Basic yachting course Сompetent Crew

The Competent Crew program is designed for those who are taking their first steps in yachting. At the end of the course, you will be able to go to your first regatta as a full-fledged member of the crew.

During the course, you will study the structure of a sailing yacht, master the basic skills of sailing a yacht, the basic maneuvers, and learn to knot. Upon completion of the program, a PROyachting Competent Crew certificate is issued, which will allow you to go through the next stage of training at our school at a discount and receive international sailing license.

Training takes place in Moscow at the Vodnoy Stadium from May to September; in Sochi, the Competent Crew courses are available all year round and are held at the Imeretinsky yacht port.

The course program:

MARINE TERMINOLOGY

• Types of yachts, yacht structure, and equipment.

• Seaworthiness, stability factors.

• Relative heading, forward / reverse, bow / abeam / stern, port / starboard, upwind / leeward.

RIGGING 

• Folding the end into a coil, fastening by the weft

• Knots: simple bayonet, shaded, figure eight, bow, straight, locking, clew.

• The correct use and maintenance of ends, cables, fenders.

SAILS AND YACHT CONTROL

• Management of sails and halyards, setting and putting away sails.

• Folding, ascent, descent, and reefing on the mainsail.

• Management and coordinated work of the mainsail and staysail.

• Understanding of commands given on tack and full courses

• Yacht steering: tacking, full courses, turns, adduction and ducking, tuning

• Drift with retracted sails.

• Navigating the compass heading, compass control with corrections.

SAILS AND HANDLING THEM

• How the sail works.

• Sail parts and their names.

• Types of sails, storm jib, trisel - designs and applications.

• The choice of headsails.

• Parts of running and standing rigging.

YACHT MANEUVERS, MOORING

• Fore/aft to the pier.

• To the mooring buoy.

• Man overboard.

• Anchor, anchorage.

ONBOARD SAFETY AND RESCUE EQUIPMENT

• The use and location of life jackets, first aid kit, fire extinguishers, rescue equipment.

• Emergency situations, man overboard, fire, etc.

• Safety at sea, surveillance responsibilities, management, and key responsibilities.

BASIC RULES OF TRAFFIC

• Prevention of collisions between sailing ships, motorized ships, sailing and motorized ships.

• Right-hand traffic in narrows, buoys, milestones, and fencing systems.

• Basic lights, signs, and sound signals.

• Basics of maneuvering.

• The effect of the propeller on the yacht's handling in forward and reverse.

SEA MAPS AND COMPASS

• Introduction to cartography, tide tables, weather forecasts.

• How to use the compass.

• Heading and bearing relative to the vessel.

• Basic observations using a hand-held compass-direction finder and plotting them on a map.

• Understanding of the factors influencing the course of the vessel - wind drift and current.

• Influence of wind, high tide, low tide and currents.

• The sources of weather forecasts.

• The importance of weather for the yachtsman

MARITIME TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS AND ETIQUETTE

• Courses of courtesy in marinas and anchorages, neighboring vessels and unnecessary noise prevention

• Responsibility of the skipper, his powers and influence

• Duties and responsibilities of the crew