Day Skipper Practical - 5 days
This comprehensive skills development course leads 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 a European yacht charter.
Description
The week will be broken into short passages, coaching exercises, 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.
You will be free to make your own decisions as skipper wherever possible. By the end of the course, you will have the skills and technical knowledge to skipper a small sailing yacht with confidence.
Course content
Yacht preparation and deck work
- Engine checks, sail selection, and 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.
- Log keeping, 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 standard synthetic fibre ropes
- Overview of how to change fuel and water filters, pump, impeller, and bleed the fuel system
Emergencies
- 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
Locations and sailing conditions
You will sail around Sydney Harbour, which provides a fabulous training ground at this level. We plan the detailed itinerary on the first day to take the best advantage of the weather.
The sailing conditions are generally excellent, alternating between warm 'Nor-easter' sea breezes and cool, fresh Southerlies.
During July and August, we run a number of courses in the Whitsunday Islands, where the scenery and anchorages are magnificent, and the weather is superb, with tropical trade winds sailing the order of the day.
You can expect to see dolphins, whales and of course Flying Fish!
The yacht and the instructor
This course will be run onboard one of our Beneteau 40.7 cruiser-racer yachts by an accredited AMSA-approved RYA Instructor. You and your fellow students participate in all aspects of running the boat.
Private course - save money
If you want to book this course as a private charter for your group you pay for only four places and can bring up to five participants.
Use the private course enquiry link at the top of this page.
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.
- If your knowledge of marine safety and navigation is rudimentary, we recommend you consider joining a Day Skipper Shore-based Theory course for a comprehensive introduction. Or complete Essential Navigation and Seamanship online to cover the basics.
What's included
- Tuition, logbook, pre-course reading.
- Life jackets and safety harnesses are provided, and we can loan you wet weather clothing if required.
- All vessels have an enclosed bathroom on board.
- Please bring your own lunch and snacks.
- We provide tea, coffee and water.
Qualifications and experience
- 150 sea miles logged
- RYA Day Skipper Practical certificate
- On successful completion of the RYA Day Skipper Practical, you will be able to apply for the International Certificate for Operator of Pleasure Craft (ICC) from the RYA for a cost of approximately UK 50 pounds. You will then be able to Skipper/Charter vessels in the Mediterranean and other countries worldwide.
What next?
- We recommend anyone operating as a Day Skipper should also hold a First Aid certificate and a Marine Radio Licence
- Your next Flying Fish course should be RYA Coastal Skipper and RYA Yachtmaster Shore-based Theory.
Testimonials
- William Jamieson - Sydney, Australia
- RYA Day Skipper Practical
- "My wife and I had an absolutely amazing experience with Mathew on Let Loose. His kindness, patience and teaching methods helped us build the confidence we needed to tackle our next adventure - bareboat skippering in Gippsland in a few weeks time. We’ve worked with several RYA instructors, but we founds Mathew’s gift for teaching beyond compare. Thank you so much. We will be back!"
- Rob Scott - Queensland, Australia
- RYA Day Skipper Practical
- "I cannot speak highly enough of the RYA Day Skipper course Flying Fish offers. The combination of expert instruction, practical hands-on experience, a world-class boat, and a stunning environment made this a truly unforgettable experience. I am confident about taking on the responsibilities of a Day Skipper, and I owe it all to Jim and your fantastic team. Thank you once again for providing such an outstanding course. I look forward to levelling up with the Day Skipper to Yachtmaster Fast Track soon."
- Lyndsay Barnes - UK
- Yachtmaster Offshore Fast Track
- “ Joining the Flying Fish Yachtmaster programme was one of the best decisions I ever made, My new office is floating on Sydney Harbour. If you’re considering doing the course, sign up now and don’t give it a second thought. But be warned, it could change your life ”