The RYA Practical Day Skipper Course is about learning to skipper a yacht. It is often the minimum qualification required by yachting companies if you want to charter a boat.
Experience being in charge on a yacht, taking credit when all goes well and being responsible when it doesn't. Learn to skipper a short passage with the instructor on hand to give advice and encouragement and ensure your safety.
You need to have a good basic sailing ability. It will be assumed that you know how to sail to the level of Competent Crew standard.
What to expect on a Day Skipper Practical Course
Each day of the course is packed with activity. Breakfast is usually at 8am or earlier, depending on the wind and tide. At the end of the day, you will normally be in a marina ready for a hot shower and a trip to the pub by 6pm. Sometimes you may drop anchor for the night, other times you may tie on to a buoy. On one evening of the course you will probably go sailing in the dark to see how fun that can be.
Ability after the Course: You will be able to Skipper a yacht in familiar waters by day, or charter a yacht in somewhere like the Mediterranean. The qualification is a "tidal" qualification so is recognised in both tidal and non-tidal waters.
Day Skipper Practical Course Contents
Preparation for sea
Learn how to prepare a yacht for sea, including engine checks, selection of sails, securing and stowage of all gear on deck and below
Deck work
You can reef, shake out reefs and change sails to suit prevailing conditions
You will also learn how to prepare an anchor, mooring warps and take charge on deck when mooring alongside, coming to a buoy, anchoring, weighing anchor and slipping from a buoy or an alongside berth.
Navigation
Become proficient in chart work and routine navigational duties on passage including:
Taking and plotting visual fixes
Use of electronic navigation equipment for position fixing
Use of waypoints
Working up DR and EP
Estimating tidal heights and tidal streams
Working out course to steer to allow for tidal stream, leeway and drift
Knowledge of IALA buoyage
Maintenance of navigational records
Use of echo sounder and lead line
Pilotage
Learn how to prepare and execute a pilotage plan for entry or departure from a harbour, including understanding the use of leading and clearing lines and the use of transits and soundings as aids to pilotage.
Meteorology
Learn about the best sources of forecast information for sailing, and learn how to interpret shipping forecasts and use a barometer as a forecasting aid
Rule of the road
Get a working knowledge of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
Maintenance and repair work
Learn about basic maintenance tasks and how to carry them out, as well as the properties and uses of different common synthetic fibre ropes.
Engines
Learn how to change fuel and water filters, the pump impeller and to bleed the fuel system
Victualing
Understands how to victual (load with food and stores) a yacht
Emergency situations
Man overboard! Learn how to command a yacht for recovery of a crewmember fallen overboard.
Learn how and when to use distress flares and how to use a life raft
Know Use a VHF radio telephone in an emergency and send a distress message
Understand how to secure a tow
Learn the rescue procedures including helicopter rescue
Watch Leader
Learn how to take charge of a watch both at sea and in harbour, and how to organise a watch to keep the yacht safe.
Handling a Yacht under power
Learn to competently and safely bring a yacht to and from and alongside a berth, mooring buoy or an anchor under various conditions of wind and tide.
Yacht handling under sail
Learn how to steer and trim sails effectively on all points of sailing and how to bring the yacht safely to and from a mooring buoy or anchor under various conditions of wind and tide
Passage making
Practice planning and making a coastal passage, taking account of local navigational hazards, the type of yacht and the crew abilities.
Things you should bring for a Day Skipper Practical Course
Sleeping bag
Pillow
Towel
Warm clothing. It can sometimes be considerably cooler at sea than on land
Fleeces and thermals are good for chillier times of the year
A sunhat/baseball cap
A woolly hat for cold weather
Sun cream
London Sailing Courses
We run navigation classes and 1 day specialist courses in London.
You are welcome to join one of the courses we have already being advertised. Alternatively we would be delighted to come to your office and run a sailing course for yourself and your colleagues.
All our London Sailing Courses are shorebased. They are as follows:
Preferred Contact Method
Phone
Email
No Preference
Course Progression Plan
RYA Courses are internationally recognized. They form part of a scheme that is a tried and tested method of sail training. The RYA Sail Training Scheme is designed so that you can enter into it at the level most suitable to you depending on your previous experience.
This is a two day course on a yacht that gives you a very basic introduction to sailing. It is rare that we run these courses but we do occasionally. Contact us for dates.
This is an online course and covers basic nagivation and safety useful for RIB drivers, sea anglers, divers and dinghy sailors. If you are unsure about doing a Day Skipper Theory course this could be for you.
This course takes place on a yacht and is perfect for begginers or those that have done a little bit of sailing. You will learn a tremendous amount and it will transform you into a useful crew member. As with all the practical courses you sleep on board.
A very interesting course that is all classroom based. It gives a comprehensive introduction to chart work, navigation, metorology. No experience of sailing is required. Also suitable for those who have done a fair bit of sailing but not much actual tidal navigation.
A very interesting course that is all classroom based. It gives a comprehensive introduction to chart work, navigation, metorology. No experience of sailing is required. Also suitable for those who have done a fair bit of sailing but not much actual tidal navigation.
This course takes place on a yacht and is perfect for begginers or those that have done a little bit of sailing. You will learn a tremendous amount and it will transform you into a useful crew member. As with all the practical courses you sleep on board.
This course is on a yacht and is for aspiring skippers with some yachting exprience and a Day Skipper Theory certificate or equivalent knowledge. Once you have this qualification you can charter yachts in places like the Mediterranean.
This class is all classroom based and is an advanced course in navigation that builds on that learnt in the Day Skipper Theory course. Prepares you for the practical courses that follow.
This course is also on a yacht. The course teaches advanced skippering techniques for those wanting to undertake coastal passages by day and night. Once you have this qualification you can skipper bigger yachts and sail further afield.
Specialist Courses
Specialist RYA Courses supplement the RYA practical and theory courses. They provide instruction on important related subjects. They are designed to broaden your knowledge and prepare you for all eventualities at sea.
Optional Routes: After the Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster Theory Course you can jump to any one of these three options depending on the amount of experience you have.
This is an on the water course that prepares you for the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Coastal Certificate of Competence Exam. You need 800 miles to take this exam and you need to know your stuff.
This is an on the water course that prepares you for the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence Exam. You need 2500 miles to take this exam. Largely regarded as the pinnacle of the yachting qualifications this is a tough one to get.
A classroom based course in the astro-navigation and worldwide meteorology which reveals the mysteries of the sextant. It assumes a knowledge of all the subjects covered in all the other shorebased courses.
There is no course for this just an exam. You have to sail a good distance out of sight of land and submit your sextant work to an examiner who then conducts an oral exam.
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