RYA Competent Crew – What’s Next?

Congratulations, you have passed your RYA Competent Crew course. You have taken an important first step in your sailing journey and developed the skills needed to become an active and useful member of a yacht’s crew.

During your course, you learned the fundamentals of life aboard a cruising yacht, including how to handle sails, steer accurately, keep watch, tie essential knots and work effectively as part of a crew. You will also have gained practical experience of safety procedures, rope work, helming and the everyday routines involved in sailing a yacht.

Your RYA Competent Crew certificate demonstrates that you can take an active role aboard a cruising yacht. The question now is: what should you do next?

Your Next Step After RYA Competent Crew

There are two main routes you can take after completing Competent Crew:

• Spend more time sailing and consolidate your existing skills.
• Begin working towards the RYA Day Skipper qualification.

There is no single correct choice. Some sailors are ready to progress directly to Day Skipper training, while others benefit from gaining additional practical experience first.

Taking more time to practise will help reinforce what you learned during your Competent Crew course. It also gives you an opportunity to sail in different conditions, visit new destinations and become more confident carrying out routine tasks without constant instruction.

Build Your Sailing Experience

One of the best ways to develop your ability is simply to spend more time on the water. Regular sailing helps important skills become familiar and instinctive, rather than something you have to stop and think about.

If you do not have regular access to a yacht, BOSS offers several ways to continue sailing in a supportive and professionally managed environment.

Experience-Building Weekends

Experience-building weekends provide a relaxed opportunity to practise steering, sail handling, rope work, watchkeeping and general seamanship. They are particularly useful for sailors who have completed Competent Crew but do not yet feel ready to take responsibility for skippering a yacht.

Rather than working towards another certificate immediately, you can concentrate on improving your practical ability and becoming a more confident member of the crew. You can view the available options on our sailing courses page or contact us to discuss which weekend would be most suitable.

Long-Distance Sailing Cruises

Our long-distance sailing cruises are another excellent way to build experience after Competent Crew.

Longer trips introduce you to aspects of sailing that may only be encountered briefly during a training course. Depending on the itinerary and weather, these can include:

• Longer coastal and cross-Channel passages
• Watchkeeping and living aboard for an extended period
• Night sailing
• Passage planning and pilotage
• Entering unfamiliar harbours
• Sailing in a wider range of weather and sea conditions
• Building useful sea miles

BOSS cruises combine practical experience with the enjoyment of visiting new destinations. They are an ideal way to consolidate the skills gained during Competent Crew while continuing to learn under the guidance of an experienced skipper.

The Next Qualification: RYA Day Skipper

For sailors who would like to begin taking charge of a yacht, the natural next step is the RYA Day Skipper qualification.

Day Skipper training introduces the navigation, pilotage, boat handling and decision-making skills required to skipper a yacht safely on short passages in familiar waters by day. It marks the transition from being a capable crew member to becoming the person responsible for planning and managing the passage.

The RYA Day Skipper programme has two elements:

• The Day Skipper shorebased theory course
• The Day Skipper practical course

Before attending the practical course, you should have sailing ability to Competent Crew standard and the recommended practical experience of at least five days aboard a yacht, 100 nautical miles and four night hours. Check your sailing logbook before booking, particularly if your Competent Crew course was completed over separate weekends or if night sailing was limited by the conditions.

Day Skipper Theory Course Options

The theory course teaches the navigational knowledge required before you begin taking responsibility for a yacht. Subjects include chartwork, tides, pilotage, meteorology, buoyage, passage planning, collision regulations and safety.

BOSS offers several ways to complete the theory element.

Five-Day Classroom Course

The RYA Day Skipper Shorebased course is taught at our training centre at Hamble Point Marina. Classroom tuition provides direct access to an instructor and allows you to work through chartwork and navigation exercises alongside other students.

Online Distance Learning

The online RYA Day Skipper Theory course allows you to study from home and progress through the syllabus at your own pace. This is a convenient option for anyone who cannot attend a fixed classroom course.

Combined Theory and Practical Course

The combined RYA Day Skipper Theory and Practical course is completed over nine consecutive days.

The first four days are spent studying the shorebased syllabus in the classroom. This is followed immediately by a five-day liveaboard practical course, allowing you to put your new navigation and passage-planning knowledge into practice while it is still fresh.

Day Skipper Practical Course Options

The RYA Day Skipper Practical course can be completed in several formats to suit different schedules:

• Three separate two-day weekends
• One two-day weekend and one three-day weekend
• A single five-day course

Each format follows the RYA Day Skipper practical syllabus and develops the skills required to plan and undertake short coastal passages. You will practise pilotage, passage planning, navigation, yacht handling under sail and power, anchoring, mooring, safety procedures, crew management and night pilotage.

During the course, each student takes turns acting as skipper under the guidance of an experienced RYA instructor. Successful candidates are awarded the RYA Day Skipper Practical course completion certificate.

Should You Go Straight to Day Skipper?

You may be ready to progress directly to Day Skipper if you finished Competent Crew feeling comfortable with steering, sail handling, rope work and the normal routines aboard a yacht.

Building more experience first may be worthwhile if you still feel hesitant when helming, working with sails, handling ropes or responding to instructions. There is no disadvantage in consolidating your skills before moving on. In many cases, additional time afloat allows candidates to get much more from their Day Skipper training.

The most important consideration is not how quickly you collect qualifications, but whether you feel comfortable and capable at your present level.

Continue Your Sailing Journey with BOSS

Whatever you choose to do next, we would be delighted to welcome youto BOSS.

You can continue building experience through weekends and sailing cruises, begin your Day Skipper theory training, or progress towards the Day Skipper Practical certificate.

If you are unsure which option is right for you, please feel free to contact us. We will be happy to discuss your experience, confidence and future sailing plans before recommending the most suitable next step.

Call us on 02380 457733 for a chat. We love talking about sailing