Who would raise the alarm in a distress situation on board your boat? What if the skipper was unable to? The Short Range Certificate (SRC) is a minimum legal requirement for every British flagged vessel voluntarily fitted with a radio. It’s also an essential and informative qualification for anyone who enjoys boating so that they can use a marine radio fitted with Digital Selective Calling (DSC) functionality.
A radio is an important piece of safety equipment on board and it is vital to understand the correct procedures. You will learn how to use VHF/DSC radios in day-to-day routine situations – such as booking a marina berth or calling friends on board their boat. A large part of the course is also spent familiarising you with radio procedures during distress, safety and urgent situations – from making a DSC/Mayday call to reporting a container floating in the shipping lanes.
As described above, the course is split into two distinctive separate sections:
Part 1 Complete the RYA SRC/VHF Radio operator course online - 6-8 hours.
Part 2 Complete practical radio operation and theory exam.
The final exam which includes a short theory paper and practical exercises using a DSC equipped radio set takes about 1 hour to complete and must take place at an RYA Recognised Training School . You can sit this exam at our training facility based in Swanwick Marina on the river Hamble.
We always have a range of dates available and can also be arranged at a time to suit your diary requirements at our training center in Swanwick, Southampton.