RYA DAY SKIPPER

This course introduces you to marine terminology, seamanship, safety, collision regulations, meteorology, chartwork, tides, coastal navigation and pilotage.

It leads to the award of the RYA ‘Day Skipper shorebased’ completion certificate. This is the level of theoretical knowledge that you’ll need for the RYA Day Skipper practical course (sail and motor), the International Certificate of Competence (ICC) and the RYA Intermediate Powerboat course.

No prior knowledge is required

Our study material is built on that assumption although you will find it easier to relate theory to reality if you have some practical experience.

Click here to view a sample of our excellent course work.

Tiller’s standard package £ 250

You will receive a complete course comprising:

• Tiller study material on CD from which you may print as part of your studies or use on your computer. Expect about 400 pages and many illustrations in colour.
• Tiller study guides including a course planning guide, chart symbols, nautical glossary and the RYA’s electronic chart plotter. Only course guide is printed.
• Additional material on CD lets you (optionally) delve deeper into some aspects of seamanship and navigation.
• Interactive modules on CD help you to visualise and understand key topics in the course.
• Selected RYA and MCA booklets.
• RYA student pack (charts, exercises and practice tables and electronic plotter).
• A 2B pencil for chartwork.
• Marking and support including one year access to ‘tiller-online’ – our easy to use web system that allows you to download course modules, check for updates and see FAQs and hints and tips.
• Exams (which are sat at home on completion of course work) and issue of certificate.
• Courier delivery to most UK addresses.

Popular options

• Printed Tiller study material. You can start studying ‘out of the box’ with our smart colour printed and individually bound set of study ‘lectures’.
• Navigation instruments. Plotter, high quality brass and stainless steel dividers, sharpener and eraser.
• Printed ‘Additional’ material. Ideal if you haven’t got access to a printer and computer.
• Book Bundle. The three textbooks referred to in our study material. Not really required for this level of course but very nice to have on your bookshelf and a good ‘lead in’ to the next course level.
• Second Student. Study with a partner or friends and receive a significant discount. Can only be ordered when ordering a complete course as well.

Lectures include:

1. Seamanship – including parts of a boat, key jargon, nautical terms, etiquette, mooring and anchoring.

2. Safety – what we mean by safety and the key equipment and procedures that keep us safe at sea. Also included is navigation in restricted visibility and heavy weather and coping with disaster.

3. Navigation 1 – introduces charts, their symbols and the fundamentals of position and the relationship between true north and the magnetic compass.

4. Navigation 2 - DR, EP and course to steer are all covered in this lecture as well as how they are plotted on charts. Also included are electronic position fixing and the RYA Chartplotter

5. Pilotage- this lecture explains the navigational marks and the different lights encountered at sea, and how a pilotage plan is constructed and used.

6. Weather – the fundamentals of weather and pressure systems are explained together with local weather effects, where to find and how to interpret forecasts and how to use this knowledge to shape a passage.

7. Tides – the fundamentals of tidal causes, heights and streams and the effect on sea state of the combination of tide, weather and topography.

8. Collision Regulations – provides a working knowledge of the regulations in relation to steering rules, lights, shapes and sound signals.

Additional lectures

Additional lectures on seamanship, safety and navigation are included on the CD covering subjects which the RYA have removed from the syllabus but which we believe are still useful to the budding skipper.

Exams include

1. General paper
2. Chartwork

All the lectures are on the CD together with PowerPoint shows to help visualise the various subjects. There is also a section containing MAIB reports which highlight the importance of some of the danger areas such as collision avoidance and safety including the recent Ouzo incident.