These one day RYA specialist short courses expand your knowledge and skills in specific areas.
Designed to be taken as stand alone courses, although they also complement RYA practical and theoretical training. Some of the RYA specialist short courses are prerequisites for higher sailing qualifications. For example, the Marine Radio Short Range Certificate is required for the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence.
If you have any course questions about the RYA specialist short courses, then please contact Grenada Bluewater Sailing and we will assist you with your training queries. You can check our course schedule to see pre-booked dates for all of the RYA specialist short courses.
RYA Diesel Engine
Learn to prevent and solve diesel engine failure.
This one day, shore-based course introduces basic maintenance and engine care to beginners. Rescue call-outs to boaters are most commonly due to mechanical failure; however, engine problems can be avoided by taking simple precautions.
Cruisers don’t need to have a detailed mechanical knowledge; although it is good to understand how your engine works, how to keep it healthy by using basic checks and maintenance procedures, and how to get it started again in the event of a breakdown.
On board Chao Lay, Grenada Bluewater Sailing will teach you the key skills required, not just save you money, but maybe to save your life in the event of an engine failure.
Course topics include:
- The principles of diesel engine operation
- The systems and parts of the engine
- Fault finding
- Rectification of common problems
- Bleeding the fuel system
- Changing the impeller
- Routine maintenance
- Winter lay up procedures.
RYA Marine Radio (SRC)
Learn how to correctly use a fixed or hand-held marine VHF radio.
A VHF radio is an important piece of safety equipment on board a boat and it is vital to understand the correct usage procedures. Unnecessary transmissions could block out a Mayday distress call. This is why the Short Range Certificate is the minimum qualification, required by British law, to control the operation of VHF and VHF (DSC) equipment. This includes both fixed and hand-held equipment using international channels.
Grenada Bluewater Sailing offers students an online study course, with the final assessment taken in person at the training centre.
If you have the pre-1999 VHF licence and purchase new equipment, you need to upgrade your qualification with Bluewater Sailing. This can be done by completing the online course and/or, if no tuition is required, we can enter you for direct examination.
Course topics include:
- The basics of radio operation
- The correct frequencies (channels) to be used
- Distress, emergency and medical assistance procedures
- Making ship to shore telephone calls
- Digital Selective Calling (DSC) using simulators
- Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)
- Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB)
- Search and Rescue (SART).
RYA Radar
Learn to understand the use of radar as an aid to navigation and collision avoidance.
The use of radar on board cruising and charter boats is increasingly popular as it is a great navigation aid and very versatile. This one day, shore-based course teaches you how to correctly interpret the picture and use the controls.
The International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea state that if you have a radar, you must know how to correctly use it. This RYA specialist short course meets those standards.
Course topics include:
- How the radar set works
- How its adjustments and features affect the way it works
- Target definition
- Radar reflectors
- Types of radar display
- Radar plotting
- The use of radar in navigation and collision avoidance.
RYA First Aid
Important first aid procedures with a boating perspective. This course is designed for anyone who goes afloat on all types of sea vessel.
Grenada Bluewater Sailing runs an excellent one day, shore-based course at True Blue Bay Resort. This RYA specialist short course provides a working knowledge of first aid procedures for small craft users up to support skippers. Medical emergencies at sea, and in remote locations, can be effectively managed with first aid knowledge and immediate action. This course is recommended by the MCA and HSE.
The RYA First Aid course meets the requirements for:
- Professional skippers of small craft working within 60 miles of a safe haven, including Boatmasters.
- The Senior First Aid certificate needed by offshore racers subject to ISAF’s regulations on first aid training (OSR 4.08.4).
The subjects covered that are specific to boating include:
- The recovery position in a confined space
- CPR – including the drowning protocol
- Cold shock and hypothermia from immersion and exposure
- Seasickness and dehydration
- Medical assistance or advice by VHF
- Helicopter rescue.