Can You Do Day Skipper Without Competent Crew?

You might feel that you are now ready to take the RYA Day Skipper course, but what if you haven’t completed RYA Competent Crew? Will this be an issue for you?

Well, perhaps not.

To be honest, it is not an absolute requirement that you do Competent Crew before doing the Day Skipper practical course. What is more important is that you are already a ‘competent crew’.  This means you have done a bit of sailing and you know things like how to raise and lower the sails, how to set them correctly to the wind, you know what to do with lines and fenders when the boat comes alongside a pontoon.

If you have done a couple of weeks in the Med or a few weekends in the Solent, perhaps the odd corporate day, then you could be okay to skip Competent Crew and go straight to Day Skipper practical – but it very much depends on the quality of experience you have had.

For example, if a lot was done for you with not much explanation, if you just sat on one tack for the day and went in a straight line to your destination then probably you should do Competent Crew.

To do the Day Skipper practical you also need to have done the Day Skipper Theory course or have knowledge to the same level.

If you think you are borderline and might be able to skip Competent Crew and go straight to Day Skipper talk to us first.

Without sailing with you it can be difficult to judge and we may say go for it and book Day Skipper with the caveat that the instructor may say to you during the course that you might need a bit more sailing experience and so need to do an extra weekend at a later date to finish off.

So, to conclude, yes, you can do the Day Skipper course without having first completed Competent Crew, but there is a caveat as we described above.

Just to reiterate though… in many cases, before you take our RYA Day Skipper Practical Course you must have completed the Competent Crew Course. But we will let you on the Day Skipper course if you are at Competent Crew level with the right experience and skills, despite not having taken that course. You also need to have completed the Shore based Day Skipper course or have navigational knowledge to that level.

Possible consequences to skipping the Competent Crew course

While you can take Day Skipper without the Competent Crew course there could be some challenges from doing so. Having said that, we will only let you do this if you can show that you have the required skills to Competent Crew level.

If you don’t, the following challenges might present themselves!

Lack of basic skills

The Competent Crew course is designed to teach you the basic skills necessary to be a valuable crew member. By skipping it, you might not have the fundamental skills and knowledge required to do Day Skipper.

One of the most important concerns is safety.

The Competent Crew course covers essential safety procedures such as man overboard drills and fire safety. By skipping this course, you could be putting yourself and others at risk.

You will also miss out on connecting with others.

The Competent Crew course is a great way to meet other people at the same level you are in your sailing journey.

In conclusion, yes it is possible to skip the Competent Crew course and go straight into the Day Skipper course, but be aware of the potential challenges that may arise from doing so if you are not at the required level.

Posted by: Heighway