KALAMAZOO

Clyde & West Coast Cruising

RYA Course: Coastal Skipper (Tidal)

Aim

The aim of this course is to teach the skills and techniques required to skipper a yacht safely on coastal and offshore passages by day and night.

This is the third RYA practical course. At the end of it the student will have gained a number of skills, and will be able to skipper a yacht on coastal passages by day and night. The student will need to practice the skills he or she has learned before being ready to take the Yachtmaster Offshore Examination.

Previous Experience and Knowledge

It is recommended that as a minimum the student will have spent 15 days on board a yacht at sea, including two days as skipper; and have completed 300 miles and 8 night hours.

The student is expected to have a knowledge of navigation to Coastal Skipper shorebased standard, and their sailing ability needs to be to Day Skipper practical standard. Please contact Clyde & West coast Cruising to discuss any of these points if you are unsure.

What Happens on the Course?

We go sailing, visiting a number of different ports and anchorages and making a variety of passages during the course. During this we will cover all the topics on the RYA's Coastal Skipper syllabus, the usual pattern being a demonstration by the instructor followed by an opportunity for everyone to practice until they are happy with the exercise.

The course is flexible, and we work around the weather conditions. We also try to concentrate on the areas where individual students need most practice, and to ensure that everyone enjoys the cruising (after all, this is yourholiday).

The Syllabus

This is detailed in your logbook, and includes the following topics:

• Passage planning
• Preparation for sea
• Pilotage
• Passage making and ability as a skipper
• Yacht handling under power
• Yacht handling under sail
• Adverse weather conditions
• Emergency situations

The Course and Logistics

The course is usually run over five days, Sunday night through Friday, although other arrangements (e.g. 3 weekends) are possible. We meet on board on the S unday night, and after an initial course briefing go ashore for a meal. On Monday morning we set off, returning on Friday afternoon.

Your instructor will be a qualified Yachtmaster Instructor. There will usually be four students on board, and the others may be doing Competent Crew, Day Skipper or other courses: combining different levels of skill on the five day course works well, because everyone can learn at their own level of expertise and experience.

During the week we will generally eat on board, with one or two meals ashore. The price of the course includes food, gas and fuel used on-board. It excludes any meals ashore, and any harbour dues or berthing fees for visiting other ports are split between the crew (we generally run a "kitty" ).

The Next Stage

When you have completed this course you will need to practice the skills you have learned and build up more skippering experience.

You may then want to consider doing one of the two practical examinations, Coastal Skipper or Yachtmaster Offshore. We will be able to advise you whether you are ready for one of these assessments, because most people need to practice their skills and gain more experience first.

When you are ready to go for it, Clyde & west Coast Cruising can give you a Yachtmaster Preparation course and arrange for you to do the examination. And to build your miles and experience, you can join us on one of our more challenging passages and cruises .