NAVatHOMEAustralia offers a large number of RYA and non-RYA courses(with more coming) and whilst for those starting out it is fairly straight forward, it can be not so apparent for someone with 10 years of practical experience. The
RYA course syllabus is based on the collective experience and history of the RYA instructors and is continuously evolving as our knowledge improves. What this means is that the syllabus covers scenarios that may not be necessary
for your local area, but essential for another area only a hundred nautical miles away. The syllabus tries to ensure that you have at least been exposed to ever conceivable scenario that you could realistically be exposed to in
your sailing adventures. For someone with 10 years or more sailing experience, there can be scenarios that you haven't yet encountered or even been aware of, but as they could be great places to sail, they have been included in
the RYA syllabus.
For someone relatively new to sailing, or hasn't done any offshore or passage sailing we would suggest that the day skipper is a good starting point. Although if they are clear on their objective to become a Yachtmaster,
or just feel 100% confident in theory knowledge on a yacht, then we would say the Yachtmaster FastTrack is the way to go.
For someone who has a lot of sailing experience but haven't had the chance to complete any formal navigation training, we would recommend the Yachtmaster FastTrack. It contains an abridged version of the Day skipper to establish the base fundamentals,
and has the full RYA Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster course. The Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster theory course assumes that you already have knowledge at Day Skipper level. Most experienced sailors who have not completed a structured navigation training couse choose to enroll in the Yachtmaster FastTrack course, complete the day skipper fundamentals quickly, but all comment that they learned something new and it gave then a great starting point for the Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore course.
If you have already done your Day Skipper course, then the Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster course is the next logical step. It takes the skills of Day Skipper to a whole new level and really pushes your understanding with
more sophisticated navigational techniques. If you have never done any formal training in navigation before, there is a likely chance that you may struggle after being thrown in the deep end on this course. If you are unsure, please
contact us and we can work out the best course fit for you. Many schools will restrict access to Coastal Skipper courses to those who have already completed a Day Skipper course, however we are happy to allow you to go straight
to Coastal Skipper if you already have the skills to handle it. If you do struggle, we may however ask that you consider upgrading your course to the Yachtmaster FastTrack.
The Ocean Yachtmaster course is for really experienced blue water sailors, ocean racers, those who want to cross oceans, or for those who just want to learn how to use a sextant. There are no pre-requisites to enroll,
but students really do need the right level of background knowledge. For anyone who wants to learn for anything more than just interest, then you should have already completed theory studies to at least Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster
level.
Have a look below to see the RYA course hierarchy and work out how it fits in with your experience. There is a course for everyone.