FAQ

RYA Tuition (Sail scheme, SRC instruction and assessment) in a freelance basis for all RYA schools. Excellent instructor with technical skills and personal touch. The best references from students and RYA principals.

Yacht Deliveries (sailing yachts and motor vessels) in all Atlantic and Mediterranean waters. Hire just a skipper to accomplish the owner, or hire a full delivery crew.

Mile Building Programs along the Portuguese and Spanish coast, in Mediterranean waters, and between Azores Islands. Ideal to get in just one week the five RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore qualifying passages.

Yacht Charter and Sailing Tours in Lisbon and Algarve regions. A sunny coastline almost all year long. Plenty of beautiful and historical places ashore.

Sail Training for all candidates interested in improve your skills, both in theoretical and practical subjects. All RYA syllabus covered.

Windsurfing lessons, from beginning to advanced. Comprehensive VDWS training experience through Brasil, Canary Islands and Portuguese waters.

It can be done online, via our contact form on the homepage
You can email us through our email info@lisbonsailingschool.com
You can also contact us directly via telephone number +351 917078192

Lisbon International Airport is the closest and most convenient airport for Oeiras

From Lisbon Airport to Oeiras:

1 – By bus/train (50 min. – aprox. 10€): Take the Aerobus or the Underground to Cais do Sodré train station, then the train to Santo Amaro de Oeiras train station. Oeiras Marina is a 15 minutes walk away from the station.

Departures times: You can look direct at https://www.golisbon.com/transport/airport-shuttle.html (aerobus), https://metro.transporteslisboa.pt/eng (underground),  https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/en (train).

2 – By car (20 min.): Take A5 highway, then take the exit number 6 – Caxias/Av. Marginal. Turn right in the direction Cascais and follow the route Av. Marginal-A6 along the river. Oeiras Marina is 12 km ahead on your left.

3 – By taxi (20 min – aprox. 25€).

We don’t have any accommodation on site, however Oeiras has a wealth of guest houses and hotels to suit all range of budgets.

All courses

• RYA YACHTMASTER SCHEME SYLLABUS AND LOGBOOK (G158)

Start Yachting

• RYA COMPETENT CREW SKILLS (CCPCN)

Competent Crew

• RYA COMPETENT CREW SKILLS (CCPCN)
• RYA YACHT SAILING TECHNIQUES (G94)
• RYA KNOTS, SPLICES AND ROPEWORK HANDBOOK (G63)

Day Skipper Practical

• RYA DAY SKIPPER PRACTICAL COURSE NOTES (DSPCN)
• RYA BOAT SAFETY HANDBOOK (G103)
• RYA INTRODUCTION TO BOAT HANDLING FOR SAIL AND POWER (G68)

Coastal Skipper Practical

• RYA YACHTMASTER® SHOREBASED NOTES (YSN)
• RYA PASSAGE PLANNING (G69)

Essential Navigation

• RYA AN INTRODUCTION TO NAVIGATION (G77)

Day Skipper Shorebased

• RYA DAY SKIPPER SHOREBASED NOTES  (DSN)
• RYA NAVIGATION HANDBOOK (G6)
• RYA NAVIGATION EXERCISES (G7)
• RYA INTERNATIONAL REGULATIONS FOR PREVENTING COLLISIONS AT SEA (G2)

Coastal and YM Offhore

• RYA YACHTMASTER® SHOREBASED NOTES (YSN)
• RYA WEATHER HANDBOOK – NORTHERN HEMISPHERE (G1)
• RYA WEATHER HANDBOOK – SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE (G33)
• RYA STABILITY AND BUOYANCY (G23)

VHF Radio Operator

• RYA VHF HANDBOOK (G31)
• RYA VHF RADIO (SRC SYLLABUS AND SAMPLE QUESTIONS) (G26)

First Aid

• FIRST AID MANUAL (ZF03)

Preparation for Yachtmaster Offshore Exam

• RYA YACHTMASTER HANDBOOK (G70)

Others

• RYA BOAT MAINTENANCE HANDBOOK (G104)
• RYA DIESEL ENGINE HANDBOOK (G25)
• RYA SAIL TRIM HANDBOOK (G99)

(for Practical RYA Sailing courses):

Start Yachting:

• Pre-course experience: None
• Assumed knowledge: None

Competent Crew:

• Pre-course experience: None
• Assumed knowledge: None

Day Skipper:

• Pre-course experience: 5 days, 100 miles, 4 night hours on board a sailing yacht
• Assumed knowledge: Basic navigation and helmsmanship. It is recommended you attend the Day Skipper shorebased course beforehand

Coastal Skipper:

• Pre-course experience: 15 days, 2 days as skipper, 300 miles, 8 night hours
• Assumed knowledge: Boat handling to the standard of Day Skipper and navigation to shorebased Coastal

RYA Yachtmaster® Coastal Certificate of Competence:

Pre-exam requirements:

1 – A Radio Operator’s Qualification – A GMDSS Short Range Certificate (SRC) or higher grade of marine radio certificate.

2 – A valid First Aid certificate.

3 – Seatime: 800 miles logged, 30 days living on board, 2 days as skipper and 12 night hours

Note: Half of the qualifying seatime must have been gained in tidal waters

RYA Yachtmaster® Offshore Certificate of Competence:

Pre-exam requirements:

1 – A Radio Operator’s Qualification – A GMDSS Short Range Certificate (SRC) or higher grade of marine radio certificate.

2 – A valid First Aid certificate.

3 – Seatime: 2500 miles logged, 50 days living on board, 5 passages over 60 miles acting as skipper for at least 2 of these passages and including 2 which have involved overnight passages. 5 days’ experience as skipper.

Note: Half of the qualifying seatime must have been gained in tidal waters

RYA Yachtmaster® Coastal and RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Exam Syllabus

Note 1: In each section the examiner will expect to see the candidate take full responsibility for the management of the yacht and crew.

Note 2: In RYA Yachtmaster Offshore exams, the candidate will be expected to demonstrate competence based on broad experience.

Note 3: In RYA Yachtmaster Coastal exams, the candidate will be expected to demonstrate understanding but may not have had the opportunity to practice all aspects of the syllabus under a range of different weather conditions.

1.    International Regulations for preventing Collisions at Sea

Questions will be confined to the International Regulations and, although candidates must be aware of the existence of local regulations, they will not be expected to memorise specific local ones.

• General rules (1-3)
• Steering and sailing rules (4-19)
• Lights and shapes (20-31)
• Sound and light signals (32-37)
• Signals for vessels fishing in close proximity (Annex II)
• Distress signals (Annex IV)

2.    Safety

Candidates will be expected to know what safety equipment should be carried on board a sailing yacht or motor vessel, based either on the recommendations in the RYA Boat Safety Handbook (G103), the ISAF Special Regulations of the Codes of Practice for the Safety of Small Commercial Vessels. In particular, candidates must know the responsibilities of a skipper in relation to:

• The safety briefing;
• Safety harnesses;
• Life jackets;
• Distress signaling (flares and electronic means);
• Stability;
• Fire prevention and fighting;
• Life rafts;
• Knowledge of rescue procedures;
• Helicopter rescue.

3.    Boat Handling

Candidates for RYA Yachtmaster Coastal will be expected to answer questions or demonstrate ability in less complex situations only.

Candidates for RYA Yachtmaster Offshore will be expected to answer questions or demonstrate ability in more complex situations and will also be expected to show a higher level of expertise:

• Coming to and weighing anchor, under power or sail in various conditions of wind and tide;
• In all berthing and unberthing situations in various conditions of wind and tide;
• In recovery of man overboard and being able to describe the effects of cold-water shock and the aftercare requirements of a casualty who has been in the water;
• When towing under open sea conditions and in confined areas;
• In boat handling in confined areas under sail;
• In boat handling in heavy weather;
• When using helmsmanship and sail trim to sail to best advantage;
• Using warps for securing in an alongside berth and for shifting berth or winding.

4.    General Seamanship, including Maintenance

• Properties, use and care of synthetic fibre ropes
• Knots
• General deck-work at sea and in harbour
• Engine operations, routine checks and troubleshooting
• Improvisation of jury rigs following gear failure

5.    Responsibilities of the Skipper

• Can skipper a yacht and manage the crew
• Communication with crew
• Delegation of responsibility and watchkeeping organisation
• Preparing the yacht for sea and for adverse weather
• Tactics for heavy weather and restricted visibility
• Emergency and distress situations
• Victualling for a cruise and feeding at sea
• Customs procedures
• Standards of behaviour and courtesy

6.    Navigation

• Charts, navigational publications and sources of navigational information
• Chartwork, including position fixing and shaping course to allow for tidal stream and leeway
• Tide height and tidal stream calculations
• Buoyage and visual aids to navigation
• Instruments, including compasses, logs, echo sounders, radio navigation aids and chartwork instrument
• Passage planning and navigational tactics
• Pilotage techniques
• Navigational records
• The limits of navigational accuracy and margins of safety
• Lee shore dangers
• Use of electronic navigation aids for passage planning navigation
• Use of waypoints and electronic routeing
• General understanding of AIS
• Navigational techniques for reduced visibility

7.    Meteorology

• Definition of terms
• Sources of weather forecasts
• Weather systems and local weather effects
• Interpretation of weather forecasts, barometric trends and visible phenomena
• Ability to make passage-planning decisions based on forecast information

8.    Signals

• Candidates for RYA Yachtmaster Coastal and Offshore must hold the SRC Certificate of Competence in radiotelephony or a higher grade of certificate in radiotelephony