Bareboat captain syllabus...

Take command of the crew
Understand the weather
Plan your passage
Understand seamanship
Captain the yacht

Overview - International Bareboat Captain Certificate-IYT Modules 14-17

The skipper course focuses on seamanship skills, tides and currents, wind and weather, waves and storms and assuming responsibility for a yacht and her crew. This is a certificate of excellence for those who wish to take command of their own yacht confidently and safely or for those who wish to safely charter a yacht for their family holiday. Candidates are required to have logged a total of 200 nautical miles and 10 days at sea before the final exam composed of both a theory and a practical on board evaluation which must be successfully completed before the Bareboat Captain Certificate is issued. While some IYT courses may have the same syllabus headings, it is important to note that with all courses, the “depth of knowledge” increases as one progresses through the various modules.

The goal of the IYT Captain course is:

Be responsible for command of a vessel up to a maximum length of 50 ft /15 meters (either auxiliary powered sailing vessels or a power vessels - per certificate endorsement) and its crew in coastal waters up to a distance of 20 miles offshore in mainly light to moderate conditions during daylight hours.

Prerequisites

Candidates are required to have logged a total of 200 nautical miles and 10 days at sea and should have completed the IYT International Watchkeeper/Basic Flotilla Skipper Certificate or show evidence of successful completion of prior similar training courses provided by an accepted and accredited body.

What will I learn?

This course assumes that you know how a sailing yacht works already and have experience of being a watchkeeper on a sailing vessel for some period of time by day and night. This course covers all the subjects that will enable you to be a responsible Captain in command of a yacht crew by day. During the five days you will learn....

The responsibilities of the captain of a sailing yacht
How to plan a passage and plot a safe course and instruct his crew member on the passage hazards and undertake such a passage by day or night
A good knowledge of weather issues and tides and their effects on the passage planned
A complete knowledge on the Collision Regulation rules associated with collision avoidance for sailing vessels and vessels likely to be encountered during the planned passage
The commands and responses expected to be given to the crew

Bareboat Syllabus

Introduction

Importance of taking command of the crew and watchkeepers
Introduce Watchkeepers, brief your crew and answer questions
Ensure they are rested and fit for duty
Ensure they have adequate food and sleep
Be prepared to call the Captain if in doubt

Taking over the vessel - check out

Hull and rig checks
Machinery and systems checks
Instrument checks
Safety equipment checks
Spare tools and equipment
Fuel and water - capacity and state
Provisions - Menus - galley equipment
Course plan lodged with responsible person

Meteorology

Sources of weather information
Personal observation
Fog
Anabatic and Katabatic winds
Cause of weather patterns
Cloud types
Global weather and winds
Weather patterns associated with pressure and fontal systems
Storm development and storm avoidance
Safe sectors of hurricanes and getting to them
Synoptic chart
Ocean currents
Fetch and wave action

Basic Rules of the Road

Study Rules 4-19
Collision avoidance, lights, shapes and sounds afloat
Identification of collision targets
Actions required by stand on and give way vessels

Passage Planning

Pilots and almanacs
Plotting courses and position
Consideration of tides - Tide Tables, Currents, rip tides, tidal gates
Electronic aids to navigation - GPS - chartplotter
Chartwork

Navigation

Course consideration of hazards, tidal gates, daylight hours etc
Waypoints located and plotted
Bearings calculated for each waypoint including allowance for variation
Distance between way points
Time to reach each waypoint at estimated average speed
Total journey time
Expected tidal currents during the passage
Expected wind during the passage
Calculate probable impact of current and wind direction on proposed course and journey time
Estimated position plotting

Anchors and anchoring

Types of anchors and their benefits
Chain and warp
Scope
Fouling
Tripping line
Setting the anchor
Lying to two anchors

Man overboard

Sailing procedure for MOB

Additional practical

On the practical section each student will take the role of Captain for one or more passages from leaving a dock or mooring to arriving at a marina or anchorage. The course includes a night passage. Students will be required to take the role of captain during this training and demonstrate the emergency heave to, MOB retrieval, Collision Regulations and collision avoidance.