Day Skipper Practical in the med

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hutt

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Hello,

I'm looking to complete my Day Skipper Practical sometime next year and then keep the boat after and fly the family out for another weeks fun. Budget is the issue, so somewhere cheap, but warm and nice. I'm a keen spear fisherman so if I can do that on the side all the better! Croatia?

Many thanks for your recommendations.
 
We looked at doing it in the Med but ditched the idea when we realised it wasn't tidal (except for Gibraltar?). Would have been lovely.
Settled for murky Gosport instead :)
 
SiteSurfer said:
We looked at doing it in the Med but ditched the idea when we realised it wasn't tidal (except for Gibraltar?). Would have been lovely.
Settled for murky Gosport instead :)
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you can do tidal by turning right out of gib, but it only gets you the ticket not real experience. The solent is one of the very best places to train, so much variety within a day sail. (even gosport :)) the med is obviously non tidal throughout.
 
hutt said:
Hello,

I'm looking to complete my Day Skipper Practical sometime next year and then keep the boat after and fly the family out for another weeks fun. Budget is the issue, so somewhere cheap, but warm and nice. I'm a keen spear fisherman so if I can do that on the side all the better! Croatia?

Many thanks for your recommendations.
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You need a licence for any fishing in Croatia but whether that covers spear fishing I don't know. In 8 years I can't recall seeing anyone spear fishing so perhaps that needs a special licence?

Croatia is indeed non-tidal although I suppose you can do a non-tidal Day Skipper? You can certainly do a non-tidal ICC.

Richard
 
Richard10002 said:
Do it on The Algarve. I did Yachtmaster, and SWMBO did Competent Crew with Rob and Jules at www.rusailing.com in Lagos, and they were truly a delight to be with.
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Nice area but small tides and not challenging to prepare for sailing UK waters. Fishing licenses required and some areas require specific licence from police for snorkeling and scuba, which may be refused. Gib would be more challenging and plenty of dive sites, see http://www.gibraltarsailingschool.com/
 
GrahamM376 said:
Nice area but small tides and not challenging to prepare for sailing UK waters. Fishing licenses required and some areas require specific licence from police for snorkeling and scuba, which may be refused. Gib would be more challenging and plenty of dive sites, see http://www.gibraltarsailingschool.com/
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I suppose it depends why you are doing the course? I prepare for sailing in Scotland by sailing in Scotland on my and other people's boats! So the course in the Algarve was purely technical and boat handling.

I think the courses are a bit different for people who own boats as opposed to people who are using the courses for most of their sailing experience??

It also meant that I could do the course in February in the sun!!
 
I have heard the experts at the RYA believe the Mediterranean has no tides.
Hmmm. If the RYA is correct. Why does that square in Venice flood at high water?
 
Uricanejack said:
I have heard the experts at the RYA believe the Mediterranean has no tides.
Hmmm. If the RYA is correct. Why does that square in Venice flood at high water?
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Tides are there, but small. Venice, often the flooding is caused by a combination of low pressure and winds pushing water up the Adriatic.

There are currents, and the damn things don't turn around after six hours and go the other way.
 
roblpm said:
I suppose it depends why you are doing the course? I prepare for sailing in Scotland by sailing in Scotland on my and other people's boats! So the course in the Algarve was purely technical and boat handling.

I think the courses are a bit different for people who own boats as opposed to people who are using the courses for most of their sailing experience??

It also meant that I could do the course in February in the sun!!
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Agree. You were doing coastal skipper so obviously had prior experience whereas the OP is looking to complete day skipper so presumably has little experience and may wish to sail UK waters which are very different to out here where a big spring tide is only about 3 metres range with small currents.
 
Uricanejack said:
I have heard the experts at the RYA believe the Mediterranean has no tides.
Hmmm. If the RYA is correct. Why does that square in Venice flood at high water?
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It is not the "experts at the RYA" but reflecting reality The vast majority of the Med inside the Straits is effectively non tidal although there are localised currents between islands such as the straits between Sicily and mainland Italy and localised small changes in water level, usually as Ken says the result of pressure changes and wind direction. However, no predictable tidal flows and level changes that are found around the northern European coasts. Navigation is by line of sight or compass course and all ports have effectively constant depth. So no need to know how to calculate the effect of tide on the boat nor the depths for anchoring or entering ports, which is a big part of learning how to sail safely in the UK.
 
GrahamM376 said:
Nice area but small tides and not challenging to prepare for sailing UK waters. Fishing licenses required and some areas require specific licence from police for snorkeling and scuba, which may be refused. Gib would be more challenging and plenty of dive sites, see http://www.gibraltarsailingschool.com/
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The OP was talking about doing it somewhere warm, and is considering The Med, in conjunction with a family holiday. If he did it in The Med his ticket would not be tidal, and therefore not valid in UK waters. If he does it on The Algarve, or even GiB as you suggest, he will be able to achieve what he wants, and get a tidal ticket.

I actually like the fact that there were tides to test the principles, but they weren't so severe as to be fearsome, or off putting.

Plenty of tide on the river to Portimao to experience ferry gliding, and plenty of tide in the entrance to Alvor to experience swinging at anchor to the tide over lunch.

I'd say it was a good place to do Day Skipper, and I can confirm that, even after 30 years of sailing the tidal waters of The Irish Sea, I learned more doing Yachtmaster than I could have ever expected, including a lot that I might not have been doing wrong, but which could be done better.
 
If you want to sail or charter in the Med, I'd suggest a Day Skipper Non-Tidal Practical course is far better preparation than a tidal course in the Solent.

You need to learn to navigate without loads of navigational aids, to work out course to steer by monitoring the effect of non-predictable surface currents rather than tides, and above all to master anchoring and the technique of Med mooring. In the Med you'll probably use your anchor twice daily in two quite different ways so you need to be really proficient. You'll find the appropriate skills covered more fully in a Med sailing school than in the UK or Algarve.

If you intend only to sail in non-tidal waters in the near future, learn there. Then you can do your tidal theory and a 2-day tidal practical update if you want to sail somewhere with tides later on.

By the way, as I understand it, the Med is classed as non-tidal because the average range is less than half a metre but there are a couple of places where it is slightly more. Venice is one of them and there's a bay in North Africa (I think it's in Tunisia) that also has a bigger range.

Can't tell you about Croatia but you can spear-fish in Greece without a licence as long as you aren't using air. We don't offer cheap courses (we aim for quality rather than low prices) but there are several schools here that do, and you can often take 2 weeks with a bareboat charter the second week. PM me if you want suggestions for a couple of places to try. Everywhere in Greece is pretty booked up now so if you want to come this year you may need to try several places to find availability.

You will need sufficient previous experience (such as an RYA Competebt Crew course) and theoretical knowledge before taking your Day Skipper Practical but, assuming you have them, go ahead and learn in the sunshine!
 
Twister_Ken said:
Tides are there, but small. Venice, often the flooding is caused by a combination of low pressure and winds pushing water up the Adriatic.

There are currents, and the damn things don't turn around after six hours and go the other way.
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3.9 ft or just over a meter for largest astronomical tide according to what I looked up. The problem for Venice exacerbated by the effects of low pressure systems and a SE wind.
Today's tide was 2.9ft close to the 80 cm level above which flooding can occur. Apparently St Marcs square is one of the lowest parts of the city.
 
Richard10002 said:
The OP was talking about doing it somewhere warm, and is considering The Med, in conjunction with a family holiday. If he did it in The Med his ticket would not be tidal, and therefore not valid in UK waters. If he does it on The Algarve, or even GiB as you suggest, he will be able to achieve what he wants, and get a tidal ticket.

I actually like the fact that there were tides to test the principles, but they weren't so severe as to be fearsome, or off putting.

Plenty of tide on the river to Portimao to experience ferry gliding, and plenty of tide in the entrance to Alvor to experience swinging at anchor to the tide over lunch.

I'd say it was a good place to do Day Skipper, and I can confirm that, even after 30 years of sailing the tidal waters of The Irish Sea, I learned more doing Yachtmaster than I could have ever expected, including a lot that I might not have been doing wrong, but which could be done better.
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Not valid? Surly as a volunteer qualification done for ones own interest and benefit the question of validity is irrelevant. While I do agree not being taught about tides is a significant missing step. its only one part which can be picked up later.
If you want to do your sailing course in the Med, go do it in the Med.
 
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Uricanejack said:
Not valid? Surly as a volunteer qualification done for ones own interest and benefit the question of validity is irrelevant. While I do agree not being taught about tides is a significant missing step. its only one part which can be picked up later.
If you want to do your sailing course in the Med, go do it in the Med.
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Some charter companies in tidal waters want a tidal qualification so the Med course certificate no good in those cases.
 
Some might. I have seen lots of posts about requirements by charter companies and the ICC. If you join the RYA you get a Free ICC with your Day Skipper or if not you just pay the fee. Will the RYA still grant an ICC to a MED day skipper?
Even so. It would appear the requirement for an ICC is to comply with local regulations. Only some countries require them. In countries which don't require an ICC, to charter, a sailing resume with no formal courses or qualifications is often enough.
I suppose there may be some companies which insist you must have a Day Skipper or Higher who may choose not to accept a non tidal Day Skipper. Or they might just insist on showing you how to use a tide tables and current atlas before letting you sail away.
Just out of curiosity I did an online sailing CV for Sunsail and falsely claimed to have a non tidal day skipper. Day Skipper Theory with a total of 20 days skippering and crewing in non tidal waters. mono hull only no racing.
Apparently I am an expert (least I would be if I actually had a non tidal DS.) and there would be no limits on where I could charter.
There site does specifically mention the ICC or DS for some countries. So I expect you would need one. It appears a MED no tidal DS is just fine and dandy to charter even in the Solent. The Solent is in level 3 their highest level of experience required.
So it would appear if you did a DS course in The MED chartered for a week right after. You would be pretty well set for future chartering. you might be limited to the easier levels areas until you had a couple under your belt. Then the world would be your oyster according to Sunsail
Other Charter companies might be completely different.
 
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You can get an ICC based on either a tidal or non-tidal Day Skipper, as an ICC is a lower level of qualification.

I'd strongly recommend anyone with a non-tidal Day Skipper to study more tidal theory and to take the 2-day upgrade to a tidal RYA Day Skipper before sailing in tidal waters, even if it not a legal requirement.

Just as a Med school will tach you appropriate skills for Med sailing, a school in a tidal area will teach you skills for sailing in tidal waters, and you can do the course over a weekend.

Tuition shouldn't be about getting the bit of paper but about learning new skills.
 
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