IYT International Flotilla Skipper — Whitsunday Sailing School

The IYT International Flotilla Skipper Certificate, also known as Day Skipper, is the first International Yacht Training course where you learn to take charge of a yacht rather than crew on one. Whitsunday Sailing School describes it as providing the skills to be a watchkeeper on a yacht, or a flotilla skipper, in fair weather, in daylight and within sight of land. The school runs it as a six-day liveaboard in the Whitsunday Islands aboard Eureka II or Starlight.

What you'll learn

The course combines boat handling with the theory a skipper needs to make sound decisions.

• Seamanship: the rig and sails, safety equipment, departure techniques, anchoring and mooring, man overboard recovery, helming, sail setting, tacking and gybing. At this level you are expected to direct these manoeuvres, not just take part.
• Chartwork: reading charts and applying variation and deviation, and basic navigation to know where you are and plan where you are going.
• Tides and currents: how tidal height and stream affect depth under the keel and your course over the ground.
• Meteorology: reading a forecast and judging whether conditions suit your boat and crew, which is the core of skippering in fair weather.
• Rules of the road: the buoyage system, the collision regulations and navigation lights, so you can identify other vessels and channels and know who gives way.

A good watchkeeper keeps a proper lookout, knows the boat's position, and calls the skipper early when something changes.

How Whitsunday Sailing School runs it

Students complete a free pre-course online training component before arriving. The course then runs for six days and six nights living aboard Eureka II or Starlight. Instruction, course materials, meals, bedding, snorkelling gear and accommodation on board are included. Sailors with prior experience can talk to the school about recognition of prior learning, which may shorten the practical component.

Who it suits

It suits sailors who have crewed and want to step up to running the boat, and those aiming to join flotilla holidays or skipper a yacht in sheltered waters. A VHF-SRC Marine Radio Operator's Certificate is required, and the school can run it on board for an additional fee.

Where it leads

The next step is the ten-day International Bareboat Skipper course, which extends the range to coastal waters up to 20 nautical miles offshore. The school also offers an ICC assessment for which Flotilla Skipper (or equivalent experience) is the entry point, for those planning to charter in Europe.

Full course guide

For the full syllabus and how Flotilla Skipper fits into the IYT pathway, read our IYT International Flotilla Skipper (Sail) guide. For the radio prerequisite, see the Marine Radio SROCP guide.