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RYA Day Skipper Fast Track

Get your skipper certificate fast! Beginner

Are you considering starting sailing and becoming a certified skipper as quickly as possible? The RYA Day Skipper Fast Track course aims to do just that. It combines four RYA courses – RYA Day Skipper Theory (online), RYA VHF – SRC Marine Radio (online), RYA Competent Crew (practical) and RYA Day Skipper (practical) courses.

Duration: 10 days (Sunday to Thursday x 2 + online theory)Availability: March to NovemberAge: Min 16 (16 - 18 only accompanied by parent/guardian at all times)Language: EnglishStudent - Instructor ratio: 5 – 1Daily schedule: 9 – 17 h (with some night cruising)Partner providers: SkippersOnline and NCP & Mare

RYA Day Skipper Fast Track – Course description

We created this package with our partners, recognised RYA Training Centres SkippersOnline and NCP & Mare. It consists of four RYA courses combined to get you the skills, knowledge, and certificates needed to charter a yacht and sail on your own as soon as possible. This two-week practical course with prior theory preparation is excellent for beginners who want to speed up their adventure of becoming certified skippers.

Searching for this course online, you may find you can do it in just nine days by combining the Day Skipper theory and practice. However, you must already be on the Competent Crew level to join that course. And it doesn’t include the VHF – SRC Marine Radio course and certificate you need to charter a yacht. Our combination consists of all of the mentioned.

We promise to teach you how to sail during the RYA Competent Crew course (first week) and to expertly guide you through your first – and hardest – skippering steps on the RYA Day Skipper course (second week). We included the RYA Day Skipper Theory and the RYA VHF – SRC Marine Radio online courses to prepare you for the practical part. You can do these in your own time and place before joining the course’s practical part with us.

Our partners, recognised RYA Training Centres SkippersOnline and NCP and Mare, provide online courses. You can get support directly from them while going through the lessons. We’ll also help you to organise a final written and practical one-hour VHF – SRC exam while here. It’s highly likely that our Chief Instructor Tom, whom you’ll meet during the practical part of the course, will be your VHF assessor at the VHF exam.

Our experienced and patient RYA instructors – who firmly believe that anybody can learn how to sail and become a skipper – will help you achieve your goal of becoming one. They have thousands of miles under their belt and helped hundreds of Day Skipper candidates achieve their goals.

You’ll spend ten days living on board a brand new, perfectly clean, heated, spacious and fast sailing yacht fully equipped for comfortable cruising. We’ll also anchor in stunning bays perfect for swimming in crystal clear azure – hazards free – Adriatic sea. During the RYA Day Skipper Fast Track course, we’ll visit picturesque islands and cosy Dalmatian villages with great local food and culture.

We sometimes combine students on a Competent Crew and a Day Skipper course. With that, you’ll be able to see and participate in some Day Skipper training while on the Competent Crew course and manage inexperienced crew while on the Day Skipper course!

Single-use of cabin available

You’re welcome to stay on board in between the courses

What will you learn:

  • Sea terms, yacht parts, rigging and sails
  • Wind awareness
  • Sailing points & manoeuvres – close haul, beam reach, broad reach, run, tack, gybe
  • Hoisting, lowering, reefing sail
  • Knots – bowline, clove hitch, cleat hitch, figure of eight, round turn and two half hitches, reef knot, sheet bend, rolling hitch
  • Safety – Man overboard, fire precaution, personal safety
  • Helming – under sails and motor
  • Preparation for docking, anchoring, buoy catching
  • Basic meteorology
  • Basic rules for avoiding collision
  • General duties of living on a yacht
  • Manners and customs
  • How to operate a dinghy
  • Preparation of the yacht and crew for sea
  • Safety briefing
  • Yacht handling under power and sail – docking, anchoring, buoy catching, springing off and on
  • Navigation and passage planning – position fixing, heading, bearing
  • Chart plotters (GPS)
  • Pilotage in and out of harbours and channels
  • Meteorology – interpreting weather forecasts
  • Rules of avoiding collision
  • Engine check
  • Victualling
  • Emergency situations – person overboard
  • Night cruising
  • Syllabus of the RYA VHF – SRC Marine Radio course
  • Syllabus of the RYA Day Skipper Theory course
  • Syllabus of the RYA VHF – SRC Marine Radio course

Ability after the course:

To confidently and safely sail on all points of sailing, tie knots, hoist and lower the sails, reef, and helm, covering general duties of living on a yacht and operating a dinghy. To confidently and safely skipper a small yacht in familiar waters by day and in good weather conditions. To take care of crew and yacht safety, navigation, docking and anchoring, weather, collision regulations and emergency situations. To have the confidence and qualification needed to use a marine radio in routine and emergency situations.

Certificate:

  • RYA Day Skipper (for successful students)
  • RYA/MCA VHF – SRC (for successful students)
  • RYA Day Skipper Theory certificate (for successful students)
  • At least 200 Nautical miles and 8 hours of night navigation in the RYA logbook

Location:

Jezera and surrounding islands, bays and villages

Although we’re trying to show you the most of our sailing area during the course, safety is crucial in the RYA courses. The exact route of the course will depend primarily on the instructor’s judgement of the weather conditions and the crew’s ability 

Included:

  • Brand new and perfectly clean, heated, spacious and fast sailing yacht, fully equipped for a comfortable cruising
  • Accommodation on board (shared cabins) – single-use of cabin available
  • Free unlimited wi-fi on board
  • RYA Instructor
  • RYA course materials and handbooks
  • RYA certificates, after successful completion of the course
  • RYA log books with mileage signed in
  • Access to the RYA Interactive platform for SRC - VHF Course (NCP & Mare)
  • Access to the SkippersOnline e-learning platform for RYA Day Skipper Theory Course
  • Use of self-inflatable automatic life jacket
  • Docking fees in the base marina - ACI marina Jezera
  • Fuel
  • Cooking gas
  • Bed sheets, covers, duvets, pillows, pillowcases, towels (beach towels included)
  • Cleaning utensils, kitchen towels, bathroom soap, mosquito repellent
  • Plates, glasses, cups, cutlery
  • Coffee, tea
  • Final cleaning
  • Tourist tax
  • VAT

Not included:

  • Flights and travel costs
  • Travel and medical insurance
  • Docking/buoy fees in other marinas/bays
  • Food & drinks – for the crew and the instructor
  • Final VHF - SRC exam fee of 60 GBP - paid directly (online) to the RYA

Prerequisites

  • Pre-course experience: No experience is required
  • Assumed knowledge: None

DEHLER 38 SQ - Blue Eye

Speed meets quality and comfort

Dehler 38 SQ is the newest model from a famous German shipyard Dehler, traditionally known for their quality built yachts. A "true performance cruiser", says the renowned Sail magazine. That means the boat is fast but has everything needed for comfortable cruising. Another review says Dehler did a great job with this model while "keeping the boat as simple to use and fun".

We needed only one short sail with our Blue Eye to confirm that all these reviews were accurate. And we're sure you'll quickly realise why she's a perfect yacht for learning sailing. She has performance Quantum sails and a sleek, sharp, sporty line, so she sails well even on light wind.

Two very responsive carbon wheels enhance the manoeuvrability and provide a good feel of the boat's movement, even more so because they control only one deep rudder. The stern is spacious and broad, so there's enough room for a swimming platform with an integrated ladder.

The cockpit is spacious, with a fixed foldable table that enables the crew to enjoy their meals and drinks on the deck under the shade of a large bimini top. It also provides enough room for active sailing, and three winches on each side - a rarity in the class - prove the yacht is made to perform. Teak wood covers the cockpit deck, and the rest has a non-skid finish.

BLUE EYE is our training yacht registered for the RYA courses, so you can be sure she has everything needed for safe sailing. Also, a radar and an active radar reflector – which makes the yacht more visible to big ships - enhance her safety. She has the latest B&G chart plotter and instruments.

She has 38 feet, around 11,4 meters. The interior has three roomy double cabins, a cosy saloon, a foldable dining table, a chart table, and a fully equipped kitchen with a sink, stove and a large fridge. There's also a bathroom with a toilet and a shower, and all wastewater goes to a holding tank. Large windows in the saloon and cabins allow natural light below the deck. The shipyard used only fine woods - teak, mahogany and oak - for the furniture, which matched perfectly with the bright upholstery.

Additionally, BLUE EYE has a hot air heating system installed to keep the crew comfortably warm after sailing in spring and autumn. She also has substantial autonomy with a freshwater tank of 295 litres, a fuel tank of 160 litres, and service batteries of 160 Ah, so she stays comfortable even on a more extended cruise.

Yvan Bodart

Yvan comes from Belgium and started sailing in 2014. He loved it so much, that he knew it would change his life. Until recently, Yvan had a job as a consultant for wide format printers for a well know company, covering Belgium and Luxemburg. After Covid, the traffic jams in Belgium seemed to get worse than before. Once, being stuck in such a traffic jam in the neighbourhood of Brussels, he said to himself that doing the same distance while sailing, would even be faster. That made him decide that it was time for a 180° change in his life. Since then he became a cruising instructor and is eager to teach people the joy of sailing here in Croatia during summer and in the Canary Islands during winter season.

Do you need help?

We organise sailing courses for all knowledge levels – beginners, advanced, cruising, skippers and custom made courses.

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