Building experience for RYA Day Skipper practical

Posted by KickedMeHeight@reddit | sailing | View on Reddit | 9 comments

Hi,

I'm currently working on my Day Skipper theory, but have no hands on experience onboard a sailing vessel; this means that I can't move straight onto the practical component without having 5 days, 100nm and 4 night hours onboard a sailing yacht.

What is the best way to achieve this? RYA Competent Crew seems to tick the boxes but I'm wondering whether it's actually worth the time and money (it's worth mentioning that I'm a uni student so I don't exactly have infinite funds!) or whether there's a smarter way to do it.

I'm based in the north of England if this helps.

Thanks!

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Golden_Bolt1989@reddit

Perhaps a local sail training organisation (OYT North, OYT Scotland etc) may be able to help with a volunteer role to gain sea time.

As others have said, local sailing clubs can often point you in the direction of boats looking for crew for racing or cruising. Just be aware not everyone does things in the way you’ll be shown on the DS course…

If you’re not able to get the sea time on a yacht, can you at least do some dinghy sailing to improve your wind awareness? Please bear in mind the 100 NM distance prior to Dayskipper etc is just guidance - what’s more important is your wind awareness, deck safety and leadership when berthing etc - some dinghy sailors are already excellent sailors and so don’t need to spend 100 miles on a yacht. In other cases, I’ve taught DS practical courses where people have not been able to pass in the week because their wind awareness and boat control has been dangerous because even with 400 odd miles on a friends boat, they had not steered themselves or thought about how to avoid crash gybing.

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Meuons@reddit

Some sailing schools do competent crew + Day Skipper all at once (in one trip where you have people doing cc and people doing ds, if you perform well you get ds right away without having completed cc). In Greece for example. That's how I did my qualification.

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DarkVoid42@reddit

why dont you just get an ICC with CEVNI ? you dont need anything else other than an officially recognized cert.

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NotASexJoke@reddit

The recognised cert that will get you issued an ICC in the UK is RYA day skipper…

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DarkVoid42@reddit

or you can do it directly.....

https://www.prometheus-sailing.co.uk/sailing-school/icc-assessment/

here are three ways to gain your ICC sailing certification in the UK:

Convert your existing RYA qualification. If you already hold your RYA Day Skipper, or higher, qualification, you can apply directly to the RYA.
Take an ICC assessment with Prometheus Sailing. We stage regular ICC assessment days throughout the year. As the UK partner of Sunsail Worldwide Sailing, we’re very experienced in delivering these courses for those wishing to charter overseas.
Complete your RYA Day Skipper practical with us and then use this qualification to apply for your ICC if needed.

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NotASexJoke@reddit

If OP doesn’t have the requisite miles and sea days to do day skipper I’d very much doubt he will step straight onto an ICC assessment and pass it. That route is designed for people who’ve been sailing for years and just need the tick in the box to go and charter or sail in a country requiring certification.

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DarkVoid42@reddit

and yet i did it.

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NotASexJoke@reddit

Try some of the crew wanted pages on Facebook. Or see if your uni has a sailing club, some unis that don’t have a relationship with another one nearby. Speak to your SU.

I’d recommend against paying for the comp crew course if you can get the experience anywhere else, but if you have to it’s not terrible value and will give you some of the foundational skills for the day skipper course.

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LastHorseOnTheSand@reddit

Does your uni have a sailing club? Or other unis nearby? Otherwise crewing at your nearest marina for social races is a great way to get the day hours and meet people with whom you could crew longer trips.

There's also FB groups or sites for finding crewing spots