Daniel King

Day Skipper course February 2025

RYA Day Skipper course- Firth of Clyde

Daniel King

23/02/2025

The aim of the course was to become competent in skippering a small yacht. This included: preparation for sea, deck work, navigation, pilotage, meteorology, rules of the road, maintenance and repair work, engines, victualling, emergency situations, yacht handling under power, yacht handling under sail, passage making and night cruising.

Checking out the boat, ready to leave Largs.

The next day was to be a long one. We would be heading from Troon through the Kyles of Bute and then sailing through the night on to Holy Loch. That day we ate lunch at an anchorage on the West side of Bute. We were slightly behind schedule and so dinner would have to made during passage. It was great. The snow-capped peaks around us, as the light faded away. The night passage was the first time I had sailed at night. The main thing I took away was how difficult it can be to spot the lights from buoys or marks, amongst the backdrop of lights from the shore.

Hills on the Isle of Arran under a snowy blanket.

The next day we stayed put in Holy Loch and mainly practiced all day. We went over various ‘parking’ techniques on the pontoon, depending on where the wind comes from and using the ropes and momentum of the boat to our advantage. We also took some time to practice picking up a mooring buoy.

The next day was my planned skipper day. I would be taking us back to Largs. We headed back a day earlier due to the forecast storm, hence we wanted to be safely back in Largs marina before it arrived. This started with taking the marine forecast on the radio. The forecast was for force 7-8 winds, with thunder and showers. In the morning, we spent the time practicing more manoeuvring, this time picking up a buoy under sail. A lo of the challenge is being able to balance the momentum of the boat and feathering the power from the sails, as well as accounting for drift. This is essential, not just for mooring or docking on a pontoon but also in the case of a MOB. It is the same skills, but just different scenarios.

After lunch, we left the quiet waters of Holy Loch under sail. We would be sailing against the wind all day and so there would be plenty of tacks. As we rounded the corner out of Holy Loch and entered the Waters of the Clyde the wind picked up drastically. It was a good day of sailing and it felt confidence boosting to be skippering on one of the more severe weather days. We put in another reef after the first tack, taking advantage of a small, sheltered stretch of water. Reefing is essentially making the sail smaller, to improve handling, reduce heeling and in some instances increase speed. It isn’t always a case of more sail out leading to a faster speed. We continued southwards and found ourselves sailing alongside a submarine, a common sight in the Clyde. At the same time, the skies had cleared to reveal gorgeous blue skies and a warm, winter sun. Words are hard to describe this feeling of soaring on the power of the wind. It took a while to get to Largs, given we had to beat our way into the wind. We arrived during early nightfall.

That night we celebrated with fish and chips, card games and talking. We wouldn’t be heading out the next day due to the winds picking up even more. Whilst it could have been possible to sail, the main challenge comes with getting in and out of the marina, akin to the most dangerous part of a flight being landing and taking off. Thus, the next day we looked over the various parts of the engine and how to carry out checks to ensure all is working ok.

The week was over and with it I had gained my RYA Day Skipper certificate. This allows me to charter small yachts. I think in the meantime I will continue to develop skills of boat handling and navigation at the local sailing club. The course has also taught me new knowledge of handling the boat and sailing generally. I hope to be able to pass these on back to the Edinburgh University Sailing Club (EUSC). Whether this be the West Coast Cruise later in the year or through weekend sailing sessions. Particularly given I had never sailed prior to September 2024, partly never having had the opportunity to. I also see that this course lays a basis for gaining further experience sailing. I enjoy sailing for the experience itself, being on the water allows a new perspective and you tune in to the weather, wind and waves around you. Perhaps one day I will sail in the Arctic, whilst I don’t have any goals in that respect, I think it is a direction I would want to work towards. Part of this comes from the 10 weeks I spent in Svalbard during summer 2024, studying at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS). There we would go on field excursions via Polarcirkel boats, given there are only roads in the settlement of Longyearbyen itself.

By the end of thee week we had sailed around 144nm, including 7h of night sailing, over 4 days.

Figure 3: Hills on the Isle of Arran under a snowy blanket.