ISSA VHF Distress Procedure Poster

The ISSA Yacht Crew course takes 4/5 days to complete.  Its a 90% practical course aimed at beginners to sailing. The Yacht Crew course is designed to be a fun course which stimulates people to learn how to sail on a variety of vessels. The course ensures that you can sail on all points, by course end and be an active competent crew on a yacht.  The syllabus is outlined on our main yacht training website.  Check out the handbook syllabus for Yacht Crew.  Assessment is by constant assessment, a practical and hopefully not too demanding process.

Our aim is to ensure we train you to sail and to be compliant and aware of the IRPCS, able to interpret Weather forecast Apps, Trim sails on all points of sail and a host of other skills. The good yacht crew is someone who can listen and be an active engaged member of the crew. Teamwork and communication go hand in hand. By course end you will be familiar with your skippers communications to crew. “Stand by to gybe, bare away, head up, luff up, ready to tack, heave to” etc.  Our aim is also to get you really engaged with the sport of sailing and want to do more.

The Yacht Crew Handbook is carefully illustrated so a beginner to sailing can easily appreciate the various chapters that cover the syllabus. Safety being our priority is covered in terms of personal safety, crew safety and boat safety. The sailing skills are again carefully illustrated as are all the other chapters. This is a Millenial Style” book rather than a ‘Sixties style’ textbook that some other systems used.  We want you to access the knowledge easily and not be falling asleep at page 7. The illustrator conveys whats important in each chapter and this is reinforced by succinct notes and explanations.

topics covered include the following:

• Safety
• Parts of a boat
• Handling a boat under sail
• Berthing Basics
• Handling a yacht under Power
• Tides
• IALA Buoyage
• Collision Regulations
• Meteorology
• Environmentally Responsible Sailing
• Knots and Sails

The RIB Skipper 2 course includes learning to maneuver two or three different sizes of RIB. There is also some theory, Rules of the Road, Safety, Tides, Basic Chart Work and VHF radio usage. You’ll lean to handle the boat at slow speed and at higher speeds a well as how to anchor and pick up a mooring. MOB is a vital aspect of this course.

The course is usually 3 days as you also need to complete the VHF  radio course.  You also need to have a VHF radio certificate which is  mandatory for RIB Skipper Certification to be authorized.  This is a course that is ideal for Super Yacht Crew. CEVNI Tests are also advisable.