RYA Advanced Powerboat Course

This course is run all year round. Please call us for latest availability. If you would like own boat tuition to complete this course please feel free to call us to discuss the options

Duration: 2 days (On Fintan/ Venture)

Cost: £295

Previous Experience preferred:

• Knowledge to RYA Intermediate Powerboat level
• Navigational knowledge to RYA Day Skipper theory level
• First Aid certificate equal to RYA First Aid
• SRC/VHF Radio Licence

Course Overview:

This course is designed to teach you seamanship, boat handling, pilotage and navigation to a level required to undertake coastal trips in tidal waters by day or night

This two day course provides a level of training and delivers maritime experience that is hard to obtain at other centres. The Programs are conducted from our fleet of commercial hardboats by seasoned, experienced commercial Instructor/Skippers.

The RYA Advanced Powerboat Course is designed to develop competent and experienced Mariners. The program is widely accepted for commercial certification as a commercial vessel operator and is the required standard by many professional bodies such as the RNLI, Police and Military. During the course you will carry out more advanced manoeuvres similar to the Intermediate program but as the course name suggests with a greater degree of accuracy and assessment.

Night passages are vital at this stage in a Mariners skill development and as such an emphasis on good passage planning for the night exercises is a key component of the course. Helicopter rescue procedures, advanced search and rescue patterns along with developing and demonstrating good seamanship and pilotage will complete the training

Minimum Age:

18

Itinerary:

09.00Hrs until late day 1, 9.00 until 14.00hrs

What's Included:

Course handbook, tea and coffee

Syllabus

Day 1

Day 2

Training Points

• Engine checks
• Equipment and operation
• Paperwork/ information – tides etc

• General Col Reg review / stand on/ give way
• Vessel lights and configuration
• Sound signals

• Students to take back bearing and locate position
• Of vessel on chart and in relative position
• Use and operation of GPS
• Waypoint naviglation
• Use of plotter
• How to use sounder and chart for position
• General pilotage considerations

• MCA Regulations and essential equipment

• Hull types/ forms and effect on handling

• Handling lines
• Rope throwing
• Securing cleats
• Knots

• Leaving and coming alongside considerations
• Working in a port
• Position holding and tidal stream effect

• Identifying area/ route on chart
• Identifying marks waypoints and navigational marks
• Consideration of tide heights and streams
• identifying course to steer
• Identifying hazards/ shoals/ rocks/ ferry ports
• Vessel preparation
• Estimating timings

• Identifying symbols and their meaning
• Identifying buoyage and light characteristics
• Knowledge of tidal heights/ standard ports
• Tidal diamonds
• Bearings from fixed points

• Students conduct exercise demonstrating the above points

• Students conduct a night passage of the same passage plan
• Ensure position is know
• Identify light signatures and reference to chart
• Use of soundings
• Return to port and secure vessel

• Demonstrate the practical applications of forecasts
• Discuss where to locate forecasts
• Discuss interpretation of forecast and effects on planning
• Ensure students know Imminent/ soon/ later implications

• Discuss scenarios – engine failure/ collision/ health problems
• Demonstrate how to relay position by both GPS and Fixing
• Run through a dummy radio procedure for mayday/ Pan pan/ pan Pan Medico
• Students will demonstrate appropriate protocols of radio procedure (scenario)
• Discuss and describe the salient issues relating to helicopter rescue
• (Important to note: Brixham CG can relay via mobile to helicopter pilot electrical static issues in air frame)

• Demonstrate the use of Trim tabs and loading of vessel
• Practice steering through/ across/ with waves and develop feel
• Discuss stability and likely outcomes of getting it wrong
• Practice holding station in tidal stream
• Practice ferry gliding (transit across stream)
• Practice holding position to and picking up a mooring buoy

• Discuss M.O.B implications and methods of recovery / approach
• Set up and conduct exercise for M.O.B and recovery
• Discuss M.O.B in poor visibility / rough conditions and methods to overcome them
• Students to perform triangular search pattern
• Students to perform expanding square search pattern