These one day RYA Specialist Short courses expand your knowledge and skills in key areas.
The RYA specialist short courses are designed to be taken as stand alone courses, although they also complement the practical and theoretical training. Some of the RYA specialist short courses are prerequisites for higher sailing qualifications. For example, the Marine Radio Short Range Certificate is required for the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence. If you have any questions about the specialist RYA short courses, then please contact us at Bluewater Sailing and we will assist you with your training queries. You can check our course schedule to see available dates for the specialist RYA short courses.
RYA Diesel Engine
Learn to prevent and solve diesel engine failure on this RYA Specialist Short Course.
Mechanical failure is the main cause of rescue call-outs to cruisers. Basic maintenance and engine care will help ensure that you are not part of this statistic.
Most engine problems can be avoided by taking simple precautions, and you don’t need a detailed mechanical knowledge.
This course teaches you how your engine works, how to keep it healthy by using basic checks and maintenance procedures, and how to get it started again in the event of a breakdown.
Whether you sail a yacht with an auxiliary diesel engine or are a motor cruising enthusiast, this course could not just save you money, but one day could save your life. On board Chao Lay, we will teach you the key skills required, not just save you money, but maybe to save your life in the event of an engine failure.
Course topics include:
- the principles of diesel engine operation
- the systems and parts of the engine
- fault finding
- rectification of common problems
- bleeding the fuel system
- changing the impeller
- routine maintenance
- winter lay up procedures.
RYA Marine Radio (SRC)
Learn how to correctly use a fixed or hand-held marine VHF radio on our RYA Specialist Short Courses.
A VHF radio is an important piece of safety equipment on board a boat and it is vital to understand the correct usage procedures. Unnecessary transmissions could block out a Mayday distress call. This is why the Short Range Certificate is the minimum qualification, required by British law, to control the operation of VHF and VHF (DSC) equipment. This includes both fixed and hand-held equipment using international channels.
Bluewater Sailing offers students an online study course, with the final assessment taken in person at the training centre. Please watch the video below for more information. Next all you have to do is contact us to book your online course and final assessment.
If you have the pre-1999 VHF licence and purchase new equipment, you need to upgrade your qualification with Bluewater Sailing. This can be done by completing the online course or, if no tuition is required, we can enter you for direct examination.
Course topics include:
- The basics of radio operation
- The correct frequencies (channels) to be used
- Distress, emergency and medical assistance procedures
- Making ship to shore telephone calls
- Digital Selective Calling (DSC) using simulators
- Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)
- Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB)
- Search and Rescue (SART).
RYA Radar
Learn to understand the use of radar as an aid to navigation and collision avoidance on this RYA Specialist Short Course.
Cruising boats increasingly have radar on board. The International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea state that if you have a radar, you must know how to use it.
Radar is probably the most versatile of all electronic navigation aids, but the best results are only obtained when you know how to use all the functions correctly. It is not an all seeing eye, and can easily mislead those who do not understand its controls, allow for its limitations, or interpret its picture.
Course topics include:
- how the radar set works
- how its adjustments and features affect the way it works
- target definition
- radar reflectors
- types of radar display
- radar plotting
- the use of radar in navigation and collision avoidance.
RYA First Aid
Our one-day course covers all the usual first aid subjects, but from a boating perspective. It is aimed at anyone who goes afloat, whether on inland waters, rivers, estuaries or on cross channel passages.
In a medical emergency a little first aid knowledge and immediate action can save lives, especially in remote locations. This one-day course is designed to provide a working knowledge of first aid for people using small craft and to support skippers.
The RYA First Aid course meets the requirements for:
- first aid training for vessels working up to area Category 2 under the Maritime and Coastguard Agency Codes of Practice for Small Vessels Operated Commercially;
- first aid training needed by offshore racers subject to World Sailing’s Offshore Special Regulation OSR 6.05.2;
- the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations, 1981 for the purposes of Emergency First Aid at Work.
The subjects covered that are specific to boating include:
- the recovery position in a confined space
- CPR, including the drowning protocol
- cold shock and hypothermia from immersion and/or exposure
- seasickness and dehydration
- medical assistance or advice by VHF
- helicopter rescue.