RYA Day Skipper Theory case studies
RYA Day Skipper Theory · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The RYA Day Skipper Theory course is the shorebased theory syllabus that sits behind the RYA Day Skipper practical certificate, one of the most widely taken cruising qualifications for sailors and motor cruisers in the UK and abroad. It is aimed at people who already sail or motor-cruise a little and want to skipper a small yacht or motor cruiser safely in familiar waters by day. Candidates typically come from club racing, flotilla holidays, or crewing roles, and want the confidence to plan and execute short coastal passages. The syllabus is broad rather than deep: chartwork and position fixing, tides and tidal height and stream calculations, navigation, pilotage and passage planning, and seamanship, safety and the collision regulations. The RYA Day Skipper Theory case studies are 5 cases and about 2,774 words.
1Cross-channel fix: set, drift and course to steer
At 0900 you are at 50°30.0′N 001°30.0′W in a 10 m sloop. You steer 120°T at 6.0 kn through the water.
588 words, about 3 min2Secondary-port bar crossing: latest ebb
You are skippering a 10.5 m yacht with draft 1.9 m. You plan to cross a drying bar and enter a marina.
530 words, about 3 min3Night entry with unlit leading marks
You are skipper of an 11 m yacht, draft 1.7 m, with four crew. One crew member is seasick.
593 words, about 3 min4Engine overheat on a lee shore
You are skipper of a 9 m sailing yacht with three crew: one experienced, one novice, one seasick. The wind is SW 22 kn gusting 30, sea 1.5 m.
527 words, about 3 min5Night crossing in a narrow channel: three vessels
You are skipper of a 12 m power-driven motor cruiser proceeding up a narrow channel at 7 kn. It is night with good visibility.
536 words, about 3 min