and knot tying in the classroom to practical skills like parking, man overboard rescue in the Bristol Channel, and tight u-turns between moored boats.
The entire experience, including going through the lock, driving under the suspension bridge, and navigating the channel, was a lot of fun. The course was thorough and delivered in a professional manner. I highly recommend it to anyone interested – it was absolutely worth every penny.JohnyJohn Johny
Loved the powerboat lvl 2 course. Kathryn was a great instructor, very knowledgable and passionate about what she does, so you can expect good quality training! Great manouvers guidelines! Nice boat with strong 100hp engine on. They put strong focus on practical knowledge, so there is a bit of theory to learn but majority of time is spent on the water which is fantastic. I took my course in Bristol so it was a great trip on a boat aswell where one can enjoy the view of the city from channel. Its totally different experience!
Thanks Kathryn!Kelly Knight
We did RYA Powerboat Level 2 over the weekend. Highlights included locking out of the floating harbour with the Matthew and and cruising under the Clifton Suspension Bridge on the way to Portishead. Kat was a fantastic instructor and the boat and kit were great. I would definitely recommend this course with BMA in Bristol.
K Lam
Highly recommend if you want to get a taste of driving a power boat while enjoying Bristol's beautiful scenery. The course is very well organised. Coach Rhys is very professional and patient, making sure that you master every essential skill :)
Chris Williams
Eight if us did the Defra 1 course with Annex H and thought the whole thing was fantastic. The office based element was well paced and taught us a lot, and the practical training was a huge amount of fun and gave us a lot to think about. I would highly recommend Bristol Maritime and this course to anyone who works near water.
hobbitfeet67
Fantastic day of theory and practical learning. Well paced, and instructors had a wealth of real life knowledge and experience. Highly recommend this course to everyone who is taking to open water.
Dan Roddy
Did the two day Outdoor First Aid course. Not my first, er, first aid course, but defintely the first time I've left feeling like I know what I would need to do in an emergency. Well delivered, appropriately paced and clear in what our goals were. Not paid for by work, I chose this myself and would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone wanting to feel more confident going outside for work, or as I do, to go have fun in the hills.
Guy Brady
RYA Power Boat 2 Course (2 days)
I can not recommend this course enough. Our instructor Catherine was highly professional, really helpful, and made the whole process fun. She is one of the best instructors I have come across in years.
My colleagues in the other boat also gave very good feedback about their instructor. It has exactly the right balance of class room work and practical boating skills. Thanks for a great weekend course.Catherine Shepherd
Excellent course - really nice mix of theory and practical. The instructors tailored their approach for all ages and experience - I was with my 14 year old son and while we were with three other adults he was made to feel very much part of the course and really enjoyed all of it. Katherine, our instructor, was very (very) calm and clear and gave positive feedback and encouragement while always showing you how you could improve. Would highly recommend.
Alison Mair
What a fantastic place. The course content was delivered by an excellent tutor in a simple no nonsense fashion. Easy to understand and retain information. The venue is good with free all day parking. Cannot recommend it highly enough
Peter Hayes
Took the one day RYA VHF SRC course with them and it was excellent. Great tutor, Dave, with bags of experience at sea. Friendly people, good location and facilities. Learnt so much and was successful with the exam. Highly recommended
StephenP
The course was very well organised and informative. Jack ran the course and has huge experience as a captain of super-yachts and clearly has great skills in teaching. There was a good balance of practical boating and classroom technical leaning. I would recommend the course as a great experience to start your power boat futures.
Steve Randell
I attended the YRA Powerboat Level 2 out of Portishead Marina.
The course was great fun and very informative.
The instructor ( Catherine ) was very patient and cool headed, she explained everything extremely well and even gave us a small history lesson in the Avon Gorge!
All in all a great 2 days and I highly recommend the Bristol Maritime Academy for this qualification.Paul Gilbert
Attended RYA first aid course here. Our instructor Kat was excellent and very knowledgeable, making the course highly interactive and hands on. The best first aid course I’ve attended by a long way.
Mike Harrison
Excellent intensive Day Skipper course with Andrew Smith over two 3-day sessions, interestingly presented and engaging. Now looking forward to my practical. The location was handy with convenient parking and staff at BMA were helpful too. Back for my VHF course in a couple of weeks.
Rachel Kaden
Really and thoroughly enjoyed this outdoors first aid course. Learnt a lot and felt so confident. Kat was an excellent trainer and was full of knowledge to answer all of our questions and not afraid to double check something if she was unsure of all of our many many questions. She took all of our individual reasons for being on the course into consideration and related it to the information she gave us. Thank you so much, I feel so ready to keep people safe in potentially hazardous environments.
Diddy
I did an RYA Day Skipper Theory course at Bristol Maritime Academy. It was really well run, the instructor (Andrew) was excellent, and it's a lovely building and location. Highly recommended.
KT Os
The Outdoor First Aid course was extremely informative and very applied. Katherine the instructor was brilliant. I highly recommend.
Kamila Jast
Very good and practical powerboating course with knowledgeable instructor, patient, passionate about passing on knowledge and making sure that one actually gains practical skills to do it independently. I'm coming back to do 2 more courses.
Jack Brooker
Brilliant RYA training course. Very informative and very friendly instructor. Will be back when I need to refresh my certificate.
Chris Green
Very thorough and comprehensive. Thank you.
George Lewis
RYA powerboat level 2 course in Bristol harbour. Did the course over the weekend with a view to an ICC for hiring purposes abroad. Whilst we benefited from fantastic weather and I only met the single trainer, I would recommend both the course and BMA for any novice powerboaters. Friendly, informative with a flexible accommodating approach. See the sights of Bristol and the Avon gorge while you're at it!
Kate Fraser
Thorough and really valuable. Would highly recommend Kat ☺️
Peter Corcoran
Well done Tim your a star. All the training was nicely paced for all of the group.
mark price
Excellent training programme for Powerboat Level2, various situations to give you a great learning experience, around the floating harbour, going through the lock and a long trip down the tidal river avon, then through the estuary and out to sea. Highly recommend for anyone looking to get trained for PB2.
Thanks to all at Bristol Maritime Academy.Mark
I did a powerboat course through Bristol Maritime Academy. The instructor, Dan, was incredibly patient, knowledgable and enthusiastic about boating. Very professionally run company. I would highly recommend to anyone.
Anton
Completed my Powerboat Level 2 course with Bristol Maritime Academy which they run from Portishead Marina and would highly recommend it. Absolutely amazing experience. Jordan is a top class instructor and knows his stuff! Thanks Jordan and BMA, I'll be back to do my PB Advanced once I've got some more experience!
Richard Dennys
I've just completed and passed my Powerboat 2 plus VHF RYA courses and successfully applied for my ICC (
Samantha Woodward
Great set up here in the heart of Bristol.
I managed to park right at the harbour office for free so that's great.
Lucky for our small group of 3 we had great weather on both days.
Jordan, our instructor was very calm and relaxing to be with and did not hesitate to go over each thing if you didn't get it right first time. An asset to the business!
The boats were clean and well maintained and all the correct gear provided for us.
I did my power boat level 2 and will get my ICC from this as well.
Highly recommendedJack
The receptionist was absolutely useless and non helpful. Seeing as the is a training establishment doesn't fill me with much confidence. Don't know if I was just unlikely but the simplest of tasks seemed impossible
Johnny Martin
Excellent training - I did the VHF course. I wouldn't hesitate to use again or recommend.
David Talbot
A great little training centre in a fantastic location. Friendly, welcoming staff and very knowledgable instructors who made what could have been a pretty dry couple of days safety and survival training fun.
Glen Travers
Completed my Powerboat level 2 course and had a fantastic time, whilst learning lots of new skills. The instructors were great and all the equipment and boats were brilliant for what we needed. I would highly recommend both the course and Bristol Maritime Academy.
dave brook
Amazing instructors, quality equipment and a fantastic experience completing the Level 2 Powerboat handlers course
Andy Lee
This weekend just completed the RYA Powerboat Level 2 Course at Bristol Maritime Academy. Excellent Venue using both Bristol Floating Dock Area (protected area) and then the Bristol Channel (not so protected!!!! - including today's, rain, hail stones and very high winds!).
2 Boats provided opportunity to swap boats, different sizes and different handling needed; course was well structured with classroom work, but a lot of water time.
Chief Instructor Lilly is quite simply exceptional; excellent training style, provides really clear instruction, very supportive, firm hand when needed!, all with an energetic, bubbly personality.
Instructor Charlie very good, good presentational skills, very confident and competent; patient and guidance as required.
Used many RYA Training Schools in last 5 years for Sailing, Dinghy Training and now Powerboat - would really recommend Bristol Maritime Academy - I will certainly be back for more. AndyJulian Zadarnowski
Excellent 2 days on the water on the RYA L2 Powerboat course. Professional but relaxed style covering theory in the class room but mainly in closed water and then down the Avon to the Bristol Channel. Can highly recommend Bristol Maritime and will use them again
Iain Forster
I recently completed an Offshore Powerboat Level II course with Bristol Maritime Academy. All the staff were very welcoming, the course was well structured and the instruction could not be faulted. A very professional, yet relaxed environment to complete the course. A very enjoyable course!
Stephen Martin
Fantastic place to do your level two powerboat training. Knowledgeable instructors who make it fun to learn, and a location that would be hard to better; harbour for slow boat manoeuvres and the Bristol Channel for higher speed turns and wave technique. Feel very confident about taking a speed boat out now. Thanks guys.
Courses
- STCW Basic Safety Training (New Entrants)
- STCW 95/2010 Basic Safety Training Package
- STCW Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
- STCW Elementary First Aid
- STCW Refresher
- Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting & Refresher Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting
- Personal Survival Techniques
- Firefighting
- Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting & Refresher Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting
- Medical
- STCW Elementary First Aid
- Security
- STCW Proficiency in Security Awareness
- Proficiency in Designated Security Duties