Day skipper shorebased

[paulsellars]

Hello,
Is it worth doing the rya day skipper shorebased course?
e.g. lower insurance. do charter companies require it?
Is it better to do the coastal skipper shorebased?

Thanks for any info
Paul.

 

[tome]

My wife did it last year and emerged much the wiser - it helped her become much more involved in our sailing. She hates maths and the thought of navigationonials filled her with dread. She's now done the practical also (with Sunsail last month and a brilliant young female instructor - Sam Fuller, only 25).

She can now charter a boat from Sunsail, though she's limited to the Solent as Day Skipper.

If you've done a fair bit I'd go for the Coastal skipper/Yachtmaster which I did donkeys ago. FYI I'm full YM Ocean and it makes b****r all difference to insurance rates.

 

[poter]

You do not say what experience you have?
But as you are enquiring about a day skipper I assume that you have some boating expertise.
Personally I would do the Day Skipper practical course although you will require some basic knowledge of Navigation, passage planning etc. etc. (get the day skip course notes from the RYA) I did mine at Dartmouth sailing, and a follow up 5 days with a an instructor called Ian Mitchell (brilliant) who then went on to show us lots of different sailing techniques, and really instilled a load of confidence.
I would say in my limited experience that it is very much like learning to drive a car, in that you pass the exam and only then start to learn what a car can do.
I would get as much sailing/motor boat experience that you can, possibly with a club, to gain confidence.

As far as charter is concerned you can get an International Cert. competence
(Issued by the RYA) once you have your day skipper practical. And I don't think it will make any difference to the insurance costs.

have fun .... Let us know how you get on.


poter.

 

[Guest]

Note the comments in the thread. As a Yachtmaster, Pantaenius do give a discount for the qualification, and the vessel has been with them since 1983 in Hamburg and now Plymouth.

All you need to do is ask the insurers a direct question.

 

[muchy_]

I did dayskipper shore based and yachtmaster shore based. They are very good and have probably stopped me doing something stupid. I can now start to gain practical experience at my own pace and in my own boat.

 

[cngarrod]

Hi,

Did my Day Skipper Theory over the last winter... would recommend it, but i had no knowledge of any Marine Navigation, Tidal calculations and so on... so useful for me.

I would say it is definately worth doing, it isn't expensive and you will be guaranteed to elarn something... even if you know some of the other details...

Good luck,

Craig.

 

[Guest]

IMHO you would be better off doing the Day Skipper Course for a number of reasons:
1. Having done it and gained a bit of practical experience you can get maximum benefit from then doing the Coastal
2. It is very easy to forget even basics like EP,Course to Steer in these days of GPS so doing Day Skipper with a Coastal follow up a season or two later is a good refresher.
3.Unfortunately shorebased courses still vary widely in content depending on the whim of the individual tutor.My wife did hers at a local yacht club and whilst the tutor was a lovely bloke the tuition was apalling.One student was being taught course to steer in the exam! The homework was made up on the spur of the moment and consisted usually of a simple piece of chartwork which never required reference to tide tables.Little or no use was made of the OHP.There were no Mock Exams.The excercise books which came as part of the course package were used once I think.Needless to say they all 'passed'.My wife got her ticket and it fell to me to fill in the gaps.So by doing both courses but at different venues you double your chances of getting what you paid for.
4. You will probably find that the in the Day Skipper the full syllabus is taught (if you are lucky) whilst at Coastal you are taught to cover the exam subjects with only a passing refererence if any to safety etc. I could go on and on and thats without talking about the varying standards on the practical courses...........

Best of Luck!