RYA Day Skipper Practical Sailing Course
Make the transition from crew to skipper by developing the practical skills and confidence to take command of your own yacht with the RYA Day Skipper course.
Course Description
Once you’ve completed the course, you’ll be able to safely take charge of a 30-45ft sail cruising yacht and its crew on day trips in familiar waters.
The Day Skipper qualification is also valuable for showing charter companies that you have enough knowledge and practical experience to take their boats out safely, and enables you to, without any further training, apply for an ICC (International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft) to go cruising abroad.
During the course you’ll live onboard a sail cruising yacht with your crewmates and RYA instructor. You will cover pilotage, practical navigation, seamanship and boat handling under both power and sail.
The course is very hands-on, and we recommend that students complete the RYA Day Skipper Theory course before your practical course so you can put these skills into practice on the water.
Course Overview
Course length: 5 days, typically 2 weekends: Friday afternnon the Sunday evening.
Course format: This course is live aboard on water.
Required experience: Basic sailing ability. 5 days, 100 miles and 4 night hours onboard a sailing yacht. Navigation and theory knowledge, such as Day Skipper Theory, provides you with a good foundation knowledge
Minimum age: 16
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Preparation for sea
Deck work
Navigation
Pilotage
Meteorology
Rules of the road
Maintenance and repair work
Engines
Victualling
Emergency situations
Handling under power
Handling under sail
Passage-making
Night cruising
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If you need a Day Skipper certificate in order to work on board a commercial craft subject to the MCA's codes of practice, you will need to get it commercially endorsed. You can then work on commercial vessels up to 24m in length, operating in category 5 and 6 waters - that is up to 20 miles from a nominated departure point in fine weather and daylight.
Please note
If you will be working in category 5 waters, you will need to hold both the shorebased and practical Day Skipper certificates, and get them commercially endorsed.
If you hold a non-tidal Day Skipper certificate and want to work in category 6 waters, you will also need to hold the Day Skipper shorebased certificate.
Find out more about working on British flagged vessels and the categorisation of waters.
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Please see our course calendar for where and when we are running this course, view availability and secure your place through our booking system. Alternatively, you can call us on 1300 944 974 and make your booking by phone. If your chosen course is not running at the base or at the time you want, or for group bookings, please email us.