RYA VHF – SRC Marine Radio

RYA VHF – SRC Marine Radio – Course description

We partnered with the recognised RYA Training Centre NCP & Mare to enable you to take your RYA VHF-SRC Marine Radio course online.

Radio is an essential part of safety equipment, and it’s vital to learn how to use it correctly. Also, the Short Range Certificate is the minimum qualification legally required to operate fixed or hand-held radio. Therefore, the VHF Certificate is necessary for chartering a yacht in Croatia and worldwide.

The online RYA SRC – VHF Radio Course is designed to help you learn how to properly use VHF/DSC radio in routine situations – such as booking a marina or calling friends on another yacht. You’ll also learn radio procedures for distress, urgency and safety situations – from making a DSC/Mayday call to asking for medical help and reporting a floating container.

When you book this course, you’ll get access to the online training module and an RYA VHF Handbook in the form of the RYA eBook. Our partner, recognised RYA Training Centre NCP and Mare, provides this course, and they will be in touch after you book and pay for it. You can get support directly from them and contact their RYA VHF instructor if you have questions while going through the lessons.

After completing the course, you’ll enrol in an online Pre-exam Knowledge Check (max three attempts). That will enable you to print out the Course Completion Certificate and take it to the final exam. 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.

You’ll need to pay the exam fee of 70 Pounds directly to the RYA through their online RYA Exam Payments Service (you’ll need to open a MyRYA account if you don’t have one). After you pay, you’ll receive two emails – Payment Confirmation and Exam Application Form (please check the spam folder of your email account if you don’t receive both emails). You’ll need to print out the Exam Application Form and bring it to the exam. You’ll also need to bring a passport-sized photo for the exam.

After you pass the final exam, the centre will send all the paperwork to the RYA. The RYA Certification department will then post your VHF Short Range Certificate to your address directly – 4 to 6 weeks later.

What will you learn:

• Operating VHF/DSC marine radio
• Marine radio rules and regulations
• Using correct frequencies (channels)
• Phonetic alphabet
• Radio language and protocols, including pro-words
• Sending Distress Alert and Distress Message (Mayday)
• Sending Urgency and Safety alerts and calls (Pan Pan, Securite)
• Calling other stations
• Using Digital Selective Calling (DSC) simulators 
• Understanding the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) 
• Using an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) 
• Using a Search and Rescue radar transponder (SART)

Ability after the course:

To have the confidence and qualification needed to use a marine radio in routine and emergency situations.

Certificate:

Maritime radio operator certificate of competence – Short Range Certificate issued by the RYA on behalf of the MCA (UK)