RYA Day Skipper Theory
Foundational chartwork, tides, pilotage, weather, COLREGs, safety and passage-planning revision.
€5.9917 modules
View course Independent study · no certification. Independent study. Not an official course or certification. Details
Compass Ireland is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Irish Sailing, the RYA, the Department of Transport, ComReg, or Met Éireann. It does not award qualifications or radio certificates.
Compass Ireland
Prepare for your next Irish sailing adventure.
Irish sailing pathways and independent revision, connecting local guidance with the right RYA-aligned study route.
Independent preparation. No qualification or certificate awarded.
- Irish pathway guidance
- Clear syllabus boundaries
- Selected EUR offers
Study scope and sources
Use Irish pathway, radio, and ICC context around the existing Compass RYA-aligned courses. EUR offers grant the same underlying entitlements rather than creating duplicate Irish courses. Irish English. Nautical and metric units. Sources include Irish Sailing, Department of Transport, ComReg.
Irish pathway guidance is reviewed against current official Irish sources. Existing RYA-aligned course content retains its stated syllabus and jurisdictional boundaries.
Try the learning experience
A small lesson. A clearer next step.
Explore a real sample from RYA Day Skipper Theory. Learn the idea, practice a decision, then check your understanding. No account needed for this sample.
Ireland guides you into our existing independent RYA-syllabus revision products; this is not a separate Irish qualification.
Explore this companionLearn · teaching first
Port and Starboard
From Nautical Terms
What you will learn
Identify the vessel's port and starboard sides from any position aboard and relate them to navigation sidelights without confusing buoyage regions.
Explanation
Port and starboard are fixed sides of the vessel: port is left and starboard is right when you face the bow.
When facing forward, the left side of the boat is port and the right side is starboard. Navigation sidelights are red to port and green to starboard. Lateral buoy colours are jurisdiction-specific: the UK uses IALA Region A, where port-hand marks are red and starboard-hand marks are green in the direction of buoyage; Region B reverses those lateral colours.
A useful mnemonic: 'port' and 'left' both have four letters. Another: 'Is there any RED PORT LEFT in the bottle?'
Interpret an instruction from anywhere aboard
You are standing in the cockpit facing the stern when someone reports a fender dragging on the starboard side. The vessel's starboard side has not changed just because you turned around.
Sense check: A vessel's port sidelight remains red worldwide; IALA Region A or B changes lateral-mark colours, not the vessel's sidelights.
Common mistake
Port and starboard belong to the vessel and do not swap when a crew member faces aft.
Recap
- Facing the bow, port is left and starboard is right.
- The port sidelight is red and the starboard sidelight is green.
- Check the buoyage region before using red or green to interpret lateral marks.
More ways to revise
Flashcards, audio and interactive tools remain optional support inside the module; they do not replace the Learn → Practise → Test route.
Study collection
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View course Sailing qualification pathway
Separate course choice, practical training, certification, and assessment.
Marine radio and ICC
Understand distinct radio, competency, and operator-acceptance boundaries.
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Independent and source-reviewed
Clear boundaries protect learners and the Compass brand
Irish pathway guidance is reviewed against current official Irish sources. Existing RYA-aligned course content retains its stated syllabus and jurisdictional boundaries. Compass Ireland is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Irish Sailing, the RYA, the Department of Transport, ComReg, or Met Éireann. It does not award qualifications or radio certificates.