Inshore Skippers Certificate

Successful completion of this course will provide you with the basic skills to skipper your own yacht on sheltered waters and on short coastal passages in daylight hours and be in charge of a watch on extended coastal passages, day or night. It covers navigation, preparing your vessel for sea, calculating tides and taking command of a vessel on enclosed waters with each student participating in pilotage, the organisation of the watches, and passage planning. Each student is required to take command of the vessel.

You will actually experience taking a yacht out to sea through a tidal channel, under an opening bridge and cross over a bar and enjoy a short coastal sail.

Requirements
Theory Course (appropriately signed off in your logbook)
Practical Course (appropriately signed off in your logbook)
200 hours logged on board a yacht as an active crew including
	At least 500 nautical miles
	8 hours night watch keeping

Syllabus Includes
Skippers responsibilities
Preparing a vessel for sea
Nautical terms
Navigation
Meteorology
Passage planning
International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea
Boat handling
Command and skippering a vessel

You will also cover the theory components as follows:

Nautical Terms
Rope-work
Anchor-work
Safety
Basic Sailing Theory
Towing
Stability
Navigational Charts and Publications
Navigational drawing instruments
Compasses & Chartwork & Position fixing
Tides and tidal streams
Pilotage & Visual aids to navigation
Navigation in restricted visibility

Candidates ideally should have completed a Competent Crew course however, consideration is given to any prior sailing experience so long as you can demonstrate your ability to satisfy the requirements of the course. You should have logged around 200 hours as an active crew member and this should include 500 nautical miles with 8 hours sailing at night.

The course fee includes theory notes, YA certificates, use of wet weather gear and safety gear and navigational instruments, charts as required and all meals & overnight accommodation on board.