We have available a number of RYA handbooks that we consider to be very usefull not only for your course, but also as part of your navigation and boating career. You don't need these books as part of your course, but they can prove very valuable, and based on our experience, you would look to use them time and time again.
RYA Yachtmaster Scheme Syllabus and Logbook provides detailed information about the structure and content of the practical and shorebased courses for both sail and motor cruising with the RYA Yachtmaster Scheme.This book informs you of what to expect when taking any RYA sail or motor cruising course and also provides pages for you to log your progress and keep your certificates. Your personal boating experience, from starting out up to RYA Yachtmaster Ocean, will be enhanced by this book.
Although there is no requirement for a specific format logbook for your boating experience, the logbook and the pages to place your certificates are a convenient way to record your yachtmaster training and you will never have to wonder where your training certificates have gotten to.
Navigation techniques and practices have changed dramatically over the years and today, many sailors and motor boaters regard electronic instruments as their principal means of navigation. However, traditional methods still have an important part to play, as does knowledge of aspects such as tides, lights, buoys and beacons.
This handbook is not needed for your course, but it becomes an excellent reference to keep onboard and to refer to in the future after your course. Everyone should keep a copy onboard to remind them of the things that they forget from time to time.
As seafarers, the weather has the most significant impact on our time on the water. Being able to understand how the weather patterns form and change, and how to interpret the patterns from what you can see and feel is important to help with understanding what is coming. Having a good understanding of the weather also helps with monitoring the tell-tale signs around you for any indication that the weather may not be doing what was forecast.
Whether you are doing an RYA course or are simply seeking to gain a greater understanding of the weather, the RYA navigation handbook which covers the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, is full of practical and useful information on aspects such as theory, weather charts, clouds, predicting the wind, and the technology used in sourcing meteorological information.
The handbook now includes information on:
This is one book that we strongly recommend that every yachtmaster and yachtmaster candidate have in their collection. With detailed images of cloud patterns and barometric responses, you can have a good insight as to what the weather is doing when you are far out of range of the latest weather forecast. This would be the most used handbook onboard, it is on our boats.
RYA International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea outlines the regulations concerning what should be done when a vessel is coming into contact with any other vessels.
It is therefore a vital aspect of seamanship, as every person taking to the seas must be confident that they will know what to do in these situations. Every skipper and Yachtmaster that ventures further than their local harbour should always have a copy of the Collision regulations onboard.
The handbook now includes information on: