RYA Day Skipper

The RYA Day Skipper Practical Course is conducted on board one of our MCA Coded Sail Training Vessels to teach navigation and pilotage, boat handling, seamanship and safety. Successful candidates will be deemed qualified to Skipper a small cruising yacht safely by day in tidal waters with which they are familiar.

The entry level for the ‘Day Skipper’ qualification has a minimum age limit of 16 years and takes those with at least 100 sea miles and Day Skipper Theory certificate or relevant navigational experience.

The course starts at 16:30pm Sunday and finishes around 1:00pm on the following Friday. We can also organise courses around your specific dates if you wish to book an exclusive course.

The course will commence with a full safety brief that will make you familiar with the boat you will be living on for the duration of your course. we will then, depending on the time of year and weather conditions, make a gentle voyage to the first overnight anchorage, mooring buoy or pontoon.

As with the Competent Crew course our aim is to help and encourage each of our candidates to complete the syllabus, set by the RYA, and to award a Day Skipper Practical Certificate of Competency. Each candidate is kept informed of their progress as they learn about the boat, its handling and the routines onboard.

The Day Skipper candidates are given the chance to build on prior experience while the instructor assesses strengths and weaknesses. Following this initial period each Day Skipper candidate will be gently encouraged to take control of the crew and the boat during navigational passages, pilotage into and out of harbour, coming alongside and handling the boat under both sail and power.

You will also learn meteorology, basic engine maintenance, how to plan a passage, victual a yacht and how to take action as a skipper in certain emergency situations including man over board. There will also be a night passage where you will gain experience of navigating, sailing and pilotage by night.

Useful Information

Apr & Oct £495.00