Coastal Skipper

Russ the Diver

Russ the Diver

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I've just finished and passed my day skipper practical and theory course. Done a week of sailing to Channel Island and northern France
However nothing is planned for the rest of the year.
I want to do my coastal skipper theory and practical next April
I feel I only just scrapped through the theory course on Day Skipper
Can anyone suggest how to get through the coastal theory course. Books to read, etc etc
Thanks
Russ
 
Russ the Diver said:
I've just finished and passed my day skipper practical and theory course. Done a week of sailing to Channel Island and northern France
However nothing is planned for the rest of the year.
I want to do my coastal skipper theory and practical next April
I feel I only just scrapped through the theory course on Day Skipper
Can anyone suggest how to get through the coastal theory course. Books to read, etc etc
Thanks
Russ
Click to expand...
You will learn more by actually going sailing
 
Russ the Diver said:
I've just finished and passed my day skipper practical and theory course. Done a week of sailing to Channel Island and northern France
However nothing is planned for the rest of the year.
I want to do my coastal skipper theory and practical next April
I feel I only just scrapped through the theory course on Day Skipper
Can anyone suggest how to get through the coastal theory course. Books to read, etc etc
Thanks
Russ
Click to expand...
People learn in different ways. The book recommended for the course covers the syllabus. Many people find night school works for them as they share their learning with others and the structured practice helps prepare for the exams. There are structured on line or correspondence courses if you are not local to a classroom. Alternatively you can take one of the residential courses offered by various sailing schools.

No one method is intrinsically better than another, although for most people practice at the questions is the key to passing.
 
I'm not sure where Russ is based, but he has just been sailing on the South Coast.

I'd still suggest an evening school this winter, but when the time comes to do further practical courses I discovered that doing it in winter is a good idea; you get the best instructors, and fellow students will be serious, not just out for a sun tan.

So Russ could get some sea time in crewing next summer to be more prepared for the next step ?
 
I am always coming across Day Skippers who have very patchy knowledge and skills; unable for example to tie a bowline reliably, or to helm downwind without accidental gybes. The experience requirement should be understood as a minimum. Go sailing as much as you can in different places with a lot of different skippers. Don't just repeat the same experience over and over.
 
Bartlett's nav book and Cunliffe's complete yachtmaster cover everything between them. Neither is complicated and once you finish them there won't be much else you need to add.
 
Another vote for go sailing. Then go sailing some more.

Seriously, by the time you get to be a really experienced competent skipper something like 1% of your learning will have been done in the classroom.

Vary your experience. Go out racing. Even quite flash racers can be keen to recruit a fit, enthusiastic learner to train as a mastman. And once you're in you can help crew on deliveries to regattas (as well as earning brownie points with the owner, you'll pick up a lot from the senior crew, who are usually more experienced that the 'skipper', doing something like that).

Find a local yacht club and volunteer to crew. Most boat owners are happy to find a new crew, but do expect cruising skippers to be a bit cautious until you get to know them. Racers are more used to taking out a stranger.

You can also look at going on holiday and doing some autumn sailing in the Med. Some of the flottila companies will put a crew together for a boat. If you're willing to splash the cash most sailing schools will take you for a weekend. Ask them to work on the bits you feel weak at, whether that is boat handling or night pilotage or whatever.

In terms of learning on your own, something like the Seaman's Guide to the Rule of the Road is brilliant for learning the ColRegs. There's nothing like going into the exam knowing you can answer anything on that part of the subject, so being able to focus on the other parts.

Which part of the theory did you find most difficult?

And by the way, I wouldn't worry about the Coastal Skipper, get good enough to do the Yachtmaster Coastal straight off, it's the same level of difficulty (they used to have the same name) but it is worth a lot more.
 
Thank you all for your views. I take on board your points about practice over the winter, I will certainly make steps to try and get some more miles under my belt.
I do live in Devon so being near the sea helps!
Russ
 
You can obviously go on to do Yachtmaster Theory without the necessity for the extra sea time that the Practical exam expects and requires. I did mine by weekly night school over the winter and found that a useful pace at which to learn, especially as the YMT is not a huge step up from DST, whereas I feel the YM Practical really is and warrants significant practical experience over and above the prep week, quite apart from the specific sea mile requirement anyway.
 
Russ the Diver said:
I've just finished and passed my day skipper practical and theory course. Done a week of sailing to Channel Island and northern France
However nothing is planned for the rest of the year.
I want to do my coastal skipper theory and practical next April
I feel I only just scrapped through the theory course on Day Skipper
Can anyone suggest how to get through the coastal theory course. Books to read, etc etc
Thanks
Russ
Click to expand...

Day skipper theory is in my opinion more than half way to the Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster theory.

Find a good evening class and go for it before you do the practical. Don't stress, a good instructor will help you through it. No point spending time you've paid for a boat sweating over theory you could do in an office.
 
Russ the Diver said:
I feel I only just scrapped through the theory course on Day Skipper
Can anyone suggest how to get through the coastal theory course. Books to read ...
Click to expand...

The RYA Shorebased Coastal Skipper course is now combined with Yachtmaster Offshore. To be perfectly honest, there isn't much more to it than the Day Skipper, a few more lights and shapes, slightly more complicated (but more logical) tide calculations. I did the course in 3 days (and got 98%), then went and played with a sextant with the instructor.

I have read at least half a dozen books on the subject, the best by far is:

Yachtmaster for Sail and Power: by Alison Noice
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1408178117/dolcetto-21
 
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