Course Outline
The day skipper practical course will consolidate your sailing and deckwork skills and prepare you be the skipper of a yacht and crew. You will learn how to handle a yacht under power and sail, including manoeuvres at sea and in harbour, berthing, anchoring and man overboard recovery. You will learn real practical navigational and pilotage skills which work at sea. You will learn about weather, tides, rules of the road and how to plan and execute a simple passage. Most of all we will help you to develop confidence in taking charge of a yacht. On residential courses you will live aboard the boat with the instructor and 3 or 4 other students/crew. Each day will involve a mixture of short passages from port to port and intensive exercises. We will be in harbour or anchorage every night but you should also get a few hours experience of night sailing. There is no formal examination at the end of a day skipper practical course but your progress will be assessed and your instructor will discuss this with you during the course. If at the end of the course you achieve the required standard (most people do), you will be awarded the RYA Course Completion Certificate (Photo ID Cert). The courses are always great fun. All meals are provided aboard but there will be opportunities to go ashore during some evenings.
Course Details
The RYA Day Skipper practical course requires five days practical sailing and the successful completion of Day Skipper theory.
The practical sailing can be completed with a combination of two and three day Practical Sailing weekends or during a five day Practical Sailing course.
- 5 Day Course (0900 Monday to 1600 Friday). Price £699 – £759
- 3 X 2-day weekends (2000 Friday to 1600 Sunday). Price £329 – £379 per weekend
- 1 X 2-day weekend and 1 X 3 day weekend (0900 Saturday to 1600 Monday)
Price £329– £379 for 2 days. £479– £503 for 3-day
Shared or sole occupancy available to book. Yachts may stay away from base overnight.
All meals are provided from lunch on Day 1 to lunch on Day 5.
Weekend courses will start at 2000 on a Friday evening for crew briefing and an earlier start on a Saturday morning. Dinner on Friday is not included.
Essential Prior Knowledge/Experience: RYA Competent Crew Course and RYA Day Skipper Theory course or equivalent knowledge or experience. 5 days, 100 miles, 4 night hours on board a sailing yacht.
Student / Instructor Ratio: Maximum 5:1 / Minimum 3:1
Minimum age: 16 years old, children under the age of 18 would require a parent or guardian to attend the course with them.
