MCA RYA Yacht Training
Plymouth Sailing School & Plymouth Powerboating is now part of the SeaRegs training group and is an RYA recognised centre for providing all manner of Sail Training for both groups and individuals, we can often tailor our instruction to meet your specific requirements. We offer yacht training on our boat or yours.
The Instructors: The most important part of the SeaRegs training group are our instructors. They are first class. All are RYA/MCA Instructors and the majority are also RYA/MCA Examiners. They are picked not because of their qualification but because they are experienced seafarers and most importantly patient and effective instructors. They are there to help you achieve your aim.
The boat: Our usual yacht for training is a Bavaria 36 (Phoebe).
The training: We teach a maximum of 4 students onboard and often have smaller groups. Costs include fuel, onboard accommodation* and meals, snacks, tea & coffee, mooring fees etc.
Weather on Courses: When training on our vessels, we are always subject to environmental conditions. Some courses can be more affected than others. We are based in Plymouth, therefore we are subject to the vagaries of British weather. On any given week or weekend, we can have no wind, too much wind, fog, too much sun, snow – sometimes they all happen on the same day….
On sailing courses wind is the key issue. Therefore there is a rare chance that you may not sail every day. If we can sail safely, we will. In high winds, luckily, Plymouth is a very sheltered harbour from most wind directions, therefore we can often get to shelter and then sail in those areas within our very large harbour and rivers. Please also bear in mind that if we cannot sail, we will cover theory subjects as all RYA practical courses still have approximately 30% theory in the course which we normally break up into chunks throughout the week/weekend, but we may save them for the windy/no wind/foggy times.
In extremes: There are also those weekends or weeks when the weather is simply diabolical and we get a week of Force 9-10’s when we may just call and stop the course, usually beforehand if it is well forecast. More often than not we get a day or so of poor weather and work around it.
All courses: On all courses our aim is to complete the course in the safest way possible, covering all the theory and practical elements. We are not able to guarantee courses will have practical sessions on every day as we will work around the weather forecast
RYA MCA Commercial Endorsement
This is an endorsement to the Powerboat level 2, Day Skipper practical, Advanced Powerboat, Yachtmaster Coastal, Offshore or Ocean certificates so that they can be used on small commercial vessels up to 24m (200GT YM Offshore and Ocean).
In order to obtain your Commercial Endorsement you will need to send to the RYA:
- A fully completed Commercial Endorsement Application Form, found here
- Your printed PPR certificate
- A completed ML5/ENG1 medical form
- Your original practical certificate to be endorsed
- A copy of your RYA Basic Sea Survival Certificate or STCW Personal Survival Techniques
- A passport size photo of yourself
- The RYA commercial endorsement application fee
In addition, if your wish to obtain a Commercial Endorsement on a Powerboat Level 2, Day Skipper or Advanced Powerboat Course Completion certificate* you will also need to send to the RYA along with the above:
- A Valid and in-date STCW Elementary First Aid, RYA First Aid, or SeaFish First Aid certificate – see guidance here
- A VHF/SRC Radio Operators Licence
*Only Advanced Powerboat Course Completion certificates issued prior to 2005 can be Commercially Endorsed, after this date Commercial Endorsements can only be applied to Advanced Powerboat Certificates of Competence.
Pre reading: RYA Commercial regulations for small commercial vessels
