Building on previous RYA courses, or from your own experience at sea, these courses aim to refine your skills, focusing on seamanship and how to skipper a sailing yacht and manage its crew. Combined with the theory courses, your knowledge, and confidence on the water, will be taken to the next level.
A course for aspiring skippers with some yachting experience and basic navigation and sailing skills.
Learn to skipper a short passage with the instructor on hand to give advice and encouragement and ensure your safety. Experience being in charge, taking credit when it all goes well and being responsible when it doesn’t.
Before this course, if you are not sure that your sailing is up to speed, a good way to learn is on an RYA Level 2 dinghy course. This will teach you to sail around a course and control the boat’s speed.
If it’s help with navigation that you need, you should take our Day Skipper shorebased course (see Navigation and seamanship theory on the left).
| Pre-course experience | 5 days, 100 miles, 4 night hours on board a sailing yacht |
| Assumed knowledge | Theory to the level of Day Skipper. It is recommended you attend the Day Skipper shorebased course beforehand. |
| Minimum duration | 5 days, 3 weekends or 3 days plus 2 days |
| Minimum age | 16 |
| Course content | Preparation for sea, deck work, navigation, pilotage, meteorology, rules of the road, maintenance and repair work, engines, victualling, emergency situations, yacht handling under power, yacht handling under sail, passage making, night cruising |
Advanced skippering techniques for yachtsmen and women with considerable knowledge of sailing and navigation, wanting to undertake coastal passages by day and night.
Like the Day Skipper course, this course consists of skippered passages in a variety of situations. Each trainee will skipper more challenging passages and learn more about passage planning, pilotage by day and night, boat handling, safety and emergency situations.
It is a satisfying but intensive week, with candidates often working towards a Certificate of Competence.
Most centres will expect you to complete the Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster™ Offshore shorebased course beforehand as there is insufficient time to teach you theory during the week.
Coastal Skippers should be able to undertake more difficult passages by day and night and handle the yacht in more demanding conditions. By the end of the course you should have the knowledge, if not the experience, to become a Yachtmaster™.
| Pre-course experience | 15 days, 2 days as skipper, 300 miles, 8 night hours |
| Assumed knowledge | Boat handling to the standard of Day Skipper and navigation to shorebased Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster™ Offshore |
| Minimum duration | 5 days |
| Minimum age | 17 |
| Course content | Passage planning, Preparation for sea, Pilotage, Passage making and ability as skipper, Yacht handling under power, Yacht handling under sail, Adverse weather conditions, Emergency situations |
| Ability after the course | Able to skipper a yacht on coastal passages by day and night |
Planning a yacht charter overseas? You’ll need an International Certificate of Competence (ICC).
The ICC assessment allows you to demonstrate your skills, without the need for a full RYA course.
Have you already obtained an RYA Day Skipper Practical (or equivalent) certificate? Simply send your documents off to the RYA for an ICC certificate.
Don’t have the necessary documentation? We offer ICC Assessment in Lymington.
Click here for more details from the RYA.
Sailors requiring an ICC valid for Europe’s inland waters must also pass the CEVNI Test, which checks your knowledge of the rules and signs that skippers of pleasure craft are expected to know and follow.
Charlie Sailing can arrange a paper-based test.
Are you heading off on a bareboat charter? Do you need to brush up on your boat handling skills?
We offer bespoke training packages to suit you.
Grasp the fundamentals of this fascinating art by spending a couple of days aboard Jemima and receiving practical tuition.
You will learn how to handle a sextant and find your position using the sun and other astronomical bodies (weather conditions permitting) and get to grips with the surprisingly easy mathematics.
These are very popular! We organise one or two-day parking seminars on board Jemima. Work hard practising tight marina manoeuvres on Jemima or aboard your own boat until you feel confident.
Having trouble clocking up the 2500 miles for your Yachtmaster certificate or just looking for more experience? Join Charlie Sailing for a long haul passage to increase your confidence and clock up the miles.
For more information about our RYA courses and availability please contact us.
Booking Form > Download FAQ >