RYA Day Skipper Theory
Booking details
Please select your preferred start date below.
Please select your preferred start date below.
Joining Instructions: Please click here for course joining instructions
Recommended Reading: RYA Day Skipper Handbook Sail (G71), RYA Yacht Sailing Techniques (G94), RYA Yachtmaster scheme and syllabus (G158)
Course Prerequisites: Some sailing experience is helpful, although not essential
Maximum Student Numbers: We run this course with a maximum of 6 students, so you get lots of instructor time, unlike some other centres who run up to 12 at a time.
Minimum Age: No minimum but Under 16’s must be accompanied by adult. Persons aged 16+ can be unaccompanied subject to other pre-requisites having been met
Holiday Insurance: We would advise ALL our customers to ensure they have suitable holiday insurance in-place. Yachtsman’s insurance is available from a variety of souces like Topsail Insurance and can cover things like cancellations and personal effects cover.
This course will enable students to safely plan and undertake day passages in familiar waters, understand navigational lights and buoys, with a theoretical introduction to making a night passage, returning to a port of safe haven. This is the gateway theory course to chartering yachts anywhere in the UK and the world. With the skills learnt on the course you will have a good, solid grounding ready to start your adventures.
The RYA Day Skipper Theory course is designed for anyone who has a basic sailing knowledge who wants to undertake further training in order to become a safe and competent Skipper. Successful completion of this course and the RYA Day Skipper Practical course qualifies students for their International Certificate of Competence (ICC), allowing them to confidently plan and complete passages in familiar waters and charter yachts in the UK and abroad.
As a guide we would recommend an absolute minimum of five days (or 100 nautical miles) of tidal waters yacht sailing experience as an active crew member. This requirement is usually obtained by taking the RYA Competent Crew course. However, If you are short of a few days experience then why not try one of our sailing mile builders!
We sometimes find that students with less than this level of experience struggle to pass and complete the RYA Day Skipper Theory course.
The course covers the basics of seamanship, nautical terms, rope-work, anchor-work, the essentials of coastal navigation and pilotage, chart-work, and publications for navigation, electronic charts, position fixing, plotting a course to steer, dead reckoning and estimating your position, weather forecasting and meteorology, tides, collision regulations, day shapes and lights, construction, parts and equipment of a cruising boat, stability and boat characteristics, emergency and safety procedures including distress calls, use of flares, safety harnesses, lifejackets and liferafts.
Please be aware that RYA Day Skipper Courses completed in the Solent and other tidal waters are demanding. This course is held in high regard with yacht charter companies worldwide due to the challenging waters, winds, tides and busy waterways you will encounter. Courses run in the non-tidal waters of the Mediterranean are generally not accepted by the UK yacht charter industry. Our Day Skipper course also qualifies you for the International Certificate of Competence (ICC).
Courses run over a choice of three formats:
At additional cost we can provide a bunk-only aboard one of our Fleet yachts, which is cheaper than any local hotels.
This is on a bunk-only basis and does not include any meals, however there is unlimited tea and coffee on the course, plus you can use the yacht facilities for cooking food.
Sailing is always about the journey, an adventure you embark upon every time you set sail!
The RYA Day Skipper Theory course is one of the best introductions to navigation that a budding Skipper can get. This course will give you a good working knowledge of how to pilot a boat from port to port. It’s a perfect starting point to give you the best foundation, enabling you to continue your sailing career all the way through to a professional Skipper.
To make the most out of your time on the course with us my advice is to make sure you have the right experience before doing the course. You should have the basic skill sets of being able to identify all the parts of a sailing yacht, know how a compass works and ideally have some practical sailing experience. We always recommend that the student does some advance reading of books included in our “recommended reading” list at the top of the page.
It’s generally a good idea to bring along a selection of pencils, sharpener, eraser, calculator and ruler, as there is a lot to write down and good notes taken during the day are worth their weight in gold! Make sure those pencils are well-sharpened! It’s also well worth buying your own Plotter and Dividers before the course, or on the day (We have plenty in stock at all times!).
We give our students a little bit of homework each night to ensure they’ve grasped what was taught during the day. It all helps soak up the incredible amount of information and knowledge you’ll learn on this course, which is held
from 9am to 5pm each day with one of our brilliant Yachtmaster Instructors.
Our course fee includes all the equipment and tools needed to successfully complete the RYA Day Skipper Theory course, with no extras needed (use of our plotters and dividers is included). Also included within the course fee is the RYA Day Skipper Shorebased Notes book.
We also offer our Complete RYA Day Skipper Combination Package which includes both the theory and practical courses. This will take you from having a little sailing experience through to passing your RYA Day Skipper first time round if you follow the instructors advice.
Please select your preferred start date below.
The RYA Day Skipper Course runs over five days and brings students with at least the RYA Competent Crew qualification and some sailing experience, up to skipper level.
Take a look at our live day skipper practical course calendar for dates for the RYA Day Skipper Practical course!
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The RYA Coastal Skipper Practical course is the next progressive step from being a qualified RYA Day skipper. With more advanced sailing skills and valuable navigational techniques being taught along with the planning and executing of much longer passages, it’s the next natural step-up from the RYA Day Skipper course, giving you more valuable confidence in planning those all-essential Channel crossings.
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the RYA Coastal Skipper Practical course taking place at Gosport Marina.
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Our Mile Building Weekends are the perfect way to build-up your sea miles and gain valuable experience and knowledge at the helm as Skipper or as crew under the watchful eye of one of our expert Instructors. With longer, more involved & exciting passages, sometimes including night sailing, it’s an adventure outside the confines of the Solent and a great way to gain confidence in the waters around the South Coast.
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the Mile Building Weekend!
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A fantastic weekend of sailing, almost 130 NM in all, with a relaxed, but fully engaging skipper. Great set up and brilliant on the admin. Thanks Stef, Tom et al!
Nick BI did a weeks coastal skipper course getting ready for my yacht master and I have to say it was one of the best training weeks I’ve had - our training instructor was superb, exactly the sort of person that you want. He could inspire, provide discipline and impart knowledge as well as let you learn through your own mistakes. Tom and Steph run an excellent operation there and I highly recommend it. They’re flexible and very helpful when it comes to your journey into being a qualified sailor.
Nigel Frith