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The Day Skipper Theory Course is an essential foundation for anyone looking to skipper a yacht, whether you're preparing for the Day Skipper Practical or planning your first charter.
The course is delivered entirely online, so you can study at your own pace from home, with everything included. Your RYA course materials arrive digitally and a set of practice charts are posted directly to your door, so you can get straight into the work without needing to be anywhere at a set time.
You'll work through coastal navigation and pilotage, chartwork, position fixing, plotting a course to steer, weather forecasting and meteorology, tides, and the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. Alongside traditional navigation techniques, the course also introduces electronic navigation using chart plotter software — reflecting how most modern cruising yachts are actually sailed.
The course is self-guided and eBook-based, working through the RYA materials and exercises at your own pace, rather than a video or interactive platform. By the end you'll have the background knowledge to skipper a small yacht in familiar waters by day. Some practical sailing experience is assumed, but no prior theory knowledge is required.
When you're ready, the final step is a 1.5-hour assessment at our office in Medemblik — just get in touch and we'll find a time that suits you. Postage of the practice charts within mainland Europe is included in the course fee.
