In the first of our in-depth guides, we bring you everything you need to know about the popular pastime of wakeboarding. Matt Crowhurst reports.
Thursday, 21 October 2010 17:07
The winter nights are drawing in, with any luck your boat is out of commission for the winter and sitting snugly in your drive. It’s getting to the point where you are trying to work out why you live in a country which seems to be dark for half the year. Boredom sets in and you start to think that it might be a good idea to get really engrossed in the latest series of Strictly Come Dancing. Either that, or perhaps take your outboard apart just to see how it works.
If you are mulling over either of the following options, you need to stop the madness before you inflict mental damage upon yourself and irreparable damage on your engine. The best way to do this is focus on the season ahead. Cling on to the memory of the previous glorious summer of fun out on the water and reassure yourself that it will happen again.
In the meantime you might as well put those long dark nights to good use. It’s generally at this point that someone suggests attending a night class to learn French. Again, if you are considering this option, I implore you to cease with this madness. I have found there are few things more inclined to drive me back to the sonorous tones of Len Goodman and Bruce Forsyth than a couple of dispiriting sessions in some chilly community centre trying to work out what the subjunctive is and returning home in the dispiriting knowledge that I will never be a linguist.
Anyway, I digress massively, The point is that you could actually do something useful this winter and a good way to keep the faith is to brush up on your boating skills with an RYA course as this is something you can put to practical use once the winter is over. For those of you who are in hibernation mode, or perhaps just don’t have the time or inclination to attend evening classes, the RYA has recently introduced a new way to learn online, so you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your home. 
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While most of us are conscious that the RYA Level 1 and 2 Powerboat certificate is an ideal entry-level introduction to the regular everyday knowledge we need in order to enjoy our boats, the sheer scope of courses on offer is less well understood. From servicing diesel engines to surviving at sea, communicating by VHF, learning first aid and getting to grips with radar, our learning process as a skipper is limited only by our own imagination. For the more creative among us, there are even courses on more specific disciplines like multihulls, dinghies and racing. To help kickstart the next stage of your development as a skipper, what follows is a brief look at some of the more interesting courses you might want to consider.