Welcome
to 'Tom Jones Cruising' and your RYA shorebased courses
Your
Instructor is Doug McGarvie
Doug holds the
practical MCA/RYA Yachtmaster Offshore qualification, with a commercial
endorsement, in both sail and power, he has been actively involved
in sailing and racing a keelboat on the Mersey and Irish Sea.
He is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation.
He is the owner of a 60ft displacement motor cruiser that he took
to France in 2007.
The
RYA courses run at the Centre are
:
Basic Navigation
and Safety Course
Day Skipper
shorebased (theory)
Coastal Skipper
/ Yachtmaster shorebased (theory)
DSC VHF radio
The Day Skipper
and Yachtmaster theory courses are normally run
as a 'night school', one evening per week from September
Night
School course dates for 2007 / 2008 season
NIGHT
SCHOOL courses are for 2 hours each week ( 20 weeks
for Day Skipper and Yachtmaster )
( 8 weeks
for Basic Navigation and Safety ) - starting at 19.00
hrs
Day Skipper
shorebased 'night school' course will commence on Tuesday
18th September 2007 and each Tuesday
Coastal
Skipper / Yachtmaster shorebased
'night school' course will commence Wednesday 19th September
2007 and each Wednesday
Basic
Navigation and Safety
Course 'night school' will commence on Thursday 20th September
2007 and each Thursday ( 8 weeks)
|
Intensive
courses for 2007 /2008 season
Day
Skipper shorebased
course will be run over 6 Saturdays
Coastal
Skipper / Yachtmaster shorebased
corse will be run over 6 Fridays
|
Basic
Navigation and Safety course - 2 consecutive days
|
Both the
Day Skipper and Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster
shorebased courses can be run in a more intensive
(time) manner. My preferred method is to run the courses
on 6 consecutive Saturdays (or other days if you require).
I have found that this gives students the time to take
in the subject matter and complete the coursework. These
intensive courses will be run provided there is sufficient
demand (at least 6 students).
|
Students
requiring 1 to 1 instruction for the RYA
Day Skipper or RYA Yachtmaster courses
can be catered for at a cost of £175 per day. This
could be for the whole course or particular parts of the
syllabus that are causing problems
|
The DSc
VHF radio courses are run whenever there are sufficient
candidates, every few weeks.
The DSC
VHF radio course is a one day course and costs £75
plus £25 for your radio licence (minimum of 4 students)
If you require
1 to 1 instruction for your DSC VHF licence
this is £175 plus the cost of the licence
|
All
courses are held at Liverpool Marina, Coburg Wharf, Liverpool
To
enquire about any aspect of the courses or to make a booking you
can contact Doug on his mobile phone : 07870 295 736
or email at
doug@tomjonescruising.com
STOP PRESS
- NEW FOR 2007/08
The RYA
have introduced a new Basic Navigation and Safety course
which will be run at this Training Centre
This course
will be provided over 2 consecutive days or over 16 hours
as a 'night school' course (8 weeks)
The course
assumes that GPS will work and will therefore be at the
heart of navigation. Electronic navigation, including
the use of the electronic chart plotter, is central to
the new course.
The
course is aimed at anyone new to boating; powerboaters,
sea anglers, divers, boatmasters, experienced dinghy and
keelboat sailors and inshore racers
This new
course will have equal emphasis for both sailors and powerboaters
The syllabus
will include
charts and
publications
safety, including
engine checks
buoyage
tidal awareness
visual navigation
and pilotage
rules of
the road
electronic
navigation
anchoring
weather forecasts
passage planning
There
will be no end of course exam as assessment will take
place throughout
|
At present there
are no statutory qualifications required for those of us who sail
in small boats for leisure purposes in the UK. Increasingly it
can be an advantage to have a recognised qualification for insurance
or chartering purposes, but despite the potential introduction
of compulsory qualification it remains possible, albeit foolhardy,
for anyone to step on board and skipper a boat with little knowledge
and no experience.
The situation overseas
is more complicated with many countries insisting on some written
evidence of competence. The RYA training scheme
is an attempt to counter both these problems by persuading people
of the benefits of formal tuition whilst providing internationally
recognised certificates of competence.
Shorebased and
practical courses
Learning to sail
is a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical experience.
It is of little use to be able to manoeuvre a boat sideways out
of a marina if, when at the lock gate, the skipper cannot plot
and set a course. Conversely, knowing the difference between an
Alpine Butterfly knot and a Constrictor hitch may be academically
fascinating but of little practical use if you are unable to tie
a clove hitch to secure a fender.
The RYA
courses are thus intended to complement one another - the shorebased
(theory) courses will give you the knowledge, and the practical
courses will give you the opportunity to apply that knowledge
at sea under qualified guidance.
With the exception
of the Competent Crew course, it is assumed that students
attending practical courses will have a good knowledge of navigation
and meteorology so that the instructor will be able to concentrate
on practical aspects of the syllabus.
Although the courses
are progressive, there is no requirement to possess an earlier
certificate before enrolling in a later course. For example, if
you have a basic knowledge of navigation and seamanship, you may
consider enrolling for the Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster
course. This is perfectly acceptable and you are not required
to have first achieved Day Skipper qualification, however I would
feel obliged to check your level of knowledge before enrolment.
Both the Day Skipper
and the Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster practical courses offer
a choice of either sail or power. Meteorology and navigation remain
the same, but the elements of seamanship are biased towards your
preference.
The
theory (shorebased) courses are common to both sail and power
Navigation is
the art and science of finding your position at sea, of moving
in the right direction to your destination and of ensuring that
you have chosen a safe route and can stay on it. The use of electronic
navigation aids is an increasing aspect of RYA courses
and are covered wherever appropriate.
Seamanship
is the knowledge of ships and boats in general, their construction
and characteristics, the equipment carried and its use, the environment
in which they sail (seas, rivers and estuaries), safety precautions
and emergency procedures.
Meteorology
is the science of the weather - the ally and potential enemy of
all small boats. You will need to know sufficient about this subject
to interpret and act upon weather forecasts and to prepare your
own predictions from your own observations.
RYA
Day Skipper course
The Day
Skipper course is designed primarily for those who
are new to sailing and boating, those with dinghy or a
little crewing experience, and boat owners who have yet
to make extended passages at sea. We assume no previous
knowledge and each topic is fully explained and illustrated
as it is introduced. Beginning with simple chartwork and
nautical terminology, the course progresses through to
tidal predictions, buoyage recognition, position fixing
(including GPS and electronic chart plotters), steering
and sailing rules, weather patterns, and navigation in
fog and at night.
The emphasis
throughout the course is upon personal safety, including
the use of man-overboard equipment, lifejackets, flares
and VHF.
As the course
draws to a conclusion, all these subjects are combined
in a demonstration of practical passage planning, giving
sufficient knowledge for conducting your own passage.
Syllabus
includes
Basic Nautical
Knowledge
Charts and
Publications:
Simple Plotting,
Variation and Deviation
Basic Navigation:
Position Fixing and Course to Steer
Deck Seamanship
and Safety
Tides and
Tidal Streams
Buoys, Beacons,
Lights and Pilotage
Navigation
in restricted visibility
Rules of
the Road : International Regulations for Preventing Collisions
at Sea
Meteorology
Electronic
navigation aids - GPS and electronic chart plotters
Mooring and
anchoring
Passage Planning
|
RYA/MCA
Coastal Skipper/ Yachtmaster course.
This course
is a natural progression from the Day Skipper course
and therefore assumes a degree of prior knowledge. In
order to assist those who are self-taught, or who may
have completed a Day Skipper course some years
ago, the format of this course is such that the introductory
modules act as a refresher of the basic concepts of navigation.
This
revision element is too brief to be of value to beginners
but is intended to assist those who are just a little
rusty.
Navigational
techniques are refined and expanded upon and whilst chartwork
(including electronic aids) and tidal factors are studied
to an advanced level, the emphasis is upon the practical
knowledge required to become a skilled offshore skipper.
Safety is
stressed throughout with emphasis on collision regulations,
interpreting weather forecasts, boat handling and coping
with emergencies.
The planning
and skippering of a simulated passage, from customs clearance
to safe arrival at your destination concludes the course
at an internationally recognised level of competence.
Syllabus
includes
Navigational
Aids
Fire Safety
on Small Craft
The Compass,
Course Correction and Time
Communications
at Sea
Tidal Streams
and Tide Tables
Visual and
Electronic Position Fixing
Meteorology
Finding Tidal
Heights and Times
Shipping
Forecasts and Weather Maps
Passage Planning
|
Teaching / Learning
Strategies
The majority of topics
for both courses will take the form of an illustrated lesson using
computer and projector, models, whiteboard, with questions and
answers, with practical workshops were appropriate. This is reinforced
with homework on the subjects covered, which will be marked within
a week of being handed in, to provide meaningful and timely feedback.
Assessment exercises
will be conducted throughout the course to provide revision of
subjects and give both the student and instructor a method of
monitoring progress as the course progresses.
Learning Objectives
To enable the student
to gain the knowledge and skills of Seamanship, Navigation and
Meteorology, in order for them to successfully undertake either
the Day Skipper or Yachtmaster Shorebased Examinations
and progress to the Practical courses. The ability to skipper
a yacht or motor cruiser, in a leisure environment, with confidence.
Your Instructor
is Doug McGarvie
He can be contacted
on : Mobile phone : 07952 307 929 Home phone : 0151 707 0663
email :
doug@tomjonescruising.com
