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We get lots of calls about the RYA PWC licence course from people wanting to complete this certificate so they can ride at their local lake or launch from their local marina. We get asked lots of questions about the necessity of obtaining the licence and what it involves... so here goes! Fun fact number one, you don’t actually NEED a licence to ride a Jet ski in the UK, we have a right to navigate on coastal waters, the need to hold a licence is often imposed by the ‘controller’ of the launch facility, marina or imposed as a condition to register under a local bylaw (usually with evidence of insurance). In other areas around the world this differs, with many countries in the med region requiring you to hold a licence, the RYA PWC licence seems to meet this requirement, I have been stopped several times in various countries and the RYA PWC licence I have produced has always satisfied the local authorities. There are other ways of ‘proving competence’ when abroad, such as completing your RYA course and then applying for an International Certificate of Competence (ICC). The rules on getting one of these are varied depending on where you live, what passport you have and if you are not a UK national. If you are actually a national of another country, then your home country may be on the ‘list’ of countries that the RYA is authorised to issue an ICC to if requested - its a complicated area and you are probably best to email or call us if you wish to pursue this route. Back to the RYA PWC licence, this one day proficiency course is well worth completing, even if you consider yourself to be an established rider. We have many people attend the course and are running at least one most weeks throughout the summer season and most months even during the later months. We haven’t ever had anyone say they have left learning nothing at all, even people who have been riding for a number of years tend to like the navigation, passage planning and buoyage sessions! About 80% of the course is actually on the water doing practical skills and the syllabus covers everything from basic pre launch checks, slow speed manoeuvres, planning speed exercises, towing, rules of the road, basic passage planning and much, much more! The course is designed for complete beginners and is well tailored for seasoned skiers by our experienced instructors. We have several options for you to complete the course using our ski's or your own ski (subject to lake rules on no two strokes.. sorry!). We include all instruction, equipment hire, ski hire, fuel, course book, licence issue on the day, lunch and on course refreshments.... whats not to like ;-) Email or call to check availability or if you have any questions and we will be happy to help.

We run regular RYA PWC INSTRUCTOR COURSES from our base in Lincoln and work hard to ensure we deliver top notch training, in this article Steve Poulton our resident Instructor Trainer will give you some top tips and handy hints for getting the most from your course. 'I train a lot of people both in the UK and onboard super yachts worldwide each year and I have noticed a few things that seem common place across courses, so if you are thinking of doing powerboat or PWC instructor course anytime soon... read on' - People often contact us wanting to know if they are ready to do the course... the short answer is... I don't know, I have never seen you drive a boat/ski and have no knowledge of your previous experience... other than what you tell me! So, lets take the RYA PWC Instructors course as an example (the same things can be applied to the Powerboat Instructors Course) - Things to consider - Do you meet the pre requirements for the course? ✅ Are you over 16 years? ✅ Do you have at least TWO YEARS of riding PWC (jet ski) in a variety of conditions and situations? ✅ This requirement can be reduced to ONE YEAR if you work full time using PWC as part of your job. ✅ This is 'self certified' - I have no way of knowing if you decided to be economical with the truth when telling me how long you have been riding... but it will show on day one if you clearly started last week! ✅ Have you got an RYA PWC LICENCE Do you have a suitable ✅ FIRST AID CERTIFICATE ✅ Do you like standing up in front of people and speaking? Lots of people hoping to become an instructor are natural speakers and happy to stand up and 'present' but we are not all happy in this situation. If you know you are nervous when in front of a group perhaps work on presenting something you are confident with in front of friends and family before you attend a course. A good opportunity to practice some of the subjects on the syllabus perhaps? If you are really comfortable standing up and speaking, think about how much you speak, is it a 'one sided broadcast' or do you include the audience in the presentation and make it 'interactive'? Do you have some ideas for creating learning resources that can take the attention of you and focus on th subject instead? Things like laminated picture cards to use when teaching IRPCS or little models of jet ski's to use when explaining a particular manoeuvre? Do you know anything about jet ski's, things like top tips on basic maintenance, the difference between a Yamaha Ex and a Seadoo Spark, how you put a SEADOO into 'SPORT' mode or how you restrict a YAMAHA to LEARNER MODE... these things all show a spread of knowledge on a subject you are hoping to be authorised to teach to others. TOP TIP - Take the time to find out about the subject, visit the main manufacturers websites, read up on the current range, features and engine sizes. Make an effort to show the trainers that you are going to make a great and knowledgable instructor. All the trainers I have ever worked with want you to PASS, they work hard to show you things that will make teaching others fun and informative, they don't have time on a course to teach you how to ride a ski or explain what a lateral buoy is, if you don't know... go find out now! These are things you can think about prior to attending an instructors course, we will work hard to give you time on the course to practice these skills and will suggest lots of strategies to deal with nerves if needed... so don't worry... but at least think about it before you come.