RYA Coastal Skipper Practical

Course length

5 days

Pre-requisite experience

At least 15 days aboard a sailing yacht, including 2 as skipper, plus 300 miles logged at sea and at least 8 night hours on watch. (Please note that this course will not give you the required experience to undertake the RYA Coastal Skipper Exam)

RYA Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster theory and RYA Diesel Engine Maintenance recommended.

Course overview

A more advanced course intended to develop and extend existing sailing, navigation skills to the level necessary to skipper yachts on coastal passages by day and night.

The course focuses on the practicalities of passage planning, pilotage and navigation (including at night), as well as command skills, manoeuvring under power and sail, and handling adverse weather and emergency situations. For those with the relevant pre requisite experience this is the ideal course to help you prepare for the RYA Coastal Skipper preparation course and practical examination.

RYA Coastal Skipper course syllabus

Passage planning

• Can plan a coastal passage including a consideration of the capability of the yacht, navigation, victualling, weather, ports of refuge, tidal heights and tidal streams, publications required and strategy
• Understand custom procedures

Preparation for sea

• Awareness of safety equipment required for offshore passages
• Can prepare a yacht for sea including stowage, safety briefing, watch keeping, delegating responsibilities and equipment and engine checks

Pilotage

• Can prepare a Pilotage plan, with consideration of soundings, transits, clearing bearings, buoyage, port or harbour regulations and tidal considerations
• Can pilot a yacht by day or night

Passage making and ability as a skipper

• Can take charge of a yacht and direct the crew
• Can organise the navigation, deckwork and domestic duties of a yacht on passage
• Awareness of the significance of meteorological trends
• Awareness of crew welfare on passage
• Can use electronic navigational equipment for planning and undertaking a passage, including the use of waypoints and routes

Yacht handling under power

• Can control the yacht effectively in a confined space
• Anchoring and mooring in various conditions of wind and tide
• Can sail efficiently on all points of sail

Adverse weather conditions

• Preparation for heavy weather and yacht handling in strong winds
• Navigation and general conduct in restricted visibility

Emergency situations

• Recovery of man overboard under power and sail
• Understand the action to be taken when abandoning to the liferaft and during helicopter and lifeboat rescues