Course content & Syllabus

The RYA Day Skipper course will show you the difference between being crew and being the person pro-actively in charge. You will learn about preparation for sea, deck work, navigation, pilotage, meteorology, rules of the road, maintenance and repair work, engines, victualling, emergency situations, yacht handling under power, yacht handling under sail, passage making, seamanship skills, and you will sail a night time passage through shipping lanes.

RYA Day Skipper practical (tidal) 

As of January 2017, there is no non-tidal endorsement to the Day Skipper or Coastal Skipper qualification and all training centres are obliged to teach the tidal elements of this course irrespective of whether they are conducted in tidal waters or not. Everyone receives the same Day Skipper certificate, and we try, wherever possible, to practically demonstrate tidal elements of the syllabus alongside the theory during your course.

Course syllabus

• RYA Competent Crew practical course
• Pre-course Requirements: Competent Crew or similar standard
• Recommended minimum age: 12

Day Skipper Practical Course Syllabus - Tidal

1. Preparation for sea

• The Day Skipper should be able to carry out the proper preparation of a yacht prior to departure, this includes; checking the engine, selecting the appropriate sails, securely stowing all gear both on and below deck. 

2. Deck work

• A Day Skipper candidate should be proficient in sail handling and will be taught and practice how to reef, shake out reefs and change headsails to suit the conditions.
• Can effectively prepare the anchor and mooring lines prior to berthing and take charge on deck in the following situations; mooring alongside, picking up a buoy, anchoring, weighing anchor and slipping  warps when leaving a buoy or from a pontoon berth 

3. Navigation

The successful Day Skipper should be proficient in chart work and routine navigational duties on passage to the level of someone who has completed the RYA Day Skipper shore-based course  Core skills include:

• Taking visual fixes and plotting these on a chart
• The use of electronic navigation equipment for fixing your position
• Using electronic waypoints
• Working up deduced reckoning positions (DR) and developing estimated positions (EP)
• Calculating tidal heights and tidal streams
• Working out course to steer to allow for the offset of tidal streams and leeway
• A working knowledge of IALA buoyage system
• Maintaining efficient navigational records
• Use of echo sounder and lead line 

4. Pilotage

• A Day Skipper should be able to prepare and effectively use a pilotage plan for entry or departure from harbour. This includes an understanding of the use of clearing lines, leading lines, transits, soundings and other aids to pilotage

5. Meteorology

• Is aware of the common sources of weather forecasts
• Can interpret shipping forecasts and use a barometer as a forecasting aid prior to undertaking a Day Skipper passage

6. Rules of the road

• The Day Skipper should possess a working knowledge of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea

7. Maintenance and repair work

• Understands and is able to carry out basic maintenance tasks
• Knows the properties of common synthetic ropes and understands their use on board a yacht

8. Engines

• Understands the importance of checking and knows how to change water filters, fuel filters, cooling pump impeller, alternator belts and to bleed the fuel system

9. Food

• Understands how to provision a yacht, often called victualling

10. Emergency Situations

• An effective Day Skipper should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the correct action to be taken as skipper for recovery of a person overboard
• Understands distress signals and flares and knows how to use a liferaft
• Can operate a VHF radio in an emergency, send a digital distress alert by DSC and transmit a Mayday call
• Understands how to effectively secure a tow
• Has an understanding of the procedures employed by rescue vessels and helicopters, including hi-line rescue techniques

11. Yacht handling under power

• Can safely bring a boat to and from an alongside berth, mooring buoy and anchor under various conditions of wind and tide

12. Yacht handling under sail

• An RYA Day Skipper should understand how to bring a boat safely to and from a mooring buoy and anchor under various conditions of wind and tide under sail
• Can trim sails and steer a yacht effectively on all points of sail 

13. Passage making

• Can effectively plan and undertake a coastal passage, taking into account all relevant navigational hazards and understands the limitations imposed by the type of boat and the strength of the crew