This RYA course gives you all the theory you’ll need to sail a small yacht by day in both tidal and non-tidal waters. There is no difference in the certificate obtained in non-tidal waters such as the Mediterranean. Your RYA certificate will be valid world-wide and so it is essential that you adequately cover tidal theory.
If you’re looking for an online way to study theory, we recommend the RYA Day Skipper Shorebased course provided by Navathome, a RYA centre who specialise in online and distance learning. You can either book directly with Navathome or, if you would prefer to make a single payment for your courses, we can include the Navathome course in your booking with us and enrol you in their course on your behalf. Your contract for the online course will be with Navathome, not us. You can see their Terms & Conditions here.
Navathome will send your course pack and navigation instruments and will be responsible for delivering the course and giving support.
Please note that this is a 40 to 50 hours course. Before enrolling in the course please ensure you will have the time and discipline to complete it.
If you have already completed an Essential Navigation and Seamanship course, you can proceed to a Day Skipper Shorebase theory level.
Seamanship:– includes parts of the boat, types of warp, knots, chain, anchoring, tying up, preparation for sea and port or starboard tack.
Introduction to chart work:– chart Familiarisation, points of the compass, latitude and longitude, position of an object, using a Portland type plotter, finding position on a chart.
Tidal heights and streams:– what causes tides, terminology, tidal height calculations, using tide tables, using the tidal curve, introduction to secondary ports, tidal streams using tidal diamonds and the tidal stream atlas.
Position fixing:– compass variation, compass deviation, position fixing using various methods, dead reckoning and estimated position.
Course to steer:– How to plot a course to steer taking into account tidal flow and leeway, how to maintain an accurate ground track.
GPS:– Abbreviations and terminology, how to use a GPS, raster and vector charts and updating charts.
Buoyage and pilotage:– Available information, identification of buoys and their lights and shapes, using forward and back bearings, using tidal graphs.
Safety:– Safety briefs, mayday and rescue, life jackets, abandon ship, actions in fog and radar reflectors.
Meteorology:– Weather forecasts, weather systems, global effects, local effects, highs and lows and sources of weather information.
Passage planning:– Puts everything together to form a plan for a safe passage taking into account pilotage for entering and leaving marinas and tides, conditions and wind direction for the main passage.
Collision regulations:– General regulations, lights, shapes, sound signals, collision avoidance, stand on and give way.
Passage making:– Making a longer passage taking into account tidal heights, streams, port entry and exit, weather, ports of refuge, waypoints, crew management and supplies.
To enable access to your online course we need to share some of your personal data with Navathome via www.navathome.com. This training website and database is held and maintained on a secure server. Navathome is an RYA training centre which specialises in online navigation training and will not use your personal information for any reason other than enabling your course.
Read what some of our sailing students have to say, explore our course catalogue, and contact us for more information about each course and our availabilities to come and sail in Greece!