The Boat Skipper Course
A comprehensive two day recreational classroom based boating course, designed to provide you with the knowledge to be a safer and more confident skipper or crew member.
This course runs over two consecutive Saturday’s allowing you study time between classes.
Here are some of the topics we will be covering, with a brief description below.
Note: No assessment required for this course, so come along and enjoy the course without the stress of an exam at the end.
Boating Equipment:
We cover the most important pieces of equipment you should be carrying on board your vessel.
Boat Handling:
We will talk about boat stability, anchoring, how your boat steers etc.
Chart work:
Learn how to plot your position on a chart, measure distance and calculate the course to steer.
Rules of the Road at Sea:
So you know which side of the channel to be on and who gives way to who.
Buoys & Beacons:
The sign posts of the sea; know what they mean and most importantly which side to pass them on.
The Compass:
Taking a bearing, and understanding the effects your electronics have on the compass.
Tides:
Spring & Neap tides, tide height and tidal range.
Weather:
Understanding a weather map, wind direction and obtaining a weather forecast.
Lights:
Navigation lights on your boat, identifying a sailing vessel at night and when are lights required to be used.
Sound signals:
For turning to Port, Starboard, Engines astern and the Wake up sound signal.
Navigation Safety Rules:
Who has to comply? 5 knot rule, Minimum age, 500 ton rule, Diver down flag.
Skipper Responsibility:
Three checks you should make before you go boating, reporting an accident.
Distress Signals:
We will be going over the different types of distress signals, how effective they are and when they should be used. Gain a better understanding of your flares, what to look for and how to use them, making a May Day or Pan Pan call.
Fire:
What makes up the components of a fire, procedure for fighting a fire, preventing a fire on board, types of fire extinguishers?
Emergency Situations:
Taking on water, what to do if someone fall overboard, running aground, loss of steering, dealing with a fire on board.
Hypothermia:
What is hypothermia, what causes it, how to deal with it and how to prevent it in the first place?
Knots:
Throughout this course we will teach you how to tie a range of knots you can use on board your vessel and use to secure your vessel alongside the jetty.
The Boat Skipper Course runs over two consecutive Saturdays see Dates for the next available course.
Courses are available for individual groups and organizations at your premises. Minimum numbers may apply.