RYA Seamanship Course

The RYA Seamanship Skills course is designed to cover the parts of sailing that you don't pick up racing on the Thames, or on more basic courses. The aim is to get a better feel for how to handle the boat in unexpected conditions or when things don't go to plan, and that makes you a better sailor the rest of the time too. This course would be ideal for anyone who has only sailed on the river, who wants to build their confidence in all conditions, or all cadets at Stage 4 standard.

Min requirements – S4 or equivalent for kids, adults should be L3 standard – able to sail a double-handed boat around a triangular course in any wind up to F4. Any club member who has only sailed on the river, or would like to develop their advanced boat handling skills.

The course covers different approaches for boat manoeuvres including landing on pontoons and beaches, coming alongside, picking up a mooring and heaving-to in different wind and tide conditions. You learn what to do when things go wrong, including sailing without a rudder or without a centreboard, man overboard, and recovery from a total inversion. We'll also being doing reefing ashore or afloat, anchoring, backwards sailing and some more advanced ropework, as well as talking about some meteorology for sailors and basic tides.

Last updated 3:36am on 17 April 2024