Time	5 days
Prerequisites	Theory to the level of the RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Shorebased course. Practical experience consisting of 15 days spent at sea, 300nm sailed, 8 night hours experienced on the water and 2 days as skipper.
Min. Age	17
Exam	Constant evaluation
Aim	To skipper a vessel in coastal waters, out of sight of land both during the day and in hours or darkness.

The goal of the RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail course is to teach the skills and techniques required to skipper a cruising yacht safely on coastal and offshore passages by day and night. 

If you have not already done your RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore Theory, then you should do that first. You can find more information about our online course here; RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore Theory.

What Does the RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail Allow You to Do?

You will gain practice in planning and skippering longer passages with a significant number of night hours where watch-keeping rotas become relevant. At the end of the course, a successful candidate would be awarded a course completion certificate.

An RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail course gives you the confidence to skipper a yacht in unfamiliar waters, out of sight of land, both during the day and at night. It also gives credibility to the holder’s higher skill levels and will likely be looked at positively by insurance companies.

Occasionally, charter companies may ask for an RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail certificate for their larger sizes of yachts or for chartering in more complex sailing grounds.

Nobody will be ready to jump straight into a commercial RYA Yachtmaster exam on completion of an RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail course, but the skillsets taught will enable the student to continue building their knowledge and experience as they progress in their sailing career.

Who Can Do an RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail?

The RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail course is open to anyone who meets the basic minimum criteria.

• 17 years of age or older
• 15 days spent at sea
• 300nm sailed
• 8 night hours experienced on the water
• 2 days as skipper

If you have sailing experience but not skippering experience, then you will want to take the RYA Day Skipper Practical Sail course. You can read more about that here. (linked to day skip sail blog)

Can You Go Straight to the RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail Course?

You should aim to complete your RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore Theory before attending your RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail course.

While this is not a beginner’s course, so long as you have the relevant experience and skippering skills as described above then you can indeed, go straight into RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail.

It should be noted however, that on the RYA Day Skipper Practical Sail course certain building blocks in your learning will have taken place and so if you do not have at least a few days of experience as a skipper of a small vessel then it is recommended that you start at the RYA Day Skipper Practical Sail in order to consolidate your knowledge of boat handling and skippering techniques.

How Long Does an RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail Take?

The RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail is a minimum of a 5-day live-aboard course, however, some schools may choose to extend this.

Is There a Set Syllabus?

There is indeed a syllabus. Each of the following topics represents a specific part of the learnings that will be covered on an RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail course in varying levels of detail.

Passage planning, preparation for sea, pilotage, passage making, ability as skipper, yacht handling under power, yacht handling under sail, adverse weather conditions and emergency situations detail the various aspects of the syllabus.

Read on to learn in a little more about how each of these is covered in a little more detail.

What Might I Learn on an RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail Course?

The RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail course is one of the most rewarding courses within the RYA cruising scheme.

On this course, you will advance your sailing and navigational skills from those previously learned. The RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail will take your RYA Day Skipper Practical Sail skills to a higher level. With this, you will gain more independence in your skippering.

The highlight of the RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail course will see you take on a longer passage that involves some kind of watchkeeping, something you may not have been part of before, especially while also responsible for skippering and navigation. This passage will ideally be out of sight of land and include numerous hours both during the day and at night.

Inevitably, the passage will also cover more than one tidal period or window while also overlaying various weather forecast times. Covering these in a practical scenario, under the guidance of an experienced instructor will allow you to truly see and feel how much these will affect your passage and why we need to take careful consideration of them at all times.

Further passage planning and preparation to a coastal level will be covered, while pilotage will now be covered by night as well as day. 

Handling the vessel under power and under sail will not be forgotten about as you will be put through more advanced learnings such as downwind sailing techniques and close-quarter manoeuvres. 

Finally, of course, during the week you will cover various emergency situations, including the recovery of a casualty and understanding how to handle adverse weather.

What Is the Cost of a Course?

As ever, many schools differ in price. We would recommend that you take a look around at the various options and find what suits your needs the best. Cheapest is not often better.

This can range from knowing if you will have to share a cabin while onboard, to whether food and berthing charges are included, to how many other students you will be sharing your week and instructors time with.

Where Should I Do My RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail Course?

There are many thoughts on where is best, but to be truthful, it is what works for you best. 

One thought is to do it in an area that you wouldn’t normally sail in, that way, you can gain learnings and experiences that are uncommon to you.

It is also important to know where you might be sailing to. Ideally, you want to be sailing out of sight of land at some point on an extended passage that covers a number of night hours. You do not want to be returning to the same home port every night.

Check here for RYA practical schools.

What Is the Pass Mark for the Course?

There is no specific pass mark as such. The instructor’s aim is to introduce you to the skills, techniques and experiences of cruising out of sight of land, on a watch system and making landfall.

These may all be introductions to you in this area and as such, each student will find they are at a different level.

The instructor for your course will guide and personalise any learnings so as to improve your knowledge and skills as best as possible.

As long as you are willing to put the effort into learning these skills and have come with the relevant knowledge and experience then you should be confident in achieving the desired standard to be awarded the RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail course completion certification.

What Comes After RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail

This is the highest practical course within the RYA cruising scheme. Ideally, you want to go on and consolidate all your learnings and gain experience in a range of conditions, boats and passages.

As you venture out on your travels, be sure to study any special characteristics you will come across in new unfamiliar waters such as med moorings, unusual winds or IALA B.

Once you have consolidated your knowledge, you can start to think about aiming for your RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Sail or RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Sail Exams.