The RYA Coastal Skipper course is for sailors who want to go a little further afield. We will teach you advanced skippering techniques, including preparation for sea, pilotage, yacht handling under power and sail, and delegating duties to the crew. The course also includes emergency situations such as recovering a man overboard under power and sail. There will be plenty of practice in the harbour, learning to manoeuvre the boat in smaller places and mooring in a variety of conditions. We will practice blind navigation, so that if you are in heavy weather or fog you will make it to the nearest harbour safely. It is recommended that the coastal skipper theory course is completed prior to the practical course - however, there is the option to self-study. You also have to have logged 300 NM over 15 days at sea (including two as a skipper) and eight night sail hours. The course runs over five days and nights. You will be living on one of our fully coded yachts with up to four other crew members and your Yachtmaster Instructor. Your food is included in the cost, as is overnight stays in harbours. To add to the experience of gaining your RYA Coastal Skipper, you will get the benefit of continuing your sailing experience on the west coast of Scotland.
RYA Competent Crew or Day Skipper - £770 A five day practical course which can accommodate both Day Skipper and Competent Crew candidates, depending on ability and course requirements. We familiarise you with the yacht and spend the week port hopping whilst you gain experience and work towards your qualification. Competent Crew - An ideal way to develop your skills and to start to become an active crew member capable of contributing to the running of a boat. Course content includes learning how to steer the boat, what the sails do, knot-tying, basic seamanship principles and safety procedures. Day Skipper - Putting Day Skipper level theory into practice and taking command of both the boat and crew, you will also learn learn basic engine checks. This includes building on previous experience and developing new skills for close quarter manouevring, handling under power and sail, day navigation, with some night hours. RYA Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster™ Preparation - £770 A five day practical course for Coastal Skipper or preperation Yachtmaster™ candidates, this course will build and refine your skills and knowledge, including your planning and skippering for passages with pilotage at day and night, boat handling and safety and emergency procedures. If you are looking to gain the Yachtmaster™ Offshore or Coastal Certificate, please let us know and we will arrange an examiner for you. We cannot over emphasise the need for personal preparation for this exam; your theory knowledge should be instinctive and you should exercise safe practices and judgment without being too overcautious. Primarily you will be examined on your ability to be a good skipper. Our emphasis during this course is consolidate all that you have already learned and fine tune any areas that need improvement. You will be expected to be fully skilled in the following areas: communication with crew members, confident and competent boat handling, high standard chart work and navigation, safety briefings and procedures, radio communication, meteorology skills. Our current school boat is the modern 2017 Dufour 382, a fantastic boat to learn and develop your knowledge on; with her spacious deck layout,dual helm and on-deck plotter, she is easy to handle in close and open quarters. We pride ourselves on providing a comfortable, enjoyable sailing experience and guarantee all students their own cabin. Facilities on-board include: • Dual helm • Heating • Fridge • Two toilets each with hot water and showers • Three cabins • Television and radio • Charging points for mobiles • On-deck chart plotter and radar We carry out a deep clean before every course and provide fresh linen and towels. Operating along the picturesque South Devon coast, we venture to prime local cruising locations such as Torbay, Dartmouth, Salcombe and Plymouth. Marinas feature as a daily stop, providing time to reflect and partake in shore-side activities. Our aim is to provide safe fun on the water, allowing you to develop your skills and knowledge in a safe and friendly environment. We use a 3:1 students to instructor raitio, which allows our experienced RYA instructors to tailor courses to the various levels and needs on board, and deliver at a managable pace. Navigation is taught using traditional charting techniques along with electronic methods using E-Series Raymarine chart plotters and Radar. All course prices include accommodation on board, meals for the duration of the course, fuel and mooring fees, and the provision of fresh linen and towels.Waterproofs are available upon request.
A course for leisure and professional boaters wanting to undertake more adventurous trips by day and night, this 2 day course, with at least one night navigation exercise, will provide you with an RYA Advanced Powerboat Course Completion certificate. Anyone undertaking this course must have practical skills of the Intermediate level and theory knowledge of at least Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster level. The course is split between theory and practical, with an emphasis on the application of theory knowledge to practical situations including preperation for sea, passage and pilotage making, skippering (meteorology, rules ofg the road)), navigation at planing speed, night cruising, and emergency situations. The Advanced Powerboat Certificate of Competence can only be issued after an exam, usually taken immediately after the course. If you are looking to take this exam, please let us know and we will arrange an examiner for you. The cost of this exam is payable directly to the RYA. To take this exam your must meet the following pre-requisites: 2 years relevant experience including night pilotage As a guide; 30 days at sea, 2 days as skipper, 800 miles, 12 night hours in the past 10 years Hold a valid First Aid certificate Hold a GMDSS Short Range Certificate (SRC) or higher grade marine radio certificate Age 17 or over Power Courses Our powerboat training is currently delivered on an MCA coded 7.8m Ribcraft with a 200hp Suzuki four stroke outboard engine and an E-series Raymarine chart plotter. We maintain a 3:1 student to instructor ratio which allows our experienced RYA instructors to tailor courses to the various levels and needs on board and deliver at a manageable pace. All course costs include tea and coffee, waterproofs are available on request.
The Day Skipper shore based course sits in the RYA Syllabus as preamble to the Day Skipper practical course and will give the aspiring skipper the knowledge that is needed to navigate familiar water. The course also provides an introduction to lights to help you on your way with sailing in the dark. The course will give you the confidence to be able to plan your passage on inshore and coastal routes, and ensure that you and your crew are safe. The course includes: Basics of seamanship Essentials of inshore navigation and pilotage Chartwork (plotting tidal streams, estimated positions and courses to steer) Electronic charts Position fixing Passage planning Weather forecasting and meteorology Tidal height calculations Collision regulations Construction, parts and equipment of a cruising boat Emergency and safety procedures including distress calls, the use of flares, safety harnesses, lifejackets and liferafts
The RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased course is for experienced sailors. The course builds on the theory learnt on the Day Skipper course, which is the knowledge level required at the outset of this course. It will give you the experience and confidence to plan and achieve your passage in offshore and coastal routes. Unlike the Day Skipper course, it includes precision tidal calculations. The course will increase your theory knowledge to the required standard for the Yachtmaster Coastal and Yachtmaster Offshore exams, concentrating on advanced navigation, IRPCS and meteorology subjects. This is an intense six day course, from 0900 hrs to 1700 hrs every day (1 hr for lunch plus 2 x 15 min breaks), that will teach you advanced navigation techniques. The syllabus contains: position fixing course shaping and plotting tidal knowledge use of almanacs and admiralty publications electronic position finding equipment taking and interpreting forecasts plotting weather systems weather predictions using a barometer and by observation collision regulations customs and excise regulations for cruising abroad
The Powerboat Instructor course aims to provide candidates with the necessary skills and knowledge required to instruct the RYA National Powerboat Scheme in a safe and effective way. The course duration is 3 days and comprises both practical and theoretical training scenarios where candidates are expected to deliver short training sessions. These sessions aim to develop the candidates personal skills and teaching ability in the safety of the training environment. The course does focus on teaching you how to instruct. You will learn effective methods of instructing and coaching, how to debrief, and how to structure the courses. We do revise the skills you will need to teach, but you will need to be proficient on a power boat to do this course. All potential Powerboat Instructors are required to complete a 1 day pre-assessment course to assess your personal boat handling skills. This assessment must be completed within the 3 months prior to the commencement of your Powerboat Instructor course. Course Pre-Requisites To do this course you will need to have completed Pre-Assessment. You will also need the following certificates: Valid First Aid Certificate, RYA Powerboat Level 2, RYA VHF Short Range Certificate. You will need to have 5 years powerboating experiencing (or one season full time). The minimum age of this course is 16 years old. Ideally you will have a familiarity with a range of craft giving you a wide range of knowledge of powerboats. Your theory knowledge should be at RYA Day Skipper Theory level, and we would recommend holding the certificate. RYA Instructor Training At Torbay Sea School we have trained many RYA Instructors who have gone on to instruct with us, other RYA training centres or as freelance instructors. During the course of your general RYA training you will have gained all the skills necessary to sail, motor or power boat with confidence to a high standard. The following courses consolidate all those skills and give you the tools required to instruct others to gain their RYA qualifications. You will be able to utilise our Instructors experience and our boats/equipment to feel at ease with instructing others.
If you are a Day Skipper or above and want to expand your breadth of knowledge, then this is the course for you. Join our bespoke advanced skippering course led by our brilliant Yachtmaster Instructor and Examiner, Rob. Over 5 days, Rob will cover a wealth of great content that simply can't be covered in a standard RYA course. This course is perfect for those around Day Skipper level and above, offering the chance to significantly enhance your sailing skills and knowledge. During the week we will focus on: Setting up for heavy weather; Close quarters manoeuvres; Spinnaker; Advanced sail trimming; Advanced anchoring; MOB inc search patterns for PIW; Splicing.