Course Overview

Experience being in charge on a yacht, taking credit when all goes well and being responsible when it doesn't. Learn the skills to skipper a short passage with the instructor on hand to give advice and encouragement all in a safe and secure environment.

The RYA Day Skipper theory generally takes around 40 learning hours, similarly the practical requires 5 days afloat. The combined 9 day modal for both theory and practical allows students to complete your training in an intensive manor but to minimise the leave required to attend both courses in person. This approach, while more intensive, allows those who prefer classroom learning to access this over 4 days and then head straight out onto the yacht to put those newly learned skills into practice.

Having already done some sailing you will know how good sailing can be for having a break from things. Expect to finish this RYA Day Skipper course having had lungfuls of fresh air, pleasantly tired but at the same time reinvigorated with a newly learned set of skills banked!

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Recommended pre-course experience

Minimum Pre Course Experience: 5 days, 100 miles, 4 night cruising hours.

Recommended Knowledge: You also need to have a good basic sailing and yacht handling ability. It will be assumed that you know how to sail to the level of Competent Crew standard. It is well worth reviewing this syllabus prior to attending the course.

Course Content: Preparation for Sea, Deck Work, Navigation, Pilotage, Meteorology, Rules of the Road, Maintenance & Repair Work, Engines, Victualling, Energency Situation, Handling under Power & Sail, Passage Making & Night Cruising

Ability after the Course: You will be able to Skipper a yacht in familiar waters by day and/or charter a boat in somewhere like the Mediterranean.

The RYA Day Skipper Practical qualification can be used to obtain an International Certificate of Competence (ICC) by sending the certificate to the RYA with an application form.

What To Expect

When you learn with First Class Sailing, you’ll have friendly instructors who are keen and willing to to pass on their skills to you. You can also expect like-minded people attending the courses who share a passion for sailing. In the classroom you can expect plenty of tea, coffee and biscuits and while aboard the yacht will be victualled for all meals with tasty fresh food. Our students always learn lots and go home at the end of the course feeling happy and pleasantly tired.

The first 4 days of the course will be classroom based and you will join the yacht on the evening of the 4th day. During the course you can expect to be manoeuvring the boat under engine on and off pontoons to improve your yacht handling. You can also expect to have a go at planning and conducting a short passage, and you’ll be the one calling the shots before you know it.

Each day of the practical RYA Day Skipper 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, supper on board, and maybe a quick pint/glass of wine. Sometimes you may drop anchor for the night, other times you may tie onto a buoy. On one evening of the Solent Day Skipper course, we typically go sailing in the dark, which is great fun.

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Where Will You Sail?

Well renowned as the best practical classroom for sailing globally, the Solent, in which our Day Skipper Courses normally remain is the perfect place for your to receive your practical training. There are multiple ports & anchorages all within a short distance of one another which allows for many options to practice your navigation.

This is part of the reason why the Solent is a great place to learn to sail and get qualified. There are numerous harbours, bays, creeks and rivers, such as Portchester Lake (pictured), marinas and anchorages making it ideal to practice a whole range of yachting skills. Because of the large volume of other boats and busy shipping activity, the Solent is always fun and interesting.

Furthermore the Isle of Wight provides significant protection from the worst of the Channel weather, meaning the sea state within the Solent can stay relatively flat compared with conditions in open water. The means course distribution due to weather is rare and a conductive learning area maintained in all but the worst weather. At the same time the tides in the Solent provide Day Skipper students with an excellent challenge to their seamanship and navigational skills. If you learn in tidal waters you can sail in non-tidal however it is much trickier the other way around.

Accommodation

During the Theoretical part of the Day Skipper course you will need to book you own accommodation if not traveling from home. There are plenty of options nearby our Southampton classrooms & offices located at Shamrock Quay. You will join the yacht at the end of the fourth day of the course where you will then be accommodated aboard the yachts.

During the Practical part of the Day Skipper course you’ll sleep on board the yacht. There’s typically three double cabins and two single berths which provide accommodation for eight people. Our Combined Day Skipper courses run at a $:1 ration so there will be up to 4 students and 1 instructor aboard, unless you have booked the whole yacht whereby a 5:1 option is available.

You will get your own sleeping space be this a cabin or the saloon. You will not have to share a sleeping space with anyone else unless you have booked as a group of friends/family.

Showers/Facilities

Whilst we do have showers on board the yacht, most nights you can use the hot showers and facilities in a marina.

Once aboard the only thing not included in the price are mooring fees. It depends on where you end up each night but they are usually about £40 per person for 5 days.

Food

The course will be catered from the evening of the 4th Day following the conclusion of the classroom element of the course. We provide food that is healthy and nutritious, including salads, vegetables, white and wholemeal bread, chicken, lean minced beef, salmon, muesli and cereal. In fact, just the kind of food that you might buy yourself. For snacks there is plenty of fruit, but also a supply of chocolate and biscuits.

During the classroom element of the course tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided.

If you have any special dietary requirements, be it vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, gluten free, or allergies, we can normally accommodate these. Just let us know in good time when you fill out your booking form.

Location

Shamrock Quay is easily accessible by train or car.

Getting to Shamrock Quay

Shamrock Quay is about an 8 minute taxi ride from Southampton Central Station, or 15 minutes from Southampton Airport if you’re flying in. If you are arriving by car you can park in Shamrock Quay Marina, with 24/7 security.

Occasionally a course may start on one of our boats when it is not at Shamrock Quay. It may be very close to Shamrock Quay or in Hamble. We will give you plenty of notice when this is the case.

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Start & Finish Times

The course will begin at our offices in Shamrock Quay at 0900 on the first day of the course. Classroom days will finish by 1730 each day.

You can expect to get away between 1500 & 1600 on the final day of your course. If you are catching a train we suggest you book a flexible ticket or give yourself plenty of time to get from the marina to the train station.