RYA Yacht Techniques

If marina berthing, anchoring overnight, or a dead chartplotter can turn a sailing holiday into a fight, this book is built to make cruising calm again. This practical seamanship guide for small to medium cruising yachts teaches modern yacht handling for coastal cruising and bareboat charter, covering marina manoeuvring, sail handling and reefing, anchoring, and navigation with paper-chart backups. It lays out safety-first routines: crew briefings and pre-departure checks, fuel planning with a 30% margin, and clear procedures for VHF distress calls and man-overboard recovery. Step-by-step techniques include springing off and reversing control, scope rules for setting an anchor, and using Beaufort and apparent wind to decide when to reef. The author writes from real cruising experience, including equipment failures and near-misses used to sharpen the checklists. - Explains deck layout, safe movement, stowage, and onboard systems checks for gas, electrics, seacocks, and heads. - Breaks down close-quarters handling under power: prop walk, fender and line setup, springs, mid-ship spring loops, and Med mooring with lazy lines. - Covers sail trim, points of sail, reefing early, and safe tacking and gybing to keep heel and helm load under control. - Teaches passage planning and pilotage with GPS plus paper backups, collision-avoidance basics, night lights, and practical MOB prevention and recovery. A safety-first, procedure-driven cruising manual that builds novice-to-intermediate competence for relaxed charters and coastal passages, reducing the private fear of being the reason something goes wrong.