RYA Day Skipper

Has anyone out there got a Day Skipper ticket? Or know anything about the practical side of it?

I have Dayskipper Shorebased (ie the theory certificate) and am thinking about going for the practical ticket also. Any ideas what knowledge/experience it's a good idea to have beforehand? Eg is there a recommended amount of sea time I should have clocked up / practice at navigation I should get, before going for the practical ticket.

Thinking of doing it in Largs.

Any ideas?

 

I have!

I'm just finishing my Coastal Practical at the moment.

Key things are Navigation, Man overboard, pilotage, Sailing in restricted visability...Those are the main things.....


The RYA handbooks are good and there is a good book by Tom Cunliffe called coastal Skipper (it think)

 

OH and just one more thing, as long as you know your rules of the road, the rest is common sense!

 

Cheers for that, is it a good idea to get some sea miles under your belt before going on the course though? Just for the experience. Or does it not really matter?

 

If you can get some crewing in, it always helps, especially on boat handling. The other thing to remember is that mathematical navigation down to individual degrees on a compass is ok in the classroom, but you can rarely steer a boat less that within 10 degrees at sea, so you have be pragmatic about navigation...thats where the practical experience comes in.

Orders like "steer 276 degrees" may be accurate, but are impossible!

 

I passed mine recently with this lot www.trafalgarsailing.co.uk. Quiet a good set up and nice new boat.

 

I did mine at East Anglia Sea School, they have a bunch of Beneteau First 33.3s, very good school, but based in Levington near Ipswich.....i used to sail past the remains of HMS Ganges every day..(that was for the really old salts!)

www.eastanglianseaschool.com/

 

Cheers guys, looked at the RYA site and it suggests 100 miles beforehand, but I don't know if that's for complete novices or what. Done a bit of dinghy sailing before.