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 on-board residential course you will learn to prepare for the day (chose sails, understand meterological forecasts, navigation, provisioning) 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 School Office in Jolly Harbour on the west coast of Antigua, your sailing routes might include sailing to Five Islands Bay for some anchoring practice, then up around and to Green Island for the night, then continuing down and around to English Harbour and Falmouth, or even, depending on the weather, to sail up to gorgeous Barbuda with its white and pink beaches.

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.

All of our practical sailing courses are limited to four students on board.  This allows us to give you maximum individual attention and for our instructors to create a bespoke sailing experience for each and every one of our students.

Groups of 5 can be accommodated on our Dufour 44’ should you wish to book together and enjoy the course as part of a larger group.

Prerequisites for this course:

• RYA Competent Crew or 5 days, 100 miles, and 4 night hours on a sailing yacht
• Completed and passed the assessment of  RYA Day Skipper Theory. At our school, we require proof of completion of the Day Skipper theory course before enrolling in the practical course. We recommend completing the RYA Day Skipper Theory course online (the most convenient option) or in the classroom beforehand.
• 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