This is a live-aboard course leading to the RYA Day Skipper Practical certificate. RYA Day Skipper certificate holders are entitled to an International Certificate for Operator of Pleasure Craft (ICC) which is generally required for charter in Europe.

The week will be broken into short passages and skills and drills. You will develop your yacht handling and seamanship skills and improve your knowledge of pilotage and navigation with expert guidance from a friendly instructor.

Wherever possible you will be given the freedom to make your own decisions as skipper.  By the end of the course you will have the skills and technical knowledge to skipper a small sailing yacht with confidence.

Course dates

• 13 Jan - 17 Jan 2020, 10am - 5pm
• 20 Jan - 24 Jan 2020, 10am - 5pm
• 27 Jan - 31 Jan 2020, 10am - 5pm
• 17 Feb - 21 Feb 2020, 10am - 5pm
• 11 May - 15 May 2020, 10am - 5pm
• 20 Jul - 24 Jul 2020 (Whitsunday Islands) 10am - 5pm
• 27 Jul - 31 Jul 2020 (Whitsunday Islands) 10am - 5pm
• 3 Aug - 7 Aug 2020 (Whitsunday Islands) 10am - 5pm

Course content 

Yacht preparation and deck work 

• Engine checks, sail selection, stowage above and below decks.
• Understands how to victual a yacht
• Reef and change sails to suit prevailing conditions 
• Take charge on deck when mooring alongside, coming to a buoy, anchoring.

Navigation and pilotage

• Chartwork, taking and plotting visual fixes
• GPS position fixing, waypoints, routes.
• Logkeeping, working up DR and EP 
• Tidal heights, tidal streams, course to steer (for leeway and drift). 
• IALA buoyage, pilotage plans, transits, echo sounder, leading and clearing lines.   

Meteorology and rules of the road

• Understand sources of forecast information 
• Interpret weather forecasts and use a barometer as a forecasting aid 
• Learn the basics of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 

Engines and maintenance  

• Learn the properties and uses of common synthetic fibre ropes  
• Overview of how to change fuel and water filters, pump impeller and to bleed the fuel system 

 Emergency situations 

• Man overboard recovery, distress flares and liferafts 
• Radiotelephone distress message 
• How to secure a tow 
• Helicopter rescue 

Yacht handling and passage making 

• Steer and trim sails effectively on all points of sailing
• Steer to a compass 
• Plan and make a short coastal passage.  
• Night pilotage  
• General duties in connection with the daily routine of the vessel 

Location and sailing conditions

Sydney Harbour  

You will sail around Sydney Harbour, north to Pittwater or south to Port Hacking. We plan the itinerary on the first day to take best advantage of the weather. The sailing conditions are generally excellent. 

Whitsunday Islands 

During July and August we run a small number of courses from Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays. The scenery and anchorages are magnificent and the weather is generally excellent for sailing. You can expect to see dolphins, whales and of course Flying Fish!

The yacht and the instructor 

This course will be run on board one of our Beneteau 40.7 cruiser racer yachts by an accredited RYA/AS Instructor. You live on board with your fellow students and take part in all aspects of running the boat. 

Private charter

If you would like to book this course as a private charter for a crew of five you pay for only four places. Please register your interest above. 

What's included

Tuition, certification and logbook (if required). 

Life-jackets and safety harnesses are provided. We can loan you wet weather clothing if required. 

Accommodation 

Single sex shared cabin accommodation is provided for 4 nights. All vessels have an enclosed bathroom on board.

Catering 

We provide all meals on board from lunch on the first day to lunch on the last day.

You should expect to eat, at your own cost ashore, for one night.  

We do our best to cater for both vegetarians and meat eaters.

Qualifications 

• 150 sea miles logged
• RYA Day Skipper Practical
• ICC (subject to an admin fee)

Before you start

You have spent at least one week on a sailing yacht and are confident as a crew member under supervision.

You understand the basics of pilotage and are familiar with navigation using paper charts. 

Consider joining a Day Skipper Shorebased Theory course to learn navigation and chartwork in the classroom

We also recommend Day Skipper candidates hold a First Aid certificate and a Marine Radio Licence.