This course introduces the competent member of the crew to the skills required to be a skipper. There is no final exam, as assessment takes place throughout the course.

Some theoretical knowledge on chart work and tides is required prior to the beginning of the course; best of all is having just completed the Day Skipper theory course in the classroom.

However if you have sailed as an active member of the crew for a season and wish to progress to a greater understanding of the decision making processes then this course should suit you.

During the course there will be much emphasis on how to plan a passage, why the decision is made to go and more importantly why not to go to a particular harbour and what to be aware of during the trip. The emphasis is on safety, both to the skipper and the crew, with guidelines of what to look out for before sailing on an unfamiliar yacht.

It is important at this level that learning is fun, the new skills to be learnt should enhance the enjoyment of sailing as the candidate will begin to understand the mechanics of chart work, put pilotage into practise and unfold the mysteries of tidal calculations.

The Instructor will demonstrate how to make a planning decision, leading the new skipper through the minefield of being in charge, gradually leaving the skipper to make more decisions as the confidence grows. There is much importance on the debriefing at the end of each passage, so that the new skipper is able to gain from any errors, baring in mind that there are always lots of ways of achieving the same objective and some ways work better for one person and not another.

There will be a detailed safety briefing at the commencement of the course including highlighting the important points which should be made to new crew and what to look for when getting on an unfamiliar yacht for the first time.

During the course the candidate will have an opportunity to practise yacht handling under sail and power in confined conditions such as picking up a mooring, sailing onto an anchor, berthing in a marina and returning to pick up a dropped floating object.

Position fixing whilst underway will be practised as well as tidal height and current calculations. An increased understanding of the Rules of the Road and the vagaries of the weather will be required by the end of the course.

There will be an introduction into the daily maintenance checks with an eye for potential defects as prevention is the seamanlike method of reducing problems which can occur at sea. Basic emergency procedures will be covered to give the candidate some understanding of the procedures used by the Coastguard and Rescue services.

The course will consist of several passages made during both daylight and dark interspersed with demonstrations, discussions and exercises designed to illuminate the problems encountered and suggest ways of solving them.

The standard to be achieved by the end of the course is to be comfortable with being a skipper of a small cruising yacht in familiar and tidal waters by day.