Most students do not. You only need invigilation if you want a commercial endorsement or your employer requires it. The standard online assessments are included and marked by an instructor.

For more details about exam invigilation, read our full article here: RYA theory exam invigilation, explained

Yes, we do! If you want to sign up with more than one person, you get a 10% discount on the total enrollment cost.

Each student requires a login, so to get the multi-person discount, add the course to your basket, then add the additional person by selecting the ‘Additional Enrollment’ option. This will automatically discount the total course price in your basket and generate a voucher code for the extra person (or people) to enrol themselves.

Any way you like!

Our instructor support is available from 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week, using any channel you choose. From Email to WhatsApp to Messenger, you can get help on whatever channel works for you. We’ll even schedule a call if that’s how you want to chat with us.

We love talking with people! Call us on +44 23 8000 0270

Send us an email, we are here to help you 7-days a week. [email protected]

Send us a text; we are here to help you 7 days a week. +44 23 8000 0270

Send us a WhatsApp; we are here to help you 7 days a week. +44 23 8000 0270

Instagram Messaging: we are here to help you 7 days a week. @mysailingcourse

Facebook Messenger: we are here to help you 7 days a week. @mysailingcourse

Book a video call to chat through your options.

Everything is logged in your briefing room, so you can go back, ask for more details and track all your conversations with an instructor.

The Day Skipper theory certificate is valid for life. However, like many things, brushing up and learning new skills is continuous. Anyone who thinks they’ve completed their learning is probably not best suited to skipper a boat!

The Day Skipper theory course involves a minimum of 40 hours of teaching and two assessment papers, each lasting 1½ hours.

You can complete the online course at your own pace. Everything is stored, so you can take a break and return anytime. There isn’t a time limit, and you get 12 months of instructor support spread over any timeframe you like.

However long it takes you to complete the course, you will retain access to the content, which will allow you to revise before your practical course.

No! Any progress in Sailing Essentials is migrated to your Day Skipper progress, so you won’t have to do it again.

Most students ask for help when doing the navigation modules, so your 12-month instructor support time only starts once you start the ‘How to read the map!’ module of the Day Skipper theory course.

Lifetime access!

You have access to the course content for life!

12 months of instructor support on your terms

Once enrolled, you get 12 months of instructor support, but you are in control of when this starts and can pause it should you need a break.

The course includes everything you need to earn the Day Skipper theory certificate successfully. The only thing you need to provide is your time.

Course pack

You’ll receive a course pack (dispatched the same day if ordered before 3 p.m. on weekdays) that contains everything you need to complete the course.

Instructor support

You’ll get 12 months of unlimited support from RYA-qualified instructors 365 days a year, all managed using your briefing room.

Course content

You’ll have immediate, lifetime access to over 50 hours of engaging, interactive teaching content, including practice exercises that provide debriefings and support.

Social group

You’ll have immediate access to the Day Skipper social group, where you can meet and connect with like-minded people at the same stage of their journey as you.

Downloadable & support content

You’ll have access to our downloadable & support content. We have over 50 supplementary downloads to help you learn the topics and techniques.

See the ‘What’s included?’ tab on the Day Skipper theory enrolment page for more details.

The Day Skipper Theory course includes the learning, equipment and support needed to work through the syllabus and complete the standard assessments.

• Immediate lifetime access to approximately 40 hours of interactive course content and resources.
• A course pack containing two Admiralty training charts, RYA Day Skipper Shorebased Notes, the RYA exercises and course-information booklet, an RYA Training Almanac, two 2B pencils, a soft rubber, a Portland plotter, dividers and rope for knot practice.
• Twelve months of instructor support, available through your Briefing Room and supported communication channels.
• More than 50 downloadable learning resources and access to the Day Skipper learner community.
• The standard online assessments, an instructor debrief and a course-completion certificate. An invigilated exam can be arranged separately when required for commercial endorsement or by an employer; additional fees apply.
• A 14-day money-back guarantee, subject to returning the course pack.

Orders placed before 3pm are scheduled for same-day dispatch. The RYA describes Day Skipper Theory as 40 hours plus exam time. See the official RYA course information.

Day Skipper theory is an RYA shore-based qualification and the required level of navigational & sailing theory for anyone intending to take the Day Skipper Practical course. It provides an excellent foundation and platform for learning how to put out to sea safely.

RYA Day Skipper Theory is designed for prospective skippers and inexperienced crew who want the knowledge needed to make safe decisions aboard a small vessel in familiar waters. It is also valuable preparation for an RYA Day Skipper practical course. Some practical experience is helpful, but it is not required and the RYA sets no minimum age.

The course involves about 40 hours of learning plus assessment time. It covers seamanship, coastal navigation and pilotage, chartwork, electronic navigation, position fixing, course-to-steer calculations, weather and meteorology, tides, passage planning and collision regulations.

Our online course uses short, interactive sessions and includes the two theory assessment papers. See the official RYA Day Skipper Theory course page for the current syllabus.

To pass, you have to finish the course!

It’s easy to say online provides ‘flexibility’ and ‘you can do it in your own time’, but it’s harder to construct engaging course content to overcome specific digital learning challenges and keep students motivated. Through thorough testing, using our classroom students as guinea pigs*, we have structured a course to support how you learn online, building confidence in each topic, tool and skill at every stage.

* No students were harmed in the testing of our content!

Content designed to provide support at every stage

We questioned why the other providers put so much emphasis on their instructor support. Our view is simple: the better the content, the less support a student should need. We are here to support you at every step of your journey but have fed ten years and hundreds of students’ worth of understanding into building content that teaches, supports, reaffirms and checks the knowledge of a topic, tool or technique. And, above all, fun!

Everything you need is included – no hidden ‘extras’

We are the only provider that has no hidden extras. Everything you need to complete and pass the course is included.