The RYA and NauticEd are different companies and have different structure for their certifications.


The RYA Day Skipper Course is a combination of the NauticEd Skipper Course and the NauticEd Coastal Navigation Course combined.


The content is nearly identical except different charts are used (RYA Day Skipper uses special fictitious RYA charts - whereas NauticEd uses the Long Island sound chart #12354). The RYA standards for the RYA Day Skipper course required Navigation training in addition to local skippering training and so when we were in the approval process to host and sell the RYA Day Skipper Course - we combined those two courses (Skipper and Coastal Nav) into a separate and apart  "RYA Day Skipper" course. The RYA then approved the course as an officially recognized RYA Day Skipper Course.


The RYA Day Skipper course is more expensive than the Combined NauticEd Skipper and Coastal Navigation courses because we must pay an examiner and pay a built-in license fee to the RYA for the cost of the special RYA Charts and books. The examiner usually takes about 3-5 days to grade the exam. If you fail - no worries you can resubmit the incorrect answers.


If you pass the RYA Day Skipper Exam on NauticEd then we issue you an automatic pass for the NauticEd Skipper Course and the NauticEd Coastal Navigation Course (but not the other way around).



Ranking and Certification - through NauticEd if you want the NauticEd Skipper Rank and certification you need to pass the NauticEd Skipper and Maneuvering Under Power course. We feel that the  Maneuvering and Docking under Power course is a must skill for becoming a skipper of a boat. The RYA gives their Day Skipper certification without maneuvering training. They feel that Coastal Navigation is integrel to skippering - thus the RYA Days skipper is skippering and navigating. We feel Local close-to-home base skippering more requires maneuvering expertise. We incorporate the Navigation into the Bareboat Charter Master Bundle of courses.


It is no biggy really - essentially to be a good local skipper you should know maneuvering. But if venturing away from shore or up and down the coast you should absolutely in addition know advanced navigation.