Sail Training - Yachtmaster Ocean
 

17 WEEK RYA YACHTMASTER OFFSHORE / OCEAN COURSE
(MCA approved and commercially endorsed)

Aim
The aim of the 15 week RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Course is to take the novice yachtsman or woman, and expose them to a series of training modules that will culminate in the students qualifying as confident and practically competent skippers with commercially endorsed RYA Yachtmaster Offshore and Yachtmaster Ocean Certificates (Celestial Navigation).

Why do the 15 week course with 2KO and OSA?

The Academy feels that we can offer a course that excels in establishing a solid base of confidence and practical ability in all our students, for taking on the responsibilities of a commercial skipper. We feel we can achieve this through the following:

The Instructors
Notable yachtsmen who have been seasoned by the South African coastlines demand for ability and skill. The principal and chief instructor of the Academy, Robbie Dove, is a well-known local yachtsman, who in addition to holding the local SAS Yachtmaster Ocean Instructor certificate, is also a Yachtmaster Ocean Instructor for both the RYA and the ASA, and one of the three RYA Examiners appointed by the RYA to examine in South Africa. He is an avid racing skipper claiming regular wins in the South African blue water racing calendar and has cruised more than 180 000 nm through the Indian, Southern and Atlantic oceans in addition to the Caribbean and Mediterranean. Robbie’s wealth of knowledge and experience has been utilised in the structuring of the 17 week programme which he believes will methodically instil the skills and more importantly confidence to become a well informed, capable and safe skipper.

Our instructors include both ASA and RYA certified Yachtmaster Instructors who are familiar with the variable weather conditions off the South African coastline, having learned to sail in these waters. They are well aware of the importance of sailing safely with so few protected bays to shelter in, and the students will be able to benefit from their experience and knowledge of sailing in strong winds and big seas.

It is an often discussed matter, that if you can master this coastline, you will be able to sail safely anywhere in the world!

Exam Preparation Program:

The most effective way to prepare for an exam is to do one! Realising this, we have incorporated the RYA Coastal Skipper external exam into the 17 week program to help prepare the students for the final Yachtmaster exam. This has given our students an enormous advantage for the following reasons:

a. the students experience first hand the stress and pressures of the exam situation, which assists them in being mentally prepared for the next exam, the RYA Yachmaster Offshore.

b. “Forewarned is forearmed” – the students are made aware of the standards that will be expected of them and also gain valuable insight into the structure of an exam.

c. the students will be “familiar” with the routine of an exam and will be more relaxed due to there being fewer surprises.

d. Any “weak” areas in a students sailing abilities will become apparent in this exam, and they will then have time to work on these before attempting the yachtmaster exam.

Training boats
Basic training starts on Lavranos 34 ft yachts, which are hardy and reliable yachts originally designed by Angelo Lavranos to withstands the rugged conditions off the South Africa coastline. Following on from these yachts, the students progress onto the more luxurious Bavaria 36 ft boats and ultimately onto the Leisure 42, the latest performance cruiser from the designing board of Alec Simonis, well known international naval architect. The students benefit from learning to handle a “high tech” design , as many of the charter boats they will be working on overseas are comparable to this calibre of yacht. This design is also particularly fast moving downwind and is guaranteed to provide some really testing big boat handling and always exhilarating surfing!.

Solo Sail
On satisfactorily passing the RYA Coastal Skipper exam and becoming qualified skippers, the students will be given the task of safely delivering their yacht to a number of local ports and marinas without the instructor aboard. One of the traits an examiner expects to see in a potential yachtmaster is leadership abilities, and this exercise gives the students the opportunity of developing these skills further by letting them take charge, make decisions and delegate duties whilst getting the yacht safely from A to B.