RYA Day Skipper Practical Course Syllabus
The RYA Day Skipper Sailing Course is taught on board a sail cruising yacht of 7-15 metres length of waterline (LWL).
You will learn to apply the pilotage, navigation and seamanship skills you have, which needs to be at the level of the RYA Day Skipper Sailing Theory, and boat handling skills up to the standard required to skipper a small cruising yacht safely by day in waters with which you are familiar.
Knowledge
- Day Skipper Theory
- 5 days at sea
- 100 sea miles – actively taking part in sailing a yacht
- 4 night hours
The course can be taken with us
- 5 days in duration taken consecutively
Day Skipper Practical Course Syllabus
1. Preparation for sea
Knowledge of
- Basic stability and buoyancy for small vessels
Can
- Prepare a cruising vessel for sea, including engine checks, securing and stowage of all gear on deck and below
- Selection of sails
2. Deck work
Can
- 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
- Reef, shake out reefs and change sails to suit prevailing conditions
3. Navigation
Is proficient in chart work and routine navigational duties on passage including:
Knowledge of
- The uses and limitations of AIS
Understands
- Working up Dead Reckoning (DR) and Estimated Position (EP)
- Use of a lead line or similar
- How to work out a course to steer to allow for tidal stream, leeway and drift
Can
- Take and plot visual fixes
- Use electronic navigation equipment for position fixing
- Use secondary means of position fixing
- Estimate tidal streams and tidal heights
- Use of waypoints and routes
- Use knowledge of IALA Buoyage
- Maintain navigational records
- Use an echo sounder
4. Pilotage
Can
- Prepare and execute a pilotage plan for entry into, or departure from, harbour
- Use leading and clearing lines
- Use transits and soundings as aids to pilotage
5. Meteorology
Understands
- How to interpret shipping forecasts and use a barometer as a forecasting aid
Can
- Source forecast information
6. Rule of the Road
Can
- Demonstrate suitable awareness of other water users both at sea and in close-quarter manoeuvring
- Demonstrate a practical understanding of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
7. Maintenance and repair work
Knowledge of
- The properties and uses of common synthetic fibre ropes
Understands
- Maintenance tasks and is able to carry them out
8. Engines
Has a working knowledge of the prevention of common engine faults and is competent in the following areas:
Understands
- The need for periodic maintenance checks on engines and electrical installations
- Requirements for tool kits, spares and lubricants
- The location of filters and bleed points for fuel
- The tension of drive belts and how to adjust or replace them.
Can
- Carry out checks before starting, while running and after stopping
- Clean water filters and knows the location of impellors
- Estimate fuel consumption at various speeds and knows the effects of fouling
- Basic troubleshooting
9. Victualling
Understands
- How to victual a cruising yacht appropriately for the planned passage
10. Emergency situations
Understands
- How to issue distress signals by all available means, including distress flares and a VHF radio in an emergency
- How to use a life raft
- How to secure a tow
- Rescue procedures including helicopter rescue
- The effects of cold water shock on a casualty in the water
- The aftercare requirements of a casualty who has been in the water
Can
- Carry out the correct action as skipper for the recovery of a man overboard
11. Handling under Power
Knowledge of
- Effects of waves on boat handling and crew comfort
Understands
- Differing styles of hull and propulsion systems
- How to moor and leave a bow/stern to mooring (practical experience where possible)
- How to identify and take into account wind and current conditions when planning and executing manoeuvres (practical experience where possible)
Can
- Carry out the following manoeuvres under power :
- Steer a straight course
- Turn in a confined space
- Anchor at a pre-determined position
- Berth alongside
- Leave an alongside berth
- Pick up a mooring buoy
12. Yacht handling under sail
Understands
- The characteristics of different types of keels
- How to identify and take into account wind and current conditions when planning and executing manoeuvres and choosing appropriate sail plan (practical experience where possible)
Can
- Bring a boat safely to and from a mooring buoy
- Anchor
- Steer and trim sails effectively on all points of sailing
13. Passage making
Knowledge of
- Marina Locks
Understands
- The practical benefits and limitations of a chart plotter or GNSS
Can
- Plan and make a coastal passage, taking account of relevant navigational hazards and limitations imposed by the type of boat and the strength of the crew
14. Night cruising
Knowledge of
- Has experience of sailing at night, including leaving and entering a harbour
Understands
- Special considerations for pilotage plans, keeping a lookout and identifying marks by night