This is the official handbook supporting the RYA Day Skipper Sail Course and is ideal for anyone looking to brush up on their knowledge to this level. It gives great practical and detailed advice on key skills, expanding on the course companion notes.

If coastal cruising still feels like juggling tides, COLREGs, and crew nerves at once, this book turns Day Skippering into calm, repeatable routines.

This instructional sailing and seamanship guide builds RYA Day Skipper competence in boat handling, coastal navigation and pilotage, weather decisions, and onboard safety. It lays out step-by-step procedures and checklists for passage planning with tides and under-keel clearance, close-quarters manoeuvring, sail handling and reefing, anchoring and mooring, and emergency drills from MOB to VHF/DSC distress calls. It also teaches core rules and calculations—chart datum, COG/SOG, spring vs neap tides, and the COLREGs reality that there is no absolute “right of way.” This book covers:

  - Pre-departure routines: engine checks, briefing, roles, and fender/warp setup for departures and arrivals.
  - Close-quarters handling under power: pivot point awareness, propwalk in reverse, and using bursts with neutral to control momentum.
  - Coastal navigation and pilotage: CADET, EP, tidal vectors, CTS planning, transits, clearing bearings, and night-entry light recognition.
  - Emergency procedures: MOB immediate actions, DSC distress alert and Mayday format, diesel troubleshooting (bleeding, impeller), and fire/first-aid priorities.

A Day Skipper-level manual that replaces guesswork with checklists and drilled procedures, raising safety and confidence for beginner-to-intermediate skippers and crews on coastal passages.