RYA VHF/SRC Radio

Price: from £125 (Finance now available)

Location: Starts at our base at Premier Gosport Marina

Duration: 1 day

The RYA SRC VHF Radio course is the minimum qualification required by law to operate VHF or Digital Selective Calling (DSC) equipment on any British flagged vessel. This RYA VHF SRC radio training covers marine VHF radio operation, DSC distress calling, and routine communication procedures.

RYA VHF SRC radio course training at Gosport Marina

Anyone who operates a marine radio at sea needs this qualification whether you are on a kayak, paddle board, RIB, jet ski, or yacht. Our RYA VHF SRC radio course runs in a single day at our Gosport Marina base on the Solent.

RYA VHF SRC radio training on a Bavaria sailing yacht

After completing this course you will be able to take the next step in your sailing journey with our RYA Day Skipper theory or practical training courses. For official course details visit the RYA radio courses page.

Learn more about our one day courses or view our full course calendar for available dates.

What you will learn on the RYA VHF radio course

The RYA VHF SRC (Short Range Certificate) course covers everything you need to legally operate marine VHF and DSC equipment on a UK-flagged vessel. You will learn how to make distress calls, communicate with coastguard stations, and use Digital Selective Calling to contact specific vessels.

The course runs from 9am to 5pm at our Gosport Marina training centre. The morning covers VHF radio theory, channel frequencies, and communication procedures. The afternoon is hands-on with DSC simulators practicing distress, urgent, and routine calls. The written and practical exam happens at the end of the day — results are immediate.

The RYA VHF radio course is the minimum legal requirement for anyone using marine VHF on a British vessel. It is also a prerequisite for the RYA Day Skipper theory course and is included in our Yachtmaster Fast Track programme. No previous experience is needed — just a good understanding of spoken English.

Booking details

Course Information

Joining Instructions: Please click here for training course joining instructions

Recommended Reading: The home learning notes and questions can be found here

Course Prerequisites: No assumed knowledge

VHF Exam Booking: Please use this link direct to the RYA Website to book and pay for your VHF exam

Minimum Age: No minimum but Under 16’s must be accompanied by adult. Persons aged 16+ can be unaccompanied subject to the other pre-requisites having been met

A marine radio sits on a wooden desk, displaying “Channel 16.” Papers and documents surround the radio equipment, indicating a work environment.
Two people are in a room, one speaking into a radio with paperwork around, suggesting a communication or coordination task.

Who is the course for:

This is a one day classroom based course. The Short Range Certificate (SRC) is the minimum qualification required by law to operate the VHF or  VHF Digital Selective Calling (DSC) equipment (radio) on any British flagged vessel carrying a radio. From paddle boarding or kayaking taking a hand held radio with you on the sea or rivers. To going out on your RIB / Powerboat or Yacht, or even if you are just renting a boat for the day. This course wil allow you to stay safe on the water with the ability to communicate with other water users and the emergency services if you need assistance.

This includes both fixed and handheld radio equipment using International channels, and the general operation and etiquette of the radios.

The RYA SRC/VHF Radio Course is designed to help you  understand the important legal concepts and maritime SRC/VHF regulations and how they will affect you whilst out on the water.

Read more

What we cover on the course:

A VHF radio is a key piece of safety equipment on board and it is vital to understand the correct procedures and operations for its safe use. Unnecessary transmissions could block-out a Mayday distress call or endanger someone’s life.

The RYA SRC/VHF Radio Course includes a wide variety of real-life situations – both routine and distress. Using real VHF radios in our dedicated VHF classroom, making radio calls to your fellow students in the classroom it provides an amazing hands-on experience using equipment you will find on most boats in use today.

You will also look at with other safety equipment which is covered in the course, like SARTs, EPIRBs and PLBs, how they operate and their use in real-life situations.

Read more
VHF marine radio
A person on a boat communicates using a radio device, with various control panels and gauges on a wooden console.

Course formats & details:

Courses run in a single format:

  • 1 day: (Saturday or Sunday)

The RYA SRC/VHF Radio operator course usually takes approximately 6-8 hours

Please note we do not provide catering on this course. There are plenty of local facilities within a couple of minutes walk of the marina however. We do provide free tea, coffe and hot chocolate on the course.

When you have completed your course you are eligible to attend the SRC/VHF exam. This is normally held after the course into the early evening. This does make the day very long. Successful completion of the exam will result in you being awarded your VHF/SRC licence (To be applied-for separately).

On our course there is approximately 3-4 hours of pre-course learning that we recommend you undertake. This can be found by clicking on this link here.

The Exam. This 1 hour session needs to legally take place at an RYA Recognised Training School.

You can sit the exam in our dedicated VHF training facility at the end of the course, or you are free to sit the exam at any other Registered RYA Centre that is SRC accredited.

There is an exam fee of £60 which is paid directly to the RYA via this link here. Students must be 16 yrs old in order to be able to sit the operators exam.

Read more

Our Chief Instructor says this about the RYA SRC / VHF Course:

This is the perfect course for anyone going afloat, the need to be able to communicate in an emergency with other water users is essential and vital when going afloat.

The ability to clearly and safely call for assistance and communicate with the Coastguard or other boats via VHF radio is a vital tool for anyone onboard, weather you are the skipper, first mate or even a crewmember or passenger.

Being able to properly operate the VHF radio is essential. From calling for assistance, general communications between vessels and of course giving the marina the all important call for a berth for the night. With any water user weather you are a Kayaker, canoer, stand up paddle boarder, RIB user, powerboater or Yacht user the need to be able to get help when you need it is essential to being safe afloat.

It’s a long day but incredibly informative and rewarding. The certificate is yours for life if you pass the exam at the end. This will give you a skill that could save lives in the future.

We really recommend this course for anyone operating a vessel as crew or skipper due to the need to be properly licenced.

Booking a charter holiday or boat rental abroad it is now more commonplace for the holiday company to ask for someone on the boat to be qualified to operate the VHF radio.

Read more
A table with a nautical chart, Admiralty tide tables, navigation tools, and a radio setup, likely used for maritime navigation and planning.

Booking details

Please select your preferred start date below.

Related courses

RYA Powerboat Level 2

The perfect introduction to Powerboats & Ribs, the two day RYA Powerboat Level 2 practical powerboat course will give you the best building blocks to kick-off your powerboat adventure from!

Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the RYA Powerboat Level 2 course! You can easily browse upcoming availability—simply select a specific highlighted date to see which courses are running, or search within a date range to find what fits your schedule.

Whether you’re planning ahead or looking for a last-minute adventure, our calendar makes it straightforward to find the perfect start date. Don’t forget you can spread the cost via invoice. Give us a call or email to talk about this option.

Learn more

RYA Day Skipper Combination Theory and Practical

The RYA Day Skipper Combined Theory and Practical Training Course runs over nine days. The course brings students with at least the RYA Competent Crew qualification, or some sailing experience, up to RYA Day Skipper level, through undertaking both the theory and practical training courses.

Accommodation during the theory side of the training course is available at a small extra cost (subject to boat availability).

 

Take a look at our live course calendar for RYA Day Skipper Theory and Practical Combined Training Course dates, taking place at Gosport Marina.

 

Learn more

Marina Skills & Boat Handling

Our very popular Marina Skills & Boat Handling course is a real confidence-builder for any sailor who has to deal with tight or difficult marina berths. We also cover things like adverse weather and tide whilst berthing, along with picking up mooring buoys too. A must-have for skippers and crew alike, you’ll feel your confidence grow after doing this course.

Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the Marina Skills & Boat Handling course!

Learn more

Customer reviews

Exciting Channle islands exploration!! This will be my third time with Commodore, no regrets. 😁 Such a great trip exploring the Channle islands and northern France. We got to see lovely towns in Guernsey and Jersey as well as a fab market in Cherbourg. The sailing was so great! Over 350 miles covered and well over doubled my night hours. Big shoutout and thank you to our amazing skipper Ed who always had to the best recommendation and was so flexible to what we wanted to do as a group. He was an amazing support through out the trip, gave great MOB training and help in passage planning. Boat was great as always. Amazing experience and can’t wait to go on similar trips with the company.

Orla Simpson Avatar Orla Simpson
29th August 2025

We did a mile builder channel crossing with Karen. She was absolutely brilliant, a great combination of confident and relaxed to help us build our feeling of confidence. Would highly recommend the mile builder with her. Overall a tiring but extremely rewarding experience. Thank you Karen!!

Ana Sofia Almagro Avatar Ana Sofia Almagro
25th August 2025

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news & offers

Subscribe Now
Share: Facebook X LinkedIn