Shorebased Courses

This is a comprehensive course for those looking to develop their theoretical skills and begin working towards skippering a vessel.  It equips you with enough knowledge to navigate around familiar waters by day, and a basic knowledge of lights is also included to introduce you to night cruising.

The RYA are continually updating the course content to take into account developments in technology and the electronic navigation aids now available on most cruising boats.

Course Content:  The basics of seamanship, the essentials of coastal navigation and pilotage, chartwork, electronic charts, position fixing, plotting a course to steer, weather forecasting and meteorology, tides, collision regulations. construction, parts and equipment of a cruising boat, emergency and safety procedures including distress calls, use of flares, safety harnesses, lifejackets and liferafts

Course Pre-requsites:  None.  Some candidates with less experience may find that taking the Essential Navigation and Seamanship online course beforehand is a benefit.

Assessment criteria:  There are two exams assessing general knowledge and chartwork.

Course Duration: 6 days (taught over 3 weekends, or in a week block).  

2022 Course Dates: 

Week Long courses: 24-29th January and 3rd – 8th October

3 Alternate Weekends – 5th/6th Feb, 19/20th Feb, 5/6th Mar

When booking weekend courses please just select the start date of the course.  The subsequent weekends will be added to your booking afterwards

The RYA Marine Radio Short Range Certificate (SRC) is the minimum qualification required to operate marine VHF radio equipment on a UK flagged vessel. This includes both fixed and handheld equipment with and without Digital Selective Calling (DSC) and is obtained by successfully completing an SRC exam.

Candidates are required to complete an RYA SRC training course prior to taking the exam.  The RYA SRC training course may be taken in the classroom or online. There is no age limit for taking the SRC training course but exam candidates must be 16 years old on the day of the exam.

The SRC course can also be taken as an online training course.

SRC training course subjects include: 

Routine operation of marine VHF radio including Digital Selective Calling

Correct VHF channels (frequencies) to be used for each type of communication

Distress, emergency and medical assistance procedures

Ship to shore communication

Practical use of Marine VHF DSC training radios

Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)

Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB)

Search and Rescue Transponders (SART)

The Exam: The exam following the training course is a combination of a written theory test and practical assessment in the use of Marine VHF DSC radios. Candidates must be 16 years or older on the day of the exam.  Exam slots are chosen at time of booking, and are usually directly after the training course. 

Please note that there is an additional exam fee which is payable directly to the RYA, and this must be completed online prior to attending the exam.  To complete and print the form follow this link.

A one-day course for anyone going to sea, providing an understanding of how to use the safety equipment on board your boat.

99.9% of those afloat will never use their liferaft or much of the safety equipment carried on board your boat. However, if you are part of the unlucky 0.1% your chances of survival will be greatly increased if you understand how to use the equipment and how to help yourself.

It is a well-proven fact that, in the event of an emergency at sea, people with training are more likely to survive.

An important part of the course is a practical session in a swimming pool. Experience first hand the problems of entering an uncooperative liferaft and assisting others while fully kitted out in wet weather gear and a lifejacket.

Course topics include: 

Liferafts and the equipment they contain

Survival techniques

Lifejacket design

Medical aspects of sea survival

Search and rescue techniques

This is a one day course which gives you an understanding of radar, and how to use it as an aid to navigation and collision avoidance.

Boats increasingly have radar on board, and the International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea state that if you have a radar, you must know how to use it.  Radar is probably the most versatile of all electronic navigation aids, but the best results are only obtained when you know how to use all the functions correctly.

Course topics include:

How the radar set works

Target definition

Radar reflectors

Types of radar display

Radar plotting

The use of radar in collision avoidance