IYT International Flotilla Skipper (Sail)

International Flotilla Skipper is IYT Worldwide's course for sailors ready to skipper a charter yacht for the first time, with the safety net of a flotilla. In a flotilla, a group of yachts cruises a set route together with a lead boat, whose crew keep an eye on everyone's safety and stay within VHF radio call. You're in charge of your own boat and crew; the lead boat is there for guidance and help.

The five-day course aims to give you enough knowledge and skill to act as a flotilla skipper or as a watchkeeper on a live-aboard yacht.

Who it suits

• Sailors who hold IYT International Crew (or an equivalent) and want to take the helm of their own charter
• Couples and friends planning a flotilla holiday in places like Greece, Croatia or Turkey
• People who want a structured step between crewing and full bareboat skippering
• Australians who want a certificate that also opens the door to an ICC for chartering in Europe

What you'll actually do

Most schools run the course as a live-aboard week. You'll take turns as skipper: briefing the crew, planning the day's passage, leaving and entering harbour, anchoring and picking up moorings, and making the calls when the wind changes. The instructor steps back more as the days go on.

Between the practical sessions you'll work through navigation and chartwork, tides and currents, buoyage, compass use, weather, collision rules and navigation lights, first aid and the skipper's responsibilities, with short sessions on heavy weather, poor visibility and entering harbour. IYT lets you do the theory as eLearning first, with an exam, before the practical at a partner school.

Key ideas explained

• Skipper's responsibility — the skipper is responsible for the safety of the boat and everyone aboard: checking the weather, briefing the crew on safety gear and man overboard, and deciding when not to go.
• Buoyage — the system of marks that shows safe water. Lateral marks show the sides of a channel, and cardinal marks show which side of a hazard is safe. Note that the colours of lateral marks are reversed between IALA region A (Europe, Australia) and region B (the Americas).
• Chartwork — plotting a position, measuring distance with dividers against the latitude scale (one minute of latitude equals one nautical mile), and converting between true and magnetic bearings.
• Tides and currents — how the height and flow of water change through the day, and why they matter for anchoring depth, harbour entrances and passage timing.
• Navigation lights — reading another vessel's lights at night to work out what it is and which way it's heading.

Where it fits

• Before: IYT International Crew or an equivalent, plus a VHF radio operator's certificate. IYT doesn't require prior sea time for this course.
• This course: command of a sailing yacht up to 24 metres as part of a flotilla, in coastal waters up to 20 miles offshore, in fair, moderate conditions.
• ICC: holders can obtain an International Certificate of Competence through IYT.
• Next: IYT International Bareboat Skipper, for chartering without a lead boat.

It's broadly comparable in level to the RYA Day Skipper, though the two aren't formally equivalent.

Getting ready

• Brush up on knots, sail handling and basic rules of the road before the week starts.
• Finish the eLearning theory early; chartwork is easier to learn at a desk than on a moving boat.
• Bring deck shoes, layers, wet-weather gear, a hat and sunscreen, and a head torch for evenings aboard.
• Ask the school which VHF qualifications it accepts (IYT excludes some), the boat size, and how many students will be aboard.
• Charter companies usually expect you to sail in daylight only, so plan short, relaxed legs.

Good to know in Australia

Check before you enrol that your Australian marine radio qualification, such as the SROCP, is accepted as the VHF prerequisite. An IYT certificate isn't a state boat licence; if you want to skipper a powered vessel at home, check your state's maritime authority.