Our RYA Day Skipper Practical Course helps students develop and refine their skills to skipper a yacht by day in familiar waters.

Course Content:

Over the 5-day of the live-on-board course you will learn to prepare for the day of sailing (choose sails, understand meteorological forecasts, navigation, provisioning planning, boat cleaning) and take charge while sailing – including choosing where to anchor at night. The Day Skipper Practical builds off the skills developed in the Day Skipper Theory Course. Starting from our Tuscan base in port of Marina di Pisa, your sailing routes might include sailing to Portovenere & Cinque Terre –  sailing north to Portovenere and the gulf of Poets, staying at anchor in the bay and enjoying the sunset behind the steeple of the town. Or we might do the Elba Island Circumnavigation – sail south to Elba and visit famous Porto Azzurro, Marciana Marina and Capoliveri.

Finding the best location to learn and to have fun is indeed a great skippering skill! Upon successful completion of the RYA Day Skipper Practical Course, you’ll receive the RYA Day Skipper Certificate, allowing you to charter and skipper a boat on your own.

Among the areas that are covered during the course are how to prepare the yacht to go sailing, from planning the passage and reviewing meteorology forecasts and provisioning to pilotage and engine checks; then under sail handling, sail selection, and navigation. All this while reviewing all basic sailing knowledge accumulated to date, from knots to reefing.

During the course we sail to different locations so that you may practise mooring, berthing, anchoring and entering into port in different conditions, as well as sailing at night so that we can review lights and buoys and sailing in the dark.

Prerequisites for this course:

• RYA Competent Crew or 5 days, 100 miles, and 4 night hours on a sailing yacht
• Theory to the level of Day Skipper. We recommend you complete the RYA Day Skipper Theory course beforehand online, this is the most convenient way, or in the classroom. 
• Minimum age – 16 years old

Next Steps:

Students who successfully complete the Day Skipper course are awarded the RYA Day Skipper practical course completion certificate. There is no single exam during the course, rather it is a continuous learning and evaluative experience during the week. This course will also enable you to apply for the ICC (International Certificate of Competence). This qualification is required by most European countries to validate your competence to charter a boat.

Recommended courses following your RYA Day Skipper Course:

RYA SRC Radio Course

RYA Diesel Engine course

RYA Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Theory course (online or in a classroom)

RYA Coastal Skipper Practical course

This course is also available at our sailing school in the Caribbean, Antigua, from November to June!