Course preview · RYA G18
Day Skipper Theory
Shorebased navigation, chartwork, and meteorology for coastal skippers.
- Modules
- 17
- Lessons
- 82
- Materials
- 82
- Syllabus outcomes
- 16
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RYA syllabus
01 Nautical Terms1 topic · 1 outcome
Parts & rigging1
- 1.1Uses correct nautical terminology for boat, rig and equipment
02 Ropework1 topic · 1 outcome
Knots and their uses1
- 2.1Knows the eight essential knots and their applications
03 Anchorwork1 topic · 1 outcome
Ground tackle1
- 3.1Selects anchorage, calculates scope and evaluates holding
04 Safety1 topic · 2 outcomes
Onboard safety2
- 4.1Knows personal safety equipment, MOB prevention and recovery
- 4.2Uses fire prevention, distress signals and liferaft
05 International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea1 topic · 2 outcomes
IRPCS2
- 5.1Applies steering & sailing rules
- 5.2Recognises lights, shapes and sound signals
06 Navigation3 topics · 4 outcomes
Charts, symbols & publications1
- 6.1Interprets Admiralty charts, symbols and publications
Position, course & distance2
- 6.2Plots position, course to steer and distance run using DR/EP
- 6.3Applies variation, deviation and leeway
Tides1
- 6.4Calculates tidal heights (standard & secondary ports) and tidal streams
07 Buoyage1 topic · 1 outcome
IALA System A1
- 7.1Identifies IALA A marks by day and night
08 Meteorology1 topic · 1 outcome
Forecasts & weather systems1
- 8.1Interprets shipping and inshore forecasts; understands basic weather patterns
09 Passage Planning1 topic · 1 outcome
Short coastal passages1
- 9.1Plans a short coastal passage including all safety and contingency factors
10 Pilotage1 topic · 1 outcome
Harbour approaches1
- 10.1Prepares a pilotage plan for entering/leaving harbour
11 Electronic Navigation Aids1 topic · 1 outcome
GPS, plotter & AIS1
- 11.1Uses GPS, chart plotter and AIS with awareness of limitations
Course outline & materials
Titles only — materials open once you're enrolled on the course.
01 Nautical terms & the boat4 lessons · 6 items
Parts of the yacht, standing and running rigging, and the language used on board.
- URLVideo: Parts of the boat & sailing terminology🔒
- URLReference: RYA knowledge & advice🔒
- FILEDay Skipper Theory — Course Notes🔒
- FILEDay Skipper Theory — Course Exercises🔒
- FILEDay Skipper Exercises 2010/11🔒
- FILEDay Skipper Assessment Papers 2010/11🔒
Theory & key concepts40 min
No materials listed
Worked examples15 min
No materials listed
Practice exercises54 min
No materials listed
RYA Navigation Exercises (Day Skipper)30 min
No materials listed
02 Ropework & knots2 lessons · 2 items
The six working knots, cleating, and safe handling of loaded lines.
- URLVideo: Cleat hitch and working knots🔒
- URLReference: RYA knowledge & advice🔒
Theory & key concepts40 min
No materials listed
Worked examples15 min
No materials listed
03 Anchoring & mooring4 lessons · 4 items
Choosing a berth, scope, holding, and coming alongside under control.
- URLVideo: How to anchor — step by step🔒
- URLReference: Admiralty EasyTide (tide times)🔒
Theory & key concepts40 min
- FILEAnchoring (slides)🔒
- FILEAnchors and mooring (slides)🔒
Interactive: Anchoring
No materials listed
Worked examples15 min
No materials listed
Practice exercises10 min
No materials listed
04 Safety equipment & personal safety5 lessons · 8 items
Lifejackets, harnesses, liferaft, flares, and the skipper's safety briefing.
- URLVideo: Lifejacket and boating safety🔒
- URLReference: RYA water safety guidance🔒
- FILEDay Skipper Course 2026 — interactive deck🔒
Theory & key concepts40 min
- FILEIntro to safety (slides)🔒
- FILESafety Slides (slides)🔒
- FILESafety and survival (slides)🔒
- FILEDistress signals (slides)🔒
- FILESOLAS V Requirements (slides)🔒
Interactive: Safety At Sea
No materials listed
Worked examples15 min
No materials listed
Practice exercises57 min
No materials listed
RYA Navigation Exercises (Day Skipper)30 min
No materials listed
05 Engine checks & basic maintenance3 lessons · 2 items
Daily checks, the raw-water circuit, fuel, and simple faultfinding.
- URLVideo: Marine diesel — fuel and water checks🔒
- URLReference: Maritime & Coastguard Agency🔒
Theory & key concepts40 min
No materials listed
Worked examples15 min
No materials listed
Practice exercises10 min
No materials listed
06 Collision regulations (IRPCS)4 lessons · 5 items
Steering and sailing rules, lights and shapes, and sound signals.
- URLVideo: COLREGs Rule 12 — sailing vessels🔒
- URLReference: RYA regulations hub🔒
Theory & key concepts40 min
- FILEIRPCS (slides)🔒
- FILERules of the road (slides)🔒
- FILEIrpcs - collsion regulation - ror - rule of the road at sea - msn_1781-2 - lates-1🔒
Worked examples15 min
No materials listed
Practice exercises135 min
No materials listed
RYA Navigation Exercises (Day Skipper)30 min
No materials listed
07 Charts & chart symbols7 lessons · 6 items
Paper and electronic charts, datums, scales and the symbols in NP5011.
- URLVideo: Charts and chart symbols🔒
- URLReference: UKHO Admiralty charts🔒
- FILEDay Skipper Course 2026 — interactive deck🔒
Theory & key concepts40 min
- FILENavigation charts and tools (slides)🔒
- FILEChartwork slides (slides)🔒
- FILEChartwork (slides)🔒
Interactive: Definitions On Earth
No materials listed
Interactive: Nautical Charts
No materials listed
Interactive: Plotting Tools
No materials listed
Worked examples15 min
No materials listed
Practice exercises48 min
No materials listed
RYA Navigation Exercises (Day Skipper)30 min
No materials listed
08 Chart Room: chart reading & plotting4 lessons · 0 items
Read the chart, plot positions, measure distance and bearings, fix position and use the Chart Room tools, with interactive screens.
Reading the chart: datum, scale and symbols45 min
No materials listed
Plotting positions, distance and bearings50 min
No materials listed
Fixing position: bearings, transits and EP50 min
No materials listed
Using the Chart Room tools40 min
No materials listed
09 The magnetic compass, variation & deviation5 lessons · 5 items
True, magnetic and compass headings, and how to convert between them.
- URLVideo: Compass error — variation and deviation🔒
- URLReference: UKHO Admiralty charts🔒
Theory & key concepts40 min
- FILECompass (slides)🔒
- FILECompass and nav (slides)🔒
- FILEDeviation & Variation (slides)🔒
Interactive: Magnetic Compass
No materials listed
Worked examples15 min
No materials listed
Practice exercises27 min
No materials listed
RYA Navigation Exercises (Day Skipper)30 min
No materials listed
10 Position fixing & chartwork7 lessons · 5 items
DR, EP, three-point fixes, transits, and using GPS intelligently.
- URLVideo: Plotting a three-point fix🔒
- URLReference: UKHO Admiralty charts🔒
Theory & key concepts40 min
- FILEPositioning (slides)🔒
Worked example30 min
- FILEPlotting a CTS 1 (slides)🔒
- FILEPlotting a CTS 2 (slides)🔒
Interactive: Dead Reckoning
No materials listed
Interactive: Position Fixing
No materials listed
Worked examples15 min
No materials listed
Practice exercises66 min
No materials listed
RYA Navigation Exercises (Day Skipper)30 min
No materials listed
11 Tides & tidal heights8 lessons · 6 items
Springs and neaps, tidal curves, secondary ports and clearance calculations.
- URLVideo: Tidal heights at secondary ports🔒
- URLReference: Admiralty EasyTide (tide times)🔒
- FILEDay Skipper Course 2026 — interactive deck🔒
Theory & key concepts40 min
- FILETides-Causes of (slides)🔒
- FILETides slides (slides)🔒
- FILEHATpresentation (slides)🔒
Interactive: Causes Of Tides
No materials listed
Interactive: Tide Heights And Chart Datum
No materials listed
Interactive: Rule Of Twelfths
No materials listed
Interactive: Tides For A Standard Port
No materials listed
Interactive: The Tidal Curve
No materials listed
Worked examples15 min
No materials listed
Practice exercises45 min
No materials listed
12 Tidal streams & course to steer5 lessons · 4 items
Tidal diamonds, stream atlases, and the course-to-steer vector triangle.
- URLVideo: Course to steer in 10 minutes🔒
- URLReference: Admiralty EasyTide (tide times)🔒
Theory & key concepts40 min
- FILETide on nav ep cts (slides)🔒
- FILERya tides slides (slides)🔒
Interactive: Shaping The Course
No materials listed
Worked examples15 min
No materials listed
Practice exercises36 min
No materials listed
RYA Navigation Exercises (Day Skipper)30 min
No materials listed
13 Buoyage & visual aids to navigation6 lessons · 9 items
IALA Region A lateral and cardinal marks, and light characteristics.
- URLVideo: Cardinal marks and buoyage🔒
- URLReference: IALA — international buoyage authority🔒
Theory & key concepts40 min
- FILEBuoyage (slides)🔒
- FILEIALA Buoyage (slides)🔒
- FILECardinal Marks (slides)🔒
- FILECardinal Marks-Real (slides)🔒
- FILEBuoys and lights (slides)🔒
- FILESector Lights (slides)🔒
- FILEBuoyage (slides)🔒
Interactive: General
No materials listed
Interactive: Buoyage System
No materials listed
Worked examples15 min
No materials listed
Practice exercises27 min
No materials listed
RYA Navigation Exercises (Day Skipper)30 min
No materials listed
14 Meteorology & weather forecasts8 lessons · 9 items
Synoptic charts, depressions and fronts, sea breezes, and forecast sources.
- URLVideo: The Shipping Forecast explained🔒
- URLReference: Met Office Shipping Forecast🔒
Theory & key concepts40 min
- FILEMeteorology Slides (slides)🔒
- FILESea & Land Breeze (slides)🔒
- FILESources of weather info (slides)🔒
- FILEWeather-wise-part1🔒
- FILEWeather-wise-part2🔒
- FILEWeather-wise-part3🔒
- FILEMet_Maps (1)🔒
Interactive: How The Weather Works
No materials listed
Interactive: Weather Information Sources
No materials listed
Interactive: Beaufort Scale
No materials listed
Interactive: Barometer
No materials listed
Worked examples15 min
No materials listed
Practice exercises39 min
No materials listed
RYA Navigation Exercises (Day Skipper)30 min
No materials listed
15 Passage planning & pilotage4 lessons · 6 items
Building a plan from almanac and chart, and pilotage into an unfamiliar harbour.
- URLVideo: Passage planning🔒
- URLReference: Maritime & Coastguard Agency🔒
- FILEDay Skipper Course 2026 — interactive deck🔒
Theory & key concepts40 min
- FILEPilotage (slides)🔒
- FILEPilotage Passage Planning (slides)🔒
- FILEPilotage Passage Planningmt (slides)🔒
Worked examples15 min
No materials listed
Practice exercises33 min
No materials listed
RYA Navigation Exercises (Day Skipper)30 min
No materials listed
16 Emergency situations & the marine environment3 lessons · 5 items
MOB, distress, fire, flooding, VHF procedure and looking after the sea.
- URLVideo: Using VHF to call for help🔒
- URLReference: RYA water safety guidance🔒
- FILEDay Skipper Course 2026 — interactive deck🔒
Theory & key concepts40 min
- FILESea Survival-RYA (slides)🔒
- FILEUse of dinghy (slides)🔒
Worked examples15 min
No materials listed
Practice exercises10 min
No materials listed
17 Passage planning in practice3 lessons · 0 items
Build a real-time passage plan with waypoints, tides, wind and weather, then plot it in the Chart Room.
Waypoints and route30 min
No materials listed
Tides and timing30 min
No materials listed
Wind, weather and go/no-go30 min
No materials listed