• Introduction to Sailing
• Competent Crew Course
• Day Skipper Course
• Coastal Skipper Course

INTRODUCTION TO SAILING

This is for complete novices who have never been on a sailing vessel and want to see if they like sailing. It also caters for those who are visiting Cape Town and want to use it as a Sailing Charter to spend a half day or full day on the water. Once you have done an Introduction to sailing course you should be all fired up and really enthused to go onto the next level, i.e. The Competent Crew/Deckhand Course.

COMPETENT CREW / DECKHAND

This is the entry level course you need to do if you want to take sailing more seriously. Generally the course is conducted over 5 days or more, not necessarily consecutive days but it can also be done over weekends, or even once a week over a period of time. The syllabus consists of many topics i.e. nautical terms, knots & rope work, preparing the sails for sea, hoisting, reefing, changing & stowing sails, points of sailing, tacking & gybing, steering the yacht, rules of the road, anchoring, man overboard, personal safety & comfort, mooring and leaving a berth, mayday & a host of other topics. The course will enable you to join any yacht and be competent to follow the skipper's instructions etc. There is both a theory and practical component and is a prerequisite to going onto the next level, namely becoming a Day Skipper.

DAY SKIPPER

This is a beginner's skippers course, which does for skippers what the Competent Crew Course does for crews. We focus on the two most difficult aspects of skippering a yacht for the beginner: pilotage and boat handling. The course gives a solid grounding in Navigation and Yacht handling. People who have never skippered a yacht, however experienced they might be as crew should do this course as well as those who own or intend to own their own yacht. The Day Skipper licence is a requirement if you wish to charter a boat in the Med or elsewhere in the world. NB. You cannot sail a yacht in SA waters unless you have a Day Skippers licence approved by SA Sailing. There is an immense difference between being a mate on a yacht and being the person in charge and the course introduces the problems and responsibilities of being in charge of a yacht and how to cope with the common difficulties.

Syllabus:
Preparation for sea. Engine checks. Managing the sail plan. Safety briefing. Handling under power, (the basics, going astern, effects of wind and stream, judging speed and drift, tight turning, coming alongside.) Berthing and leaving a berth. Anchoring. IRCPS in detail. Points of sail and sail trim. Headsail changes. Reefing the mainsail. Mooring under sail. Man Overboard strategy under power and under sail. Sending distress messages. Flares. Abandoning to the liferaft. Helicopter rescue and securing a tow. Running aground. Navigation, (compass work, tides, plotting a course and obtaining fixes etc.) Basics of Passage Planning, (how far, constraints, estimated time of departure, pilotage, navigation and running the passage.) Fog. Weather in the southern hemisphere. Shipping forecasts and terms used. Understanding Synoptic charts and planning the day. Night sailing. Table Bay Harbour Regulations.

Successful candidates will pass the internationally accepted SA Sailing Practical and Theory Exams.

Day Skippers must also hold a valid Radio licence.

Fee includes all the course notes but students are advised to purchase their own

• chart SAN 3002,
• List of Lights & SA Nautical Almanac these are not essential unless you own your own boat
• International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea,
• Symbols and Abbreviations,
• Portland Plotter
• Navigational divider.

SA COASTAL SKIPPERS COURSE

This course covers all the practical and theoretical knowledge for the Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore examinations. The syllabus for both these courses is similar.

Minimum Requirement: a Day Skipper Certificate or having owned and sailed a yacht for a number of years, plus a minimum of 800 miles logged in open sea.

Syllabus:
Charts and Nautical Publications; Navigation; Navigational Disciplines on a Coastal Passage; Pilotage; GPS; Radar, AIS and Collision Avoidance; Other Navigational Instruments; Tides and Tidal Streams; Radio and GMDSS; International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea; IALA Buoyage and Lights; Night Sailing including Fog and Collision Avoidance; Handling a Yacht under Power and under Sail; Sail Trim and the Theory of Sailing; Man over Board; Weather; Anchoring; Safety and Emergencies at Sea; Heavy Weather Sailing; Diesel Engines; Coastal Passage Planning; First Aid; Local Knowledge.

Students also need to have a valid First Aid certificate as well as a Radio Licence.

Both the SA Sailing Day Skipper and Coastal Skipper courses require serious application as there is a lot of theory and practical course material and instruction. Students are required to do a fair amount of homework and study.