Discover Africa, Spain and Gibraltar while obtaining your ‘Coastal Skipper’ Qualification...

... And have fun in the Sun while becoming an RYA ‘Coastal Skipper'

So, just what does being a Coastal Skipper mean? Basically this course was designed for the more ambitious Skipper wanting to feel confident about travelling further afield.

On the course, each trainee will skipper a passage in a variety of situations and learn more about safety, passage planning, pilotage by day and night, boat handling and emergency situations.

The suggested experience prior to doing the course is 15 days, with 2 days as skipper, 300 miles and 8 nights.
There is already an assumed level of knowledge to the coastal Skipper shore based standard as well as being able to handle a boat to Day Skipper practical standard.

The content of the course includes a full safety briefing and greater awareness of safety procedures, equipment and what to do in these situations. We cover detailed passage planning which includes pilotage by day and night. This also means learning what to do in situations of restricted visibility.

We also cover boat handling in depth. This involves understanding characteristics of
twin-engine boats and how they react when only one engine can be used. This is a fantastic way to discover what to expect should you ever experience a problem and will improve your level of confidence no end!

Upon completion of the course it is intended that you will have the ability to confidently skipper a boat on coastal passages by day or night.

On the scenery side, we plan to visit ports along the African and Spanish, as
well as some other exciting destinations along the way. You'll also be navigating the Strait of Gibraltar, which can be an education in itself!

Here's a reminder of what else we'll be covering...

We will show you how to effortlessly create passage plans, using the trip across the straits as our model. You will also be involved in discovering how to interpret the weather for the week and understanding the effects this has on the decisions you'll make for the journey.

Preparation for sea includes all aspects of knowing the vessel, safety kit and how
to use it - flares, liferaft etc. We cover Pilotage in detail, which will give you a big confidence boost when finding your way around tight harbours - especially in the fog or dark.
As well as everything we've mentioned so far, we look at the use of Radar and how a couple of features on there will really aid your position fixing skills, Boat Handling, in the marina, at sea, single engine and twin engine manoeuvres... Adverse weather and sea conditions, Emergency situations, what these are, how to prepare for them - and how to prevent them in the first place.

So... If you want to earn your Coastal Skipper in the sunshine and want to know what dates we have available, the next step is to either email or call us on 0800 652 7866 or 0034 952 804 597

Make 2007 a year for adventure and book your Coastal Skipper Course Now!

I look forward to hearing from you soon. In the meantime, all the best!

Phil

Phil Jackson,