Online RYA Essential Navigation and Safety
Booking details
No dates currently available. Please contact us for more info.
No dates currently available. Please contact us for more info.
Joining Instructions: Please click here for course joining instructions
Recommended Reading: NON
You will have 6 months from ordering the course to completion (extensions are available)
Course Prerequisites: Some sailing experience is helpful, although not essential
Minimum Age: No minimum but Under 16’s must be accompanied by adult. Persons aged 16+ can be unaccompanied subject to other pre-requisites having been met
A great introduction to basic navigation and safety awareness for people who are interested in starting their navigation skills. Designed for anyone interested in sailing both yacht and dinghy or even wind surfing, power boating, sea angling or diving, it’s a great way to get into navigation
The course covers the basics such as charts and publications, safety and engine checks, buoyage, tidal awareness, visual and electronic navigation, pilotage, rules of the road, anchoring, weather forecasts and passage planning
You will receive a course pack which includes a chart, plotter, dividers, course handbook and exercises.
Courses run in a single format:
A nice gentle online introduction to navigation for anyone starting off sailing or watersports.
We have teamed up with NAVATHOME to offer easy to follow on-line theory courses with the added advantage that you can submit your answers on-line and find out if your answers are correct with instant feedback as you go.
You will need access to a computer / ipad / smartphone but there is nothing to download, everything is accessible online.
Full tutor support is provided with an experienced RYA instructor. We are so confident that you will find this Essential Navigation and Safety Course Online delivered by Navathome.com both clear and easy to follow that we offering you the chance to attend a FREE Essential Navigation and Safety Course Online ‘Theory Clinic’ at Gosport Marina if required as many times as you like until you have completed the course.
There are detailed explanations on each subject with interactive graphics which can be clicked through forwards and backwards.
You can even try the course with a free trial!
The course fee includes:
Please note that by completing the booking you are agreeing to the terms and conditions
Packs to Russia must go to a Business address.
All packs must be signed-for so make sure you or someone will be available to accept the package.
Navathome will not accept responsibility for Packs sent to Marinas, or C/o addresses. If the pack goes missing after it has been signed for the student will be liable for the cost of the replacement pack.
Postage to some of Europe you will be invoiced for this after your purchase is complete. Charges are £40 for postage. Please ensure there will be someone to sign for your package*
This course is great for anyone who is new to sailing and motorboating. It’s the basics of navigation and safety and is a perfect course to start building your knowledge with.
The skills completed on this course will allow you to do simple pasages to and from a port. It’s perfect for everyone on the starting rungs of their navigation life.
It has worked really well for new and aspiring dinghy and powerboat instructors to do this course prior to their formal training. This course reinforces your knowledge and adds to it. I would highly recommend this as a bolt on for your RYA Powerboat Level 2 before you look at doing more advanced courses. This is a great online course and really worth its weight in gold.
No dates currently available. Please contact us for more info.
Ready to take the helm? The RYA Day Skipper Theory course is the UK’s most popular pathway to skippering your own yacht. Whether you’re looking to charter in the Solent, explore the South Coast, or plan adventures overseas, this 5-day course delivers essential navigation, safety, and passage-planning skills—all in a friendly, small-group setting at our Premier Marina Gosport base.
Read our day-by-day guide to the RYA Day Skipper course for a detailed breakdown of what each day covers, with tips on navigation exercises and meteorology study.
No minimum age (under-16s accompanied by an adult). Some sailing experience helpful but not essential.
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the RYA Day Skipper Theory course!
Once you’ve found your ideal dates, you can secure your place with just a 30% deposit. We understand life can throw up the occasional choppy waters, so instalment payments are available to spread the payment out before your course—just get in touch to arrange what works best for you. If you have any questions or want to chat through the course before booking, don’t hesitate to contact Tom for friendly, expert advice on the phone.
We offer the RYA day skipper theory course in two formats. The classroom course runs over five consecutive days at our training centre at Gosport Marina. It includes face to face tuition, group exercises, and access to our chart plotter simulator. The online course lets you study at your own pace from home, with tutor support by email and phone.
Both options cover the same RYA Day Skipper theory syllabus: navigation, safety, meteorology, collision regulations, passage planning, and engine checks. The key difference is pace. Classroom students complete in one week. Online students typically take 4-8 weeks. Choose whichever suits your schedule.
The RYA day skipper theory course is a prerequisite for the Day Skipper practical course. It is also valuable for anyone who wants to charter a yacht — many charter companies require evidence of theory training before they will let you take a boat out.
The classroom course is 5 days, typically 9am to 5pm. The online course is self-paced with 40-60 hours of study material.
Yes. The course concludes with a 2-hour exam paper. A pass mark of 60% is required. You can retake if needed.
No formal qualifications are needed, but you should have some sailing experience. The RYA recommends at least 2 days experience and 50 logged sea miles before starting the theory course.
Yes, but we recommend doing theory first. The navigation and meteorology knowledge will make your practical week far more productive.
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The RYA Day Skipper Sail Course runs over five days and brings students with at least the RYA Competent Crew Sail qualification (or knowledge to that level as minimum) and some sailing experience, up to skipper level.
The RYA Day Skipper practical course is where you stop being crew and start being skipper. Over five days on the Solent, you will take command of a Bavaria yacht under the supervision of an RYA instructor. You will plan passages, make navigational decisions, and manage the crew.
The Solent is one of the best places in the UK to train for your Day Skipper practical. Tidal streams, commercial shipping, and busy harbours mean you get real experience of skippering in challenging conditions. You will visit ports like Portsmouth, Cowes, and Yarmouth, practicing berthing alongside and picking up mooring buoys. Successful completion prepares you for the RYA Coastal Skipper practical course.
Prerequisites: RYA Competent Crew (or equivalent experience) and the RYA Day Skipper theory certificate. You should have logged at least 5 days, 100 sea miles, and 4 night hours on a sailing yacht.
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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!
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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 SimpsonWe 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