RYA Theory and Navigation courses are delivered in partnership with Nav-school.com. Nav-school.com is a revolutionary online e-learning platform with engaging visual learning content and uses the very latest online teaching techniques and technology. The courses are clear, fun and highly effective.
When it comes to safely skippering a yacht or motor boat, or being a competent crew member, the practical elements of sailing are only part of the picture. Understanding the weather, navigation, safety – they are all crucial skills that any skipper should take very seriously. The Day Skipper Online Theory Course is designed to perfectly compliment both the RYA Competent Crew and Day Skipper practical courses. It includes 40 hours of online tuition, designed to give you the knowledge you need to sail safely in UK waters.
A comprehensive introduction to chartwork, navigation, meteorology and the basics of seamanship. You will find this course invaluable if you want to learn how to start making decisions on board. This course equips you with enough knowledge to navigate around familiar waters by day. A basic knowledge of lights is also included to introduce you to night cruising.
Sample Course Material
Our Unique Course Material
There are lots of RYA Training Centres out there offering the Day Skipper Theory Course online. You’d be forgiven for thinking that all of these course were the same – but they are not. Sure, they all need to cover the same syllabus.
Here at Pembrokeshire Cruising & Nav-School.com we have created, along with the RYA Assessors, an interactive and engaging course using video animations to illustrate each and every point of the syllabus. We’ve gone to great lengths to ensure that our videos are the most effective way for our students to learn the skills this course is designed to provide. In our opinion, when you are learning practical skills such as nautical navigation, weather and collision regulations, the learning material is really important. This is why we have created interactive,
engaging videos to illustrate each and every point in the syllabus. Our videos make the course material easy to digest, clear and enjoyable.
You are also supported through the course with a designated Yachtmaster Instructor from our team. Our students
currently have a 100% pass rate!
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The Day Skipper Theory Syllabus
The Day Skipper theory course is designed to give students all the skills they need to skipper a yacht or motor boat in familiar coastal waters by either day or night. The specific subjects that it focuses on are as follows:
- The basics of seamanship
- The essentials of coastal navigation and pilotage
- Chartwork
- Electronic charts
- Position fixing
- Plotting a course to steer
- Weather forecasting and meteorology
- Tides
- Collision regulations
- Construction, parts and equipment of a cruising boat
- Emergency and safety procedures including distress calls, use of flares,
safety harnesses, lifejackets and life rafts
Who Should Take the Day Skipper Theory Course?
The Day Skipper theory course is designed for those who want to take to the UK waters in safety and with confidence. Perhaps you’d like to charter a yacht one day? Maybe you’d like to progress through the other RYA qualifications? Or maybe, you are happy just crewing on yachts and motor boats owned by your friends and family, but would like to have a clearer idea of what’s going on. In any of these cases, the Day Skipper theory course is perfect for you.
The Day Skipper theory course is most popular with those wanting to complete their Day Skipper practical qualification or International Certificate of Competence (a requirement to charter yachts overseas). If this is a route you’d like to take then we would certainly recommend you complete the theory course before embarking on the practical qualification. We find that this approach almost always produces much stronger sailors and skippers than those who don’t sit the theory course prior to their practical assessment.
Not interested in skippering yachts or motor boats? Don’t worry, this course isn’t just for Skippers. If you’ve done a little sailing in the past, but would like to gain a strong grasp of weather and navigation, this course can really help to increase the enjoyment you get out on the water. We find that the more confident our students are with the theoretical elements of sailing and motor boating, the more they enjoy the practical side of sailing and motor boats.
So, put simply, this course is for anyone who wants to maximise their enjoyment of being on the water!
How Long Does the Course Take to Complete?
There’s no set answer to this. The beauty of it being an online course is that you can complete it at your own pace, at a time that suits you. Our Day Skipper Theory Course takes approximately 40 hours to complete. This can be completed within an intense fortnight, or a leisurely couple of months. We don’t mind, we just want you to complete it at a rate that suits you.