Preparing for your RYA Competent Crew Practical Course

The following information is intended to help you prepare for your Competent Crew course.

There is no requirement to prepare for a Competent Crew course however you will get much more from the course if you have prepared ahead of time. For this reason we have prepared a revision check-list to help you get the most out of your course.

A lot of the information can be found by referring to the excellent RYA Competent Crew Practical Course Notes.

Start your revision a few weeks ahead of your course so that you are not rushed.

Pre-course preparation

Ahead of your course you could revise the following:

 1. The yacht

• Basic knowledge of sea terms, parts of a boat, her rigging and sails

2. Ropework

• Have a go at tying the following knots: figure of eight, round turn and two half hitches, bowline, reef knot, single and double sheet bend, rolling hitch
• Learn the names of ropes and their associated function (i.e. sheets, halyards, warps)

4. Meteorology

• Knows where to obtain a marine weather forecast.

Reasons for not passing a Competent Crew course

It is very rare indeed not to pass first time but if you are unlucky enough not to make it through your instructor will suggest areas for development

Here are some of the reasons candidates do not complete the course successfully.

a)       Cannot steer the boat in a consistent manner.

b)       Unable to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of basic nautical terms sufficient to understand day to day orders given by the skipper.

c)       Unable to demonstrate the basics of sailing such as raising and lowering sails, sheeting in and easing out sails.

Remember the vast majority of students pass and tell us that their Competent Crew course opened their eyes to the wonderful world of sailing.

Good luck and we look forward to welcoming you aboard soon.