The Cruising Instructor Course is the entry level for any Yachtmaster Offshore who wants to begin teaching. The Cruising Instructor qualification enables you to teach Competent Crew and Day Skipper practical courses when working for a RYA Training Centre.

About the Course - 
Duration: 5 days of quality tuition including 1 day moderation (maximum of 4 students)
Itinerary: Sunday evening 7pm until Friday afternoon 5pm
Food and Accommodation: All food included and accommodation aboard our yacht (Hanse 385, Menai IV)
Cost: £825

Pre-requisites:
- Hold a commercially endorsed RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence (with all associated certification in-date)
- Hold a valid First Aid certificate which is accepted by the RYA (https://www.rya.org.uk/)
- Successfully completed RYA Professional Practices and Responsibilities (PPR) course (https://www.plasmenai.wales/book/courses/theory/product/online-course-rya-professional-practices-&-responsibilities/282)
- Have RYA personal membership (https://www.rya.org.uk/membership)
- Candidates must enrol on and pass the online RYA Cruising Instructor pre-course knowledge check (incorporating teaching background theory and RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Theory).

Experience Required:
It is expected that candidates are already experienced RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Skippers. It would be unlikely that a newly qualified RYA Yachtmaster Offshore would pass an RYA Cruising Instructor course unless already an instructor in another discipline with a very good depth of knowledge and experience.
Due to the short time available on the course, there is limited opportunity to fill any gaps in knowledge and practical skills. The RYA Cruising Instructor course is a blend of assessing knowledge, providing a structured framework to instruct, coach, observe and deliver constructive feedback and ensure the structure and standards required of RYA courses up to Day Skipper Practical are understood. Candidates must therefore ensure they have sufficient underpinning knowledge prior to attending this course/assessment.
Candidates who are well prepared and demonstrate to the trainer how good an RYA Yachtmaster they are, enjoy the course and are generally successful. If in doubt this should be discussed with our Course Advisors.

The Cruising Instructor Course:
At Plas Menai we have an international reputation for delivering courses of the highest standard and you can expect:
A quality course teaching you how to instruct up to Day Skipper standard.
Help developing your teaching, observation and debriefing skills.
Honest and informative day by day feedback as a group and individually
Full information on course and lesson planning
An action plan to help you in the future
The syllabus is broken down into instructional techniques, knowledge, safety and personal skills. During this intensive course you’ll cover material across these key areas:
Teaching and Learning theory
Structuring Feedback
Plan-Do-Review
RYA Orientation
Debriefing/Feedback skills
Catastrophe Clinic

You will find the full syllabus and assessment criteria in your RYA Yachtmaster Scheme Instructor Handbook (G27). Please make sure you have a copy of this and the Yachtmaster Scheme Syllabus and Logbook (G158).

Background Reading:
You will need:
G158 – Cruising and Yachtmaster Scheme Syllabus and Logbook
G27 – RYA Yachtmaster Scheme Instructor Handbook
The following books may also be of use as background reading:
G1 – The RYA Weather Handbook
G2 – The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
G6 – RYA Navigation Handbook
G23 RYA Stability and Buoyancy
G34 – An Introduction to Radar
CCPCN – Competent Crew
DSN – Day Skipper Shorebased Notes
DSPCN – Day Skipper Practical Course Notes

You can order any books that you need via the RYA Webshop (https://www.rya.org.uk/shop)