WHO IS THE RYA SEA SURVIVAL COURSE FOR?
The RYA Sea Survival Course in Southampton, Solent is for leisure boaters, offshore racers and commercial seafarers onboard vessels up to 200GT, including;
- Leisure/cruising sailors and power boaters
- Yacht delivery crew
- Commercial operators of workboats and small craft (up to 24m)
- Offshore race crew
- Fire fighters and medics
- Anyone else going to sea
WHAT IS RYA SEA SURVIVAL TRAINING?
If the worst ever happened at sea and you had to abandon your vessel, would you know what to do? The RYA Sea Survival training course assumes the worst case scenario: that you have to abandon your yacht or ship.
This Solent based day of training covers essential sea survival skills and is a requirement for anyone seeking a Commercial Endorsement for their MCA / RYA Yachtmaster Coastal, Offshore or Ocean or MCA / RYA Advanced Powerboat Certificate of Competence.
If you are into Offshore yacht racing this course is Day 1 of eth Wold Sailing Offfshier Personal Survival Certificate and should be followed by World Sailing (ISAF) Offshore Personal Survival Day 2. This is required by offshore race crews competing in events such as the RORC Fastnet, AZAB, Trans Atlantic Race, RBI and Sydney Hobart Race.
WHERE IS THE RYA SEA SURVIVAL COURSE RUN FROM?
- Chieftain Training, Southampton, Solent (at least fortnightly)
- Bespoke course at your location (on demand)
HOW LONG IS THE RYA SEA SURVIVAL COURSE?
RYA Sea Survival takes one day and is run regularly from our Southampton Centre.
You can dual certify with STCW Personal Survival Techniques in the same time frame (i.e. no extra time required).
If you require the Wold Sailing Certifucate then an additional day is required.
WHAT ARE THE RYA SEA SURVIVAL COURSE PRE REQUISITES?
MINIMUM AGE
The theme of the day is preservation of life vs loss of life, this course is not suitable for young children. We suggest 13 or 14 years old is a sensible minimum age but all children are different so the decision is down to parents. Be mindful, it is likely that all other students will be adult.
FITNESS
Students must be able to communicate with our team in plain English and must be physically fit enough to climb a ladder unaided.
WHAT IS COVERED ON THE COURSE?
The emphasis of the course is life-rafts and the day includes a two-hour practical session in the pool, learning how to inflate, climb into, upright and survive in a life-raft. The course also covers a wide range of other survival issues, including helicopter rescue, immersion in cold water, life jackets and an outdoor practical session firing a live flare.
We hope you never need to use the skills gained on this course, but strongly believe that if the worst ever happened and your and your crew’s lives depended on it, this training will prove invaluable and will help to preserve life. We believe all yacht and powerboat crew and skipper should attend this course.
INCLUDED IN THE COURSE
- Live flare session
- Shorebased training, pool and life raft use
- Loan of life jacket for the pool
- Loan of wet weather gear for the pool session
- RYA Handbook
- RYA Sea Survival Certificate
- Free (on street) Parking
- Tea & Coffee
NOT INCLUDED IN THE COURSE
- Lunch (please bring a packed lunch)
- Travel between the classroom and the pool. Most students car share. In the unlikely event there were no drivers in the group you would need to contribute towards a taxi as necessary.
OPTIONAL EXTRAS:
- Dual Certify with STCW Personal Survival Techniques (this requires no extra time)
- Add World Sailing Offshore Personal Survival Day 2 (For offshore race crews competing in events such as the RORC Fastnet Race), it will include this one day course.
WHAT IS THE SEA SURVIVAL COURSE RATIO:
The classroom component runs with up to 16 students. For the pool session we run with one Instructor per 8 students. For the flare session there are a maximum of 5 student firing a flare at any one time.
HOW LONG IS THE RYA SEA SURVIVAL CERTIFICATE VALID FOR?
The simple answer is “It Depends;” If you are using the certificate for a RYA commercial endorsement then there is no expiry (but some risk assessment sets a 5 yearly revalidation). If you are using this as half of the Wold Sailing (ISAF) Offshore Personal Survival Certificate then the validity is 5 years after which you can take a one-day World Sailing Refresher course to cover all elements.
If you dual certify with STCW Personal Survival Techniques (PST), then the STCW Code states the PST certificate expires after 5 years.
WHY CHOOSE CHIEFTAIN TRAINING SOUTHAMPTON, SOLENT FOR SURVIVAL TRAINING?
This is one of the most fun and enjoyable courses we teach and we work hard to make it as memorable as possible.
We strongly believe that you should experience what it is like climbing into a life raft wearing proper kit and we want things to be as realistic as possible. So we don’t go for the boiler suit, tracksuits, or swimming costume approach that many of our competitors adopt. We are one of the few sea schools where all survival students get to fire real flare. During the classroom session you will have the opportunity to handle all of the items commonly found in a life raft as well as many other bits of equipment that are less common.
- For the pool session we issue everyone with foul weather gear and a modern gas inflation horseshoe style life jacket.
- All students are given the opportunity to fire a live flare.
- We are the only centre we know of that allows you to dual certify with STCW Personal Survival Techniques without having to give up a second day of your time.
- In addition to our regular Southampton courses we are prepared to travel to you. We believe we have a wider range of available dates than any of our competitors