RYA Day Skipper Practical Course

Client:     Aspiring Skippers.  Successful completion will give an ICC equivalent.

Dates:   June 12-16 (Sold out), June 19-23 (Sold Out)

Info:        Five days live-aboard on the beautiful south shore of Nova Scotia.

The RYA Day Skipper course is for aspiring skippers with some yachting experience and basic navigation and sailing skills.  This course is recognized around the world as the standard for skippering bareboat.  Holders of this certificate also qualify for the ICC (International Certificate of Competence) which permits chartering in Europe.

Learn to skipper a short passage with the instructor on hand to give advice and encouragement and ensure your safety. Experience being in charge, taking credit when it all  goes well and being responsible when it doesn’t.

If it’s help with navigation that you need, you will find our Day Skipper shorebased course (see Navigation and seamanship theory).

Duration 5 days, 4 nights

Material provided  RYA Day Skipper Handbook  Sail by Sarah Hopkinson

Student:Instructor Ratio 3 single or 2 couples

During the course, we cover the following topics:

  1. Preparation for sea
  2. deck work
  3. navigation
  4. pilotage
  5. meteorology
  6. rules of the road
  7. maintenance and repair work
  8. engines
  9. provisioning
  10. emergency situations
  11. yacht handling under power
  12. yacht handling under sail
  13. passage making
  14. night cruising

As a minimum, we like to see about 5 days, 100 miles.  A few night hours aboard a sailing yacht would be a benefit.

On successful completion of your RYA Day Skipper course your name, contact details, date of birth, certificate number and date of issue will shared with the RYA through a secure web portal on www.rya.org.uk. The data will be stored on the RYA’s central database. This information allows the RYA to record your qualification, to update any records they may hold for you, and to verify or replace your certificate if required. For further information on how the RYA will deal with your data, please see the RYA’s privacy policy at www.rya.org.uk/go/privacy.

Fees and Booking

Price $1750.00.

Request more Information

Register for the course

If you need a room before and after the course, we have negotiated a special Discovery Sailing room rate for your convenience.   If you would like to book a room using our Discovery rate (20% discount), please call or email Jeff Green at 902-627-3361 or at jeff.green@oakislandresort.ca.

“Captain Yoda; I am already sad that the week is over. I wish I could sail under your tutelage for a month at least! It was one of the best experiences of my life. Thank you for your commitment to a positive learning environment, devotion to developing new sailors, your never ending energy (?!) and the sharing of your passion with a greenhorn like myself. Until anon, DM”


D.M., Day Skipper Student
“Paul Justice, Ontario, RYA Day Skipper

Hi Dave:
I attended your day Skipper course last September. This past weekend I purchased an aloha 28 sailboat. I spent one day sailing with the previous owner and we have sailed once on our own. If I had not taken your course, there is no way that I would have the confidence or knowledge to buy and sail this boat. As we were operating the  boat this past weekend I constantly recalled many bits of information that you passed on to me last September.

Thanks Dave for helping to make this possible for me to fulfill my dream to sail.  – PJ   2016-09-05

P.J. Day Skipper Student