RADAR COURSE

One day · Classroom or afloat · £169

Radar is the most powerful electronic navigation aid on your vessel — but only if you know how to use it. Misread the display, overlook a limitation, or ignore a control, and radar can give you false confidence at exactly the wrong moment.

This one-day RYA course gives you a thorough, practical understanding of how radar works, how to set it up correctly, and how to use it for navigation and collision avoidance in all conditions — including restricted visibility.

Course at a Glance

Duration	1 day
Format	Classroom-based or afloat
Who it’s for	Leisure and commercial skippers of sailing yachts and motorboats
Experience needed	Basic navigation knowledge (Day Skipper level or above)
Minimum age	None
Price	£169 per person
Certificate	RYA Radar Course Certificate

Is This Course for You?

The RYA Radar course is designed for anyone who has radar fitted to their boat — or who is considering it. Whether you’re a leisure sailor wanting to extend your range in poor visibility, or a commercial skipper needing to meet your regulatory obligations under the IRPCS, this course will give you the skills and the confidence to use radar effectively.

Under the International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea (IRPCS), if you have radar on board you are required to know how to use it. This course ensures you do.

What’s Included

✓ Full day of expert shore-based radar training

✓ Hands-on time with a Radar Training Simulator

✓ RYA Radar Student Book and plotting sheets

✓ RYA Radar Course Certificate on successful completion

✓ Free parking at Port Hamble Marina

✓ Tea and coffee throughout the day

Not included: lunch or accommodation.

Prerequisites

• No previous radar knowledge is required.

• A basic understanding of navigation and collision regulations is expected — Day Skipper level or equivalent.

• Pre-course reading: IRPCS Rule 19 (Restricted Visibility). Familiarity with this rule before arrival will help you get the most from the day.

What You Will Learn

The course covers both the theory and the practical application of radar, structured around the RYA syllabus:

Understanding your radar

• How radar propagation works, and conditions that give rise to abnormal propagation.

• Setting up the radar correctly: brilliance, contrast, gain, range, and tuning.

• Target definition and discrimination, including sea clutter and rain clutter.

• Radar reflectors — passive and active — and their role in your vessel’s detectability.

• Types of radar display and how to interpret them.

Navigation by radar

• Measuring bearing and range using the Variable Range Marker (VRM) and Electronic Bearing Line (EBL).

• Position fixing by radar.

• Radar ranging and the use of Racons.

• Clearing ranges and pilotage in confined waters.

• Parallel indexing for precise track-keeping.

Collision avoidance

• True motion and relative motion displays — understanding the difference and when to use each.

• The key IRPCS rules as they apply to radar: Rule 5 (look-out), Rule 6 (safe speed), Rule 7 (risk of collision), Rule 8 (action to avoid collision), and Rule 19 (restricted visibility).

• Assessing risk of collision and determining Closest Point of Approach (CPA).

• Plotting and assessing the course and speed of another vessel.

• Applying Rule 19 in practice.

• Auto plotting aids (ARPA/MARPA) and their practical limitations on small craft.

• Understanding the inherent limitations of small craft radar — what it cannot tell you.

Book Your Place

The RYA Radar course runs regularly from Port Hamble Marina. Places are limited, so we recommend booking early to secure your preferred date.

To book or to ask a question, contact us at info@whitetipsailing.com or visit whitetipsailing.com.

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