Start Yachting

For the complete novice the 2 day RYA Start Yachting Course is the right choice, or for someone who just wants to try sailing for the first time. This course is the great introduction to sailing and seamanship and will give you a basic knowledge of watch keeping, rope handling and sailing etiquette.

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Basic Navigation & Safety

It is essential that before you go to sea that you have a thorough understand how to practically run your boat so that you avoid any pitfalls. The course will cover a basic introduction to charts and associated collateral, so that you can make informed decisions about where and when to go. You will be taught about buoyage, so that you can get out and into the harbour competently, along with the basics of navigation, and of course boating safely. When you are out sailing, you will want to anchor at some point, so we will teach you how, and what to consider when you are looking for an anchorage.

The course you will teach you how to find read what the tide is doing, and how to apply that information to keep you safe. Modern electronic navigation will also play a major part in the course, and therefore you we will teach you how to use and interpret GPS information correctly.

Out at sea you will also need to know in a collision avoidance situation, and how to take the appropriate safety steps. At the end of the course we will teach you about the weather, and how to obtain the relevant forecast, and what it means to use this at sea in a small boat. The last part of the course looks at melding all of the elements of the course together and discusses passage planning. That means at the end of the course you know how to safely get in and out of nearby harbours during the day in good weather.

Sailors looking to progress onto Day Skipper Theory are strongly advised to do this course first. This course is aimed at anybody who sails a small boat close to land, for divers, fishermen, inshore racers, power boaters and jet skiers.

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Day Skipper Practical

The RYA Day Skipper Practical course has a three fold flexible study plan. It can be completed on a 5-day course, 3 weekends, or a 2 day plus a 3 day weekend. The RYA Day Skipper Practical course you will get a chance to improve and practice your practical sailing skills and the man-over-board, sailing onto mooring buoys, coming along side and anchoring evolutions. You will be skippering for the first time, putting the navigation skills you learnt on the Day Skipper Theory course into practice.

When you successfully complete the RYA Day Skipper Practical Course, you will be able to navigate and skipper a small yacht in familiar waters by day. This qualification is normally a must for chartering a yacht as skipper anywhere in the world. Holders of the RYA Day Skipper Practical qualification can and should apply for an International Certificate of Competence (ICC).

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RYA Sea Survival Course

People who have received special training are demonstrably more likely to survive an emergency at sea, Sailing disasters at sea like the Sidney Hobart Race and the Fastnet Race are harsh reminders that experience is no guarantee against abandoning ship for even the most experienced yachtsman and you need to know what to do to help you survival.

The RYA Sea Survival Course covers all the basics that you need to know, Including preparation for survival, lifejackets, search and rescue and a practical session in a swimming pool.

Until you have to try and climb into a life raft yourself, you do not realise how difficult it is. You will be taught how to launch the life raft, life raft equipment, initial actions to be taken in a life raft, how to right it, if it inflates upside down and survive the "Abandon Ship Drill"! There is no point spending lots of money on a life raft for your yacht if you do not know how to use it!

Sea Survival is an essential requirement for the Commercial Endorsement of a Coastal Skipper or Yachtmaster qualification.

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RYA Competent Crew Course

This course satisfies those who have had some boat handling experience or have never stepped into a boat before no matter what their age. The RYA Competent Crew course introduces the beginner to sailing over either 5 days or 3 weekends. During the course you will be taught elementary seamanship and become familiar with safety at sea, sail handling, rope work, steering on all points of sailing.

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RYA First Aid

The one-day RYA First Aid course is designed for small boat users who would like a qualified first aider on board. It covers not only the usual ABC's and Mouth to Mouth procedures but typical yachting injuries injuries, such as head injuries and hypothermia are also covered.

If you have not taken a course yet, it is even more essential that you learn the basics. Even in the inshore waters like the Solent it can take up to 30 minutes for the helicopter to arrive.

This course is also a prerequisite for the Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster exam.

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Day Skipper Theory

An introduction to chart work, navigation, meteorology and seamanship, the RYA Day Skipper Theory is the essential course. You will learn how to calculate tidal heights and streams and how this impacts on your course.

The RYA Day Skipper Theory course you will also teach you about how to identify the 'give way vessel’; when there is a risk of collision; 'dead reckoning' and 'estimated positions'.

Before attending the RYA Day Skipper Theory course it is essential that you have had some previous sailing experience.

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RYA 9-day Combined Day Skipper Course - The Complete Day Skipper in a Week

For the complete solution why not take the popular integrated RYA 9-day Combined Day Skipper Course - starting on Saturday morning when, for 4 days, our RYA Shore based Instructor covers the RYA Day Skipper Theory syllabus which includes seamanship, navigation, safety at sea, meteorology, passage planning and ‘Rules of the Road’. On Wednesday morning, our RYA Practical Instructor takes over and you spend the next 5 days consolidating what you have learnt, returning to harbour on the Sunday afternoon. There will be opportunities to skipper and navigate around interesting harbours, as well as work on your passage planning, weather forecasting and keeping watch.

After completing the RYA 9 day Combined course, and just using at most 5 working days holiday you could be qualified to Day Skipper level, allowing you to charter a yacht any where in the world!

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Coastal Skipper

This five day course aims to develop the skills of experienced skippers wishing to undertake more extended cruising. The course covers advanced yacht handling under sail and power, crew management, emergency situation management, offshore passage-making, weather interpretation and tidal streams, pilotage and passage planning. In short, all the techniques needed to safely skipper a yacht on coastal and off-shore passages by day or night.

15 days cruising experience required and sound coastal navigation theory and you need three hundred sea miles to enter this course and coastal skipper level theory.

This qualification is required by most discerning yacht charter companies and for those who wish to be more adventurous.

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RYA VHF (SRC) COURSE

At some point to we all have to use a VHF radio to contact a Marina for a berth for the night. You may be surprised to know that it is also a legal requirement to have a radio licence if you own a VHF set. You can qualify for this licence by attending a one-day RYA Short Range Certificate (SRC) course.

You will learn about Regulations, Marine VHF and Digital Selective Calling equipment, Emergency Radio equipment, Routine, Distress and Urgency procedures. The VHF is an essential lifeline on the boat it is vital that you know how to use it. The VHF (SRC) is a prerequisite for the Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster exam. In order to pass it is essential that you learn the phonetic alphabet before your course.

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