Training Courses - NPCA
NPCA
New Parks Cruising Association
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NEW PARKS CRUISING ASSOCIATION
PRACTICAL COURSES AT SEA
Start Yachting Competent Crew Day Skipper – Tidal Coastal Skipper – Tidal
The Courses The RYA sail cruising and Yachtmaster Scheme is to encourage high standards of seamanship and Navigation. Practical courses offered by New Parks Cruising Association are run to the standards and syllabus set by the RYA. NPCA are able to offer Competent Crew, Day Skipper - Tidal and Coastal Skipper – Tidal courses. These five-day practical courses complement the Shorebased courses that are taught in the classroom.
FAQ'S
Do I have to do a practical course?
No, but if you eventually hope to take either the Coastal Skipper Examination or the Yachtmaster Offshore Examination, you will be better prepared if you have completed the practical courses up to Coastal level. If you want to charter, particularly abroad, you may require an International Certificate of Competence. For this you need a Practical Day Skipper, or a separate test.
Which practical course should I take?
If you are going to work up through the RYA Sail Cruising scheme, first you need a RYA "G15 Log book". This book tells you what experience you should have before joining which course. For example, if you cannot sail a yacht, it’s unlikely you’d get a certificate on a Practical Day Skipper Course; because learning to sail a yacht is a part of the Competent Crew Course. Possibly, experienced dinghy sailors might squeeze through a Day Skipper Course, if they’d completed the Shorebased Day Skipper Course and were able to "transfer" their sailing skills to the yacht. As G15 shows, you should have a minimum of 5 days Sea time, 100 logged miles and four night hours before going on a Day Skipper Course. Completing a Competent Crew Course gives you this.
NPCA used to offer just two courses a year, why was that?
Our Instructors used to work voluntary, entirely for nothing! Times have changed though and this is not always the case. Courses are still lower priced than many "commercial" schools.
Why do I have to risk a share in a Security Deposit for the Yacht?
We charter yachts as NPCA does not own any. NPCA Charter a Yacht suitable for training, from a Yacht Charter company. The Yacht will have been approved for the job by the RYA. The charter company place a "charge" on the hirer, in this case, NPCA. This charge is known as the "Security Deposit" but also serves as the "Excess" of the yachts insurance. You can read all about this in our Terms & Conditions. There is a risk but it is rare if any charges are made against the deposit.
What time do the practical courses start and what time do they finish?
2011: Easter Course starts at 3pm on Thursday 21st April and finishes midday on Tuesday 26th April 2011. 5 Day Course in Spring Bank Holiday Week: Starts at 3pm on Tuesday 31st May and finishes on Sunday 6th June at 4pm. In every case, the start time and expected finish time will be either mailed to you as soon as we know it, or will be told to you by your skipper / instructor.
If I compare the price for a Day Skipper course from NPCA and the same course from training school advertising in a yachting magazine, the NPCA course is much cheaper. Why, what’s the catch?
You must check out what is included in the price and what is not, in order to make a fair comparison. NPCA is a "not-for profit" club; you pay separately for your food, mooring fees, fuel and the like. Pooling these "extras" between the crew is often cheaper than having them "included" in the course fee, as is more often the case with full-time commercial training establishments.
So is the quality of the course different?
It certainly should not be! We work to the high standards set by RYA. Our instructors have to have the same level of competence and in many cases, our instructors teach at commercial schools at other times.
What will I have to take and will I be Seasick?
Before your course we will direct you to a suitable "kit list". You will need a sleeping bag and suitable clothes, including suitable footwear. Wet-weather gear (but not footwear) can be hired. Your instructor may also advise what you could buy to reduce the risk of Seasickness.
How many other people will be on the yacht? Will I have a cabin to myself? Are there showers and normal loos?
RYA allows us to run a training yacht with five students and one instructor. You can offer to pay a "premium" and hope we can put just four students on. You are unlikely to have a cabin to yourself; you may have to share the cabin space as most yachts are built with double-berth cabins. If you book, with another person at the same time and indicate you are prepared to share a cabin together, it certainly helps us to organise the limited space. Some yachts have a shower, all yachts will have a loo, but not the same as you have at home! You will be shown how it works. Showers and ordinary loos are available at all the marinas.
Will we moor in a marina every night?
Hopefully not! You might spend a night at anchor or perhaps attached to a mooring buoy. By the end of the course you should expect to have experienced, at least one of these. Part of the pleasure of cruising is "getting away from it all".
If we pay separately for food, what happens about meals?
You will eat most of your meals on board. Your instructor will organise victualling and he may give you a part of the shopping list to buy and bring with you. He might ask you to plan (and buy for) a meal for the whole crew for perhaps one evening of the course. You will take turns at doing meal preparation, washing up and clearing up afterwards. Your instructor may set up a rota for this. You may have a meal ashore during the five days. The food and other costs like mooring fees will be shared equally between the students on the yacht. As your instructor is not being paid a normal commercial rate for the work he is doing for you, it would be reasonable that the students on board share all the costs without expecting the instructor to "chip in".
Why do I have to choose which "assessment" I want?
If you chose to do Competent Crew and complete the course, it is most unlikely that you would not get a Competent Crew Certificate. If you select Day Skipper, your instructor is going to test you. He may put you under a bit of pressure. He needs to know if you can cope in an emergency, for a lot of the content of RYA practical courses, is about dealing with emergencies. If during the course he finds that you do not know when you are going to gybe (for example), he may recommend that you are not awarded a Day Skipper Certificate unless you later prove you have learned to Sail. You should select the course that you will hope to learn most from and are ready for. All the skills you are expected to demonstrate are in G15.
If I send a cheque with a booking form, am I assured of a place on a course?
Almost certainly but not necessarily. The yachts used for the NPCA training courses are hired and each yacht is hired as and when we have sufficient students, and an instructor, to be able to run that course.
Most of our courses are run in The Solent, sometimes from Dartmouth, but could be just about from anywhere in the UK where we can hire a suitable yacht.
Where (on the Sea) will the course take place?
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