RYA courses advice

Nick Epps

Nick Epps

Active Member
Joined
29 Apr 2022
Messages
51
Location
Puerto Portals - Mallorca
Visit site
Hi, after purchasing my boat and completing my PBL2 to top up and refresh my past boating experience/skills of many years ago. I want to take some courses. My preference is on-line as I have a lot of down time during the day. I am assuming (but be guided by you guys) that my next step is Day Skipper theory course. If so what sites would be recommended by those of you in the no??
Thanks - Nick
 
Day skipper definately, then take it from there.

Also worth the VHF if you do not have it. Online course but the assessment is in person.
 
just been looking at Navathome courses, they do look comprehensive. One course there is of great interest to me is the Fast track yachtmaster offshore theory course
ctva said:
Day skipper definately, then take it from there.

Also worth the VHF if you do not have it. Online course but the assessment is in person.
Click to expand...
VHF - yep...thank you, I'll take that
 
The fast track course isn't a short cut. It revises Day Skipper theory as a self test then continues with Coastal Theory. It's not a starter course.

I must declare an interest. My wife works for them and she's just told me about this! If you ring Navathome today you can talk to her!
 
This is a good thread.. Thank you.. I did both my Day Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory courses (for sail interestingly) and were really interesting.. I'm pondering doing some more practical courses as I do quite enjoy learning new stuff..
 
Nick Epps said:
Hi, after purchasing my boat and completing my PBL2 to top up and refresh my past boating experience/skills of many years ago. I want to take some courses. My preference is on-line as I have a lot of down time during the day. I am assuming (but be guided by you guys) that my next step is Day Skipper theory course. If so what sites would be recommended by those of you in the no??
Thanks - Nick
Click to expand...
I think you said in another thread that you keep your boat in Mallorca.
If so, I don't think you would get much from a Day Skipper theory course. The RYA courses are very heavily weighted to navigation in UK waters with the implication of strong tides which you won't get in and around Mallorca.
Maybe just reading some books and concentrating on the rules of the sea might be more appropriate.
IMHO, it is experience that counts. Do you know anyone in Mallorca who can help you gain experience?

And there is lots to learn that RYA courses won't teach you.
 
Hurricane said:
I think you said in another thread that you keep your boat in Mallorca.
If so, I don't think you would get much from a Day Skipper theory course. The RYA courses are very heavily weighted to navigation in UK waters with the implication of strong tides which you won't get in and around Mallorca.
Maybe just reading some books and concentrating on the rules of the sea might be more appropriate.
IMHO, it is experience that counts. Do you know anyone in Mallorca who can help you gain experience?

And there is lots to learn that RYA courses won't teach you.
Click to expand...
There is a large amount that it can.........

Understanding tides is a part of the Day Skipper course that produces a more confident mariner. You can go from a manual car gearbox to an automatic very easily..... :)

I've taught the theory course twice recently in a classroom in Puerto Banus. It does what it's designed to do very well.
 
Nick Epps said:
just been looking at Navathome courses, they do look comprehensive. One course there is of great interest to me is the Fast track yachtmaster offshore theory course
Click to expand...

The Yachtmaster course is pretty full on, for the first half at least and knowing navigation from Dayskippers is important so probably not a good idea to skip it IMHO.
 
Hurricane said:
I think you said in another thread that you keep your boat in Mallorca.
If so, I don't think you would get much from a Day Skipper theory course. The RYA courses are very heavily weighted to navigation in UK waters with the implication of strong tides which you won't get in and around Mallorca.
Maybe just reading some books and concentrating on the rules of the sea might be more appropriate.
IMHO, it is experience that counts. Do you know anyone in Mallorca who can help you gain experience?

And there is lots to learn that RYA courses won't teach you.
Click to expand...
I think this is a very fair comment. I've been looking at a few utube day skipper videos today, and you're absolutely right. I do know the local waters fairly well and have some sailing buddies who I've crewed for on numerous trips. Boat handling is not an issue, its more to do with some basic navigation skills and the rules of the sea etc.... A VFH course I think is very worth while....
 
Nick Epps said:
I think this is a very fair comment. I've been looking at a few utube day skipper videos today, and you're absolutely right. I do know the local waters fairly well and have some sailing buddies who I've crewed for on numerous trips. Boat handling is not an issue, its more to do with some basic navigation skills and the rules of the sea etc.... A VFH course I think is very worth while....
Click to expand...
I think you will find that a VHF operator's certificate is a requirement to operate a radio so you probably need to do a VHF course anyway.
 
Greg2 said:
The Yachtmaster course is pretty full on, for the first half at least and knowing navigation from Dayskippers is important so probably not a good idea to skip it IMHO.
Click to expand...
From memory, the syllabus of all the courses (DS, CS and YM) is much the same - just the depth of the syllabus that changes.
I did my YM for a bit of fun but there really isn't much in it that I use today, especially in the Med.
For example, why the need to work out the tides for a secondary port when so much data and electronics mean that the data is available anyway.
 
Those who completed the Coastal/Yachtmaster theory course more than around five years ago would not recognise the current format. It's far more in depth (!) and covers a lot more subjects that need to be properly understood. The length of the classroom course has been extended to six days and even then a lot of homework is required. It's another course I've taught recently. :)
 
Hurricane said:
From memory, the syllabus of all the courses (DS, CS and YM) is much the same - just the depth of the syllabus that changes.
I did my YM for a bit of fun but there really isn't much in it that I use today, especially in the Med.
For example, why the need to work out the tides for a secondary port when so much data and electronics mean that the data is available anyway.
Click to expand...

Yes, I take your point but I guess that the approach has always been to teach how to do it without data and electronic sources so that people know what to do when they fail. I guess there will be different views on whether or not that is the right approach in today’s world and whilst I think it probably is I did find it odd that we spent a lot of time on paper charts but no time at all on electronics such as chart plotters.

I also did the YM practical, which was a very thorough assessment!
.
 
This is a really helpful discussion for me. One course that would be extremely helpful would be an electronics course on the systems. Is there such a thing? There's a lot of functionality with the Raymarine systems today, and so far I've used the chart plotter and setting waypoints to follow with the auto pilot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top