For vessels over 24m LOA greater than 500gt please contact RYA Training 2 .
Time | 6 to 48 hour exam (dependant on the number of people) after a potential prep course of up to 5 days |
Prerequisites | 30 days spent at sea 800nm sailed, with at least 50% in tidal waters 12 night hours 2 days as skipper |
Min. Age | 17 |
Exam | 6 hours to 2 days on the water |
Aim | To work commercially on a sailing vessel under 24m in length within 20nm of a harbour. |
The RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor ticket is a highly useful and credible motor cruising qualification. Administered on behalf of the UK Maritime and Coastgaurd Agency by the RYA the qualification is accepted as a worldwide standard. To gain an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor qualification you must sit a practical exam.
Gaining an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor will allow you to work commercially on small motor vessels.
The RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor exam certifies that you are competent to skipper a motor yacht on coastal voyages within 20nm of a harbour.
The exam can be organised via the RYA to be done on your own vessel or via an RYA training centre, to be done on an RYA training vessel. It should be noted, that to complete the exam on your own vessel, your vessel must be up to an appropriate safety standard.
Most RYA training centres offering the RYA Cruising Scheme offer some form of pre exam preparation or coaching for those looking to take an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor exam.
These courses are often referred to as ‘RYA Yachtmaster Prep’ courses. This is unique within the RYA training framework in that it does not have a fixed course syllabus, length or course completion certificate.
The RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor exam is open to anyone who meets the minimum criteria, with all experience within the last 10 years.
If you have exceeded all of the above by large margins, then the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Motor exam might be for you.
If you have the miles, but not the skippering experience, it is suggested that you charter a vessel in order to gain the skippering experience.
Additionally, exam candidates must also hold a relevant GMDSS VHF certification and an RYA First Aid certificate or recognised equivalent.
You can indeed jump straight into the RYA Cruising Scheme at this stage, however, it is imperative that you understand the levels that are required of you, both in your knowledge and practical skills.
It is suggested that as a minimum you have completed (and passed) the RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory course as the knowledge in here is both required for you to be at the level required, but will be formally tested during your RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor exam, both orally and in practical applications.
You, of course, need to be a suitably experienced skipper and this involves meeting the prerequisites mentioned above to be eligible. You should be able to handle your vessel competently in close quarters and at sea. You should be comfortable applying this in various day and night time passages.
As mentioned, it is strongly recommended to have completed the RYA Coastal and Yachtmaster Theory as the depth of knowledge gained from this shore based course will be tested throughout your exam.
If you are looking for aa sailing equivalent course then you want RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Sail course .
The exam itself can take anything from 6 hours to 2 days depending on how many candidates are being examined on one vessel at a time. Up to 4 candidates can sit the exam at once and this would last for a maximum of 48 hours if so.
An RYA Yachtmaster Prep course is generally four and a half days long and is usually directly followed by the practical exam.
No, this is the one time that while there is a recognised ‘course’, there is no syllabus. It is up to the experienced instructor on the RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor Prep course to tailor the learnings to your needs. This is more about refining your skills rather than teaching new ones.
You should be honest with yourself and your instructor in order for learnings throughout the week to be tailored to improve yourself on any weak areas that you may have.
These courses run as a standalone course and while there may be students on another course, generally everyone onboard is a candidate for an RYA Yachtmaster Exam. The courses should however be run with no more than 4 students on board.
The content will depend on the needs of all students and is aimed at fine-tuning existing skills rather than teaching new ones. This will involve a lot of night time cruising and navigation, carrying out challenging boat handling while using theory knowledge and ensuring general skippering skills are up to scratch.
There is a basic syllabus that is used to help shape the exam content, but in reality, you can be tested on anything from the RYA cruising scheme within the exam.
Before choosing the RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor Prep course you need to be honest with yourself and your own abilities. While on the course you need to take on the advice and guidance given by the instructor on what areas need work. If you speak to your instructor before the course, they can tailor the instruction to your needs.
On the exam, you will be given the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and competence. You will be expected to take full responsibility for your vessel and crew. The examiner will be looking for you to demonstrate competence and show your broad range of experience.
The exam will be an intensive experience and even when you are not the designated skipper, you will still be asked questions and observed and examined as a participant of the crew.
During the exam you will be asked to complete various tasks, ranging from leaving the dock, skippering a short passage, casualty recovery, night pilotage and even blind navigation. Additionally, you will be tested on theoretical aspects such as how to deal with an engine failure, knowledge of your vessel’s stability, meteorology and IRPCS.
As a potential RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor, these tasks are ones that should now be second nature to you and should take minimal time to plan while the theoretical knowledge should be able to roll off your tongue.
The following topics make up the basis for the RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor exam syllabus. IRPCS, safety, boat handling, seamanship, responsibility as skipper, navigation, meteorology and signals.
But, as mentioned above, anything from the whole RYA cruising syllabus scheme can be tested.
As ever, many schools differ in price. We would recommend that you take a look around at the various options and find what suits your needs the best. Cheapest is not often better.
This can range from knowing if you will have to share a cabin while onboard to whether food and berthing charges are included to how many other students you will be sharing your week with.
The exam fee is usually not included, which is currently £208.
As always there are many thoughts and pros and cons on this, and as a potential RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor, you should consider yourself experienced enough to sit the exam anywhere. However, if you choose to sit the exam in an area that you are familiar with then you will take a lot of the stress out of learning a new area and start with a small advantage of having that all important local knowledge at your disposal.
Your instructor should be able to update you on your ability levels throughout the course. They will be highly experienced and it is suggested that you listen to their advice given.
If you are learning something for the first time you should consider if you are ready for the exam. Talk to your instructor and they will be able to guide you on if you are ready for the exam or if they would advise further training.
There is no pass mark as such and the examiner will be looking to see that you are a competent and complete skipper, capable of looking after both your vessel and crew in a safe manner.
Every exam is different and no examiner will be setting out to fail any candidates, but they must ensure and check that each candidate is able to demonstrate their ability, knowledge and skills in a safe and timely manner.
If you were to fail to reach the levels of an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor certificate of competence then the examiner will give you a thorough debrief complete with action points to work on before you have another attempt at the exam.
After completion of the exam, you will have gained the credible achievement of an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor certificate of competence and you can get this commercially endorsed by adding a sea survival certification, a personal medical and a PPR course, all of which, along with your GMDSS VHF and First Aid should be sent off to the RYA for certification upgrade. This will now allow the holder to skipper a vessel commercially, in coastal waters, up to 20nm from a harbour.
The next step is of course to get out on the water and to keep learning, keep gaining experience and keep improving on the skills and knowledge learned so far. No skipper is the finished article and we should all keep seeking to improve.
Once you have gained more experience, knowledge, mileage and time on the water it will be time to progress to the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Motor exam.
Your Comment*
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Theo Stocker is put through his paces on an RYA Yachtmaster Offshore prep week, before taking the exam itself. Find out how he got on
The RYA Yachtmaster Offshore has long been the qualification that cruising yacht sailors, both amateur and professional, have aspired to. Quite aside from the fact that it is the gateway to working in the yachting industry if the desire so takes you, it is good to know that you have mastered the sweep of skills and experience necessary for you to be deemed competent at skippering a sailing yacht.
I’ve wanted to test myself and see if I was up to scratch for years, and I finally got the courage up to put my skills under the spotlight earlier this summer. I was going to be taking the test with my friend Andrew, as we’d been talking about doing our Yachtmaster for two decades.
Last month I shared my experience of preparing for a Yachtmaster exam to get our rusty skills and knowledge back up to standard, and to check that there weren’t any major holes in our repertoire. Now that the RYA Yachtmaster scheme has turned 50, we were also interested to see how things have changed with technology.
Things like chartplotters and mobile internet have made some areas massively easier, but bring their own challenges, and in the first part, we discovered that navigating these systems and knowing what information to trust requires just as many skills and as much judgement as the old methods.
If anything, they also bring more opportunity for distraction from the real world with plenty of potential for making navigationally serious mistakes. The standard for passing the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore exam is just as demanding as it ever was.
Having looked at safety briefs, marina boat handling, navigation and pilotage, it was now time to move onto boat handling under sail, the more critical safety manoeuvres, as well as some of the softer skills involved in skippering a crew. The exam was looming…
The Yachtmaster crew (L-R): Matt Sillars, Andrew Eastham, Row Staples, Theo Stocker
Part of the reason for having our supercrew, Row, on board for the prep week was that it’s all well and good sailing solo, but a skipper needs to be able to lead and manage a crew safely, and ideally create an atmosphere on board that is harmonious, effective and enjoyable, striking the right balance between being clearly in control, facilitating everyone to play their part, and enjoying life at sea.
A huge part of this is around good, early communication in the inevitable form of briefings. Now, this isn’t patronisingly sitting everyone down and telling them to do things they are totally capable of doing, but of communicating what you want to happen, before it happens.
Briefings can be brief and on-the-go, as long as they are clear and you are confident your crew understand. It also demands some degree of foresight and competence on your part – if you haven’t anticipated something, you can’t brief for it. Whether it’s leaving a berth, setting sail or fighting a fire, everyone having a job and being equipped with the skills to do their jobs should engender a satisfying sense of competence and achievement for everyone involved.
Article continues below…
Many very competent and highly experienced yachtsmen and women don’t have any qualifications at all and are content to keep…
Andrew and I were struck by how much we’re both used to just getting on and doing stuff on our own boats, either by ourselves, or without making sure the crew know what we’re thinking. Talking out loud was a helpful habit during the week. In marina manoeuvres, we tried to warn crew on the foredeck that we were about to turn, or go astern, so as not to unbalance them, and our coming alongsides were a lot smoother when everyone knew what order to get the lines across in.
Make sure there’s cake and coffee – especially during your exam
Whether you’re sailing with strangers you’ve never met before, or with your family who know your flaws only too well and are occasionally good enough to point these out to you, managing interpersonal relationships on board is a skill that’s hard to teach but critical to a safe and happy crew. The more competent and in control you feel, the easier this will be, and thinking ahead will help you keep your stress levels down.
Under the eye of an instructor or examiner, we were of course on our best behaviour. It helped that all of us genuinely enjoyed our time on board and each other’s company, but thinking through what your crew may be feeling or thinking will help. Swallow your pride and do some of the jobs others might not enjoy.
As long as the boat is under control and you’ve got some capacity, make everyone a cup of tea and offer the choccy round. Give people things to do, but let them rest when they need a break too. Make sure they’ve all got suncream on. Keeping an eye on their wellbeing isn’t always easy when you’re nervous, stressed, or don’t quite know where you are.
Briefings can be informal, as long as your crew is clear about what’s happening and what to do
At the same time, you are responsible for keeping the boat safe. There will be times when you need to make it clear who is in charge, and what you are and are not happy with on board. Andrew and I are used to scampering around a boat, but reminding each other to clip on before going forward for a man overboard, or finding a safe way to adjust the mainsail leech line was a useful reminder to err on the side of caution. Demonstrate that you can pre-empt risks and avoid or mitigate for them.
Serious problems on board are more likely if you don’t keep on top of the little things. We worked hard to make sure the boat was in a good state during the week; tidy the galley up and stow the crockery before you set sail, coil the halyards and lines away once you’ve finished reefing. A snake’s wedding in the cockpit is going to lead to jammed lines and tangled feet. If you’re happy with the picture of where the boat is and how she’s sailing, look around you to make sure the details are right too.
Shout man overboard and point at the casualty. Crash tack to stop the boat
Man overboard is just about one of the most serious events that can happen on board a cruising yacht at sea. Getting them out of the water as quickly as possible is of paramount importance. When I last did a sailing course nearly two decades ago, the drills were the same as they’ve always been – choose whether you want to get back to the MOB under sail or engine, do your manoeuvre, then fish out the fender and bucket with a boathook.
I’ve spent some time for the magazine testing not only the sequence of actions in this manouevre but how you then actually get the casualty out of the water, and was chastened by just how hard it really is to lift a dead-weight casualty from the water onto deck, especially if they are incapacitated.
I was encouraged, therefore, that the RYA’s approach to MOB training has moved on, breaking it down into three areas: preventing man overboard in the first place, getting back to the casualty, and getting them out of the water.
The usual points of minimising time on deck, clipping on in rough weather or when alone on deck, only going forward on the windward side, and all the other precautions, are something to drill into your crew, and as skipper, it’s important to ensure a safe culture on board.
You can still practise with a fender, but getting back to it is only half the job
Man overboards are no longer taught exclusively under sail. Yes, we practised sailing back to a fender in the water, but this should only ever be as a backup to the fastest and most reliable way to get to your MOB, and on boats with engines, that is under power.
The order in which we did the drill during our training was as follows:
Stop the boat by crash-tacking to heave to without easing the sheets. You should then be stopped, under control and close to the MOB
It’s a highly informative process to try out this last part whilst alongside in the marina, with the ‘casualty’ a real person lying on the pontoon. While they would be wet, heavier and needing lifting further in real life, this is a very safe and controlled way of practising with your system and adjusting it until everyone is happy they know what to do.
Having done this exercise now, I am keen to do a full man overboard drill at the start of every season and at the start of every trip so that everyone on board knows what to do – it is this practice that is the deciding factor in whether you can get an MOB back or not.
Once you’re used to lassoing, it’s almost easier than using a boat hook
Sailing back to a fender is a good skill to have, were your engine to fail during a MOB – a line wrapping around the prop, for example – or just to get back to a favourite hat or fender that’s gone overboard. It’s like sailing onto a mooring, but easier in many ways without having to factor in the tide.
The basic principle is that you want to approach on a close reach with enough space to slow down and arrive under control, able to spill all the power from the main. There are two slight variations in that you can bear away on a broad reach to start with as you sail away from the fender, or you can reach away, then dip downwind after the tack. If you do the latter, the dip down will need to be a significant bear away.
As you’ll be sending crew forward to the shrouds, you’ll still need to furl the jib and scandalise the main on your final approach. I managed to get myself confused once or twice and went to put the fender on the windward bow like a mooring, which isn’t going to work.
Picking up a mooring under sail is a satisfying skill to master. Put the buoy on your windward bow so it doesn’t drag you into a gybe
There are a few manoeuvres that everyone should be able to do. While you may rarely sail onto a mooring buoy, knowing how to do so is a good skill to have should you have engine trouble or just for showing off. At the same time, it’s a good indicator of a sailor’s feel for the boat and how it will respond to the elements.
When approaching into wind and tide together, our Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 37 from 2008 had a fairly shallow forefoot, so as soon as our speed dropped off, the bow tended to pay off quickly.
You don’t want a flogging genoa over the crew on the foredeck either, so furling the genoa away is a good option, but you will sail slower and with more leeway, so need to be slightly higher upwind than you first anticipate.
With wind and tide opposed, you would clearly approach under genoa alone, but with wind and tide at roughly right angles, you’ll need to judge which approach is needed. There were two factors that caught us out a couple of times, interestingly more important in lighter airs.
The first is that as the boat slows down the tide becomes proportionally more important, and secondly, at the same time apparent wind will decrease and move aft, further filling the mainsail. The lesson was to prepare for a wind-against-tide approach much more readily than we might otherwise have done.
You may find yourself having to sail back into harbour with engine problems.
You are unlikely ever to sail into a marina finger berth and I wouldn’t advise trying. You may, however, find yourself having to sail back into harbour with engine problems. While a Pan Pan call is pretty ubiquitous these days, a Yachtmaster should be able to deal with engine problems at sea, and if not, to sail themselves back into harbour rather than depending on being rescued.
Most harbours will have a pontoon or berth with a relatively open approach, and it’s reasonable to expect to be able to sail onto it. The calculation of which approach to use is much the same as for picking up moorings under sail, though with other boats around and a solid pontoon to hit, the consequences of getting it wrong are higher. Handling a boat in confined waters means you’ll need to keep control at low speeds, and be thinking ahead about escape routes if it’s not going according to plan.
For us, sailing on the mid-river pontoon opposite Warsash at the bottom of the Hamble river offered a good open approach, and just enough wind to get away with a wind-and-tide together approach, though a genoa-only approach may have been safer.
A properly guyed pole is a more seaworthy setup than just clipping the pole onto the sheet
The dangers of a crash gybe are well known, particularly from the mainsheet and boom scything across the boat, with a high potential to damage both crew and boat. I had sailed a bit close to a gybe with the jib collapsing earlier in the week, and when I had intentionally gybed, I hadn’t fully centred the main.
Although no harm was done, the boom did clatter across noisily. Matt gave a stern warning about the dim view an examiner would take of this – a potential instant fail – and we agreed that looking at rigging for downwind legs would be worthwhile, including both preventer and poling out the genoa.
Rigging a preventer is relatively straightforward. We chose the longest, strongest line we had on board in the form of a spinnaker sheet. This was led from the end of the boom, where it was secured with a round turn and two half hitches – both a strong knot and easily released under load – then forward outside everything to the bow fairlead, and then aft to a cockpit winch.
It takes a little bit of rigging, but if the result is a much safer and more manoeuvrable setup, then it’s worth doing, even on relatively short legs
When poling out a headsail in the past, I’ve always set the pole using the pole uphaul and downhaul then clipped the sheet into the end then unfurled the headsail. This works fine in settled conditions for short legs clear of shipping. Were you to need to gybe, change course, or furl away the headsail quickly, however, it would leave you with the dangerous proposition of a loose, heavy pole potentially swinging freely on the foredeck that also prevents you sheeting the sail in for an upwind course without first unclipping it from the pole.
Matt set us the task of rigging the pole in such a way that it could be locked in position whether the sail was set or not, and that the headsail could be sheeted in for upwind sailing without going forward to unrig the pole. After a bit of head scratching, we found a solution.
The pole could be held in position by the pole uphaul, the downhaul, which served to pull the pole forwards and down, and an additional aft guy, which was an extra line taken from the pole end to the aft mooring cleat. We attached a third sheet, in the form of a spinnaker sheet, to the jib’s clew, through the pole, and aft to a spinnaker block at the stern and then onto a primary winch.
The result was that chafe was minimised, the pole could be locked in position whether the sail was set or not, and if we did need to gybe or sail upwind, the normal jib sheets still had a proper lead, albeit the pole would need to be held aft and the headsail with a couple of reefs to keep it clear of the pole.
With examiner Andy Wright aboard, the exam was finally underway
The exam starts a day or two before the examiner turns up, in that he or she may want to see a passage plan you’ve prepared in advance. If this is the case, the examiner will have passed the information to you via the school providing the training.
It’s best to do this two or three days before the exam so you haven’t got a last-minute panic, but not too far in advance that you’ve forgotten the sums you’ve done and why you made the choices you did. I was set a passage from Bembridge to St Vaast on the Cherbourg peninsula, giving me a potentially fiddly drying harbour at either end, though the forecast given was a conveniently favourable Westerly Force 4-5. With passage plan complete, and some last-minute swotting up on lights, shapes and sounds, Andrew and I retired for an early night.
After the windless drizzle of the day before, Friday dawned bright and breezy with a forecast of a good Force 5 from the southwest and plenty of sunshine – enough that we’d have to be on our toes, but at least something we could get our teeth into. Matt had reassured us that making mistakes wasn’t the end of the world during the exam, if we showed competence in getting ourselves back on track.
Andrew gives the crew an on-deck safety briefing, including the MOB recovery kit
Minor mistakes are to be expected and it’s more important how you respond to your own mistake. The only sorts of things that would probably be an outright fail, other than flunking our lights and shapes, are safety critical things such as a collision, running aground, an inability to navigate and pilot, or an uncontrolled gybe.
We were joined at 0900 by our examiner Andy Wright, an RYA Yachtmaster instructor trainer, examiner and centre inspector, an MCA Master 200 who works as an RNLI area lifesaving manager and who also volunteers with the Rona sailing project. There’d be no ‘getting away with it’ here.
We began the day with a coffee and chat, and Andy spent some time asking about our reasons for taking the exam, before laying out what he would be looking for. ‘I’m not going to be trying to catch anyone out, but what I want to see you demonstrate is that you can skipper the boat, navigate the boat, handle the boat under power and handle the boat under sail.’
Andrew talks examiner Andy through his pre-prepared passage plan
We began, as we had with our prep week, with safety briefs, with Andy and I splitting above and below decks.
With the engine bay open, Andy took time to probe our knowledge of engine troubleshooting, asking us to point out various parts of the engine, the different significance of blue, black or white smoke from the exhaust (incomplete combustion, burning oil and overheating, by the way), and how to change filters, impellers and belts and how to bleed the fuel.
On deck, we were asked to explain when and why each kind of flare would be used. None of it felt overly pressured, but it was certainly an in-depth examination of our knowledge.
During the day, these conversations continued as he drew information out of us in areas that were not being practically demonstrated on the day – 15-20 minutes on lights, shapes, sounds and collision avoidance, including how we’d handle different scenarios in traffic separation schemes.
Andrew points out where the MOB handy billy and sling is during his safety brief
He asked us to talk through our passage plans, and then went further to see whether we knew if the boat we were on was legally allowed to do so, and what the administrative and immigration requirements would be on either side of the Channel – a tricky one given the ongoing chaos and confusion that surrounds small boat crossings these days.
In between these chats, we got underway. First with our marina manoeuvres in and out of a selection of increasingly tricky berths, putting the boat into positions that we might not have chosen, including a berth two space into a gulley with a yacht moored either side of the space and a boat opposite. Ferry gliding in bows-first wasn’t too tricky, but with wind and tide pushing us on, getting out again was harder. I opted to use prop walk to pull the stern out against a bow line – slightly unconventional, and it needed a bit of oomph to keep our bows clear, but I got away without a collision.
We then had half an hour or so to each prepare a short passage plan and pilotage from each end, this time from Hamble to Portsmouth and back. As these weren’t Andrew’s home waters, he was relieved that I was going first.
Navigating the boat, piloting into Portsmouth, and recovering a MOB kept Theo on his toes
I know Portsmouth well, but hadn’t been in for a while. With a plan complete, Andy asked me to explain the route I’d chosen. While I had the route in the chartplotter, I’d picked waypoints near easy-to-find buoys so I could see I was in the right place from the cockpit, and I’d elected not to cut the corner over the shallows off Hill Head to keep us clear of a lee shore.
I’d also have to use the Outer Swashway on the way in, as we’d be close to low water and lacking depth by about 0.3m to get in via the Inner Swashway.
Underway, and with Row on the wheel, I had decisions to make about how many reefs to put in, and I was torn between sailing the boat properly and being overly cautious. Starting with one reef, with the breeze creeping upwards, life was comfier with two reefs in. I had to stop myself from any gung-ho attempts to tighten leech lines, electing for a quick heave-to to sort them out. Coffees needed to keep on flowing during the passage, and lunchtime was upon us before I knew it.
We needed to devise a rock-solid passage plan
While the pasties were heating in the oven, there was time for a fix on the chart, or would have been had the fender not fallen overboard. We went through our drill and I was relieved to get back to the MOB first go. Andrew and Row looked at me to see if we were doing ‘the whole thing’ and as Andy hadn’t flinched, we rigged the handy billy, attached the fender to the sling and hauled away until it was safely aboard – it’s a complex process that really does need practice, but it had gone well.
Once safely in Portsmouth Harbour, it was my turn to find and pick up a mooring buoy under sail. Tied up and handing over skippering duty to Andrew for his turn in the hot seat, I suddenly felt a wave of relief that my passage, pilotage and handling seemed to have gone okay. It was only early afternoon, however, and we wouldn’t be finished until we’d done our night navigation.
There was a fresh breeze from the southwest for the passage to Portsmouth
Andrew’s passage went well, too, in a building breeze that was more on the nose on the way back, while I was below wrestling with getting a tray of meatballs and sauce into a wildly swinging oven. I’m ashamed to say that when it was Andrew’s turn at MOB, despite a flawless approach, I messed up the lasso and missed the fender. Sorry, friend.
By the time we were back on a mooring inside Calshot Spit it was time for dinner and a brief respite, before plunging on into our night nav exercises.
Much like earlier in the week, we were asked to navigate to unmarked locations and Andy gave us a bit of time to prepare these. While we were doing this, he also checked our knowledge of how the radar worked for collision avoidance and for navigation, and how to extract relevant information from both the chartplotter and the AIS.
My night nav began well, using multiple sources of position information as requested, and just about making sense of my hastily drawn sketch and notes, looking for the characteristics of particular lights (you’ll need to know how quick VQ compared to just Q really is) and using the radar to plot our course.
Andrew plots a visual fix as the sun starts to set
As it was top of the tide, however, every ship in Southampton seemed determined to set sail, including the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary cruise liner with attendant tugs, police launches and party boats following behind. Cowering at the side of the channel, my plan was thrown into disarray and I lost the plot on radar, and we were blinded by disco balls and oil terminal lights alike. Luckily, Navionics is by no means banned, and a quick range and bearing in the palm of my hand gave me a course and distance to my imaginary point. Another step closer.
Still, Andrew needed to pilot us up the Hamble River, where Hamble Point’s sector lights can be easily lost in the welter of shore lights, and I was asked to bring the boat alongside, stern first at the end of a long gulley, giving me another chance to mess things up, right up to the last minute.
Back at Calshot darkness falls ahead of the night navigation exercises
But with the boat tied up and put to bed, Andy took each of us off for a quick chat on the pontoon. Fortunately, he was pleased with how we had done and broke the news that we had both passed. Phew – mission accomplished!
We could finally open those beers and enjoy what we had just achieved. Both of us had found the week intense, all-absorbing and demanding – perhaps unsurprisingly. As a result, we felt that we’d been forced to up our game when it came to our sailing and skippering, and our skills had been updated by a decade or two.
We were now much better-rounded skippers than we’d been before. There were lots of learnings and some new skills to take back to our own boats, too, but we had also had a fun week along the way.
A subscription to Yachting Monthly magazine costs around 40% less than the cover price, so you can save money compared to buying single issues .
Print and digital editions are available through Magazines Direct – where you can also find the latest deals .
YM is packed with information to help you get the most from your time on the water.
Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram.
25 September 2018
The RYA Yachtmaster Offshore certificate is the first penultimate qualification in the RYA’s training programme with Yachtmaster Ocean and subsequent instructor certifications being the only RYA qualifications superior to it.
The certificate is only available after an independently assessed practical examination has been set and passed. The candidate is examined on the water by an RYA appointed Yachtmaster Examiner. The candidate may be quizzed on any part of the Yachtmaster Syllabus including the shorebased theory component.
In order to be qualified to take the examination you must have the following logged mileage / experience and certifications;
In addition the RYA require that;
The minimum age for candidates is 18 years of age.
Bear in mind that these are the bare minimum requirements for taking the examination and whilst candidates pass with this minimum criteria it should be noted that, whilst you may have met the criteria necessary to pass the 8 - 12 hour examination, you are still relatively inexperienced.
After all, collecting a certificate is one thing; being a confident and competent skipper offshore is quite another.
It is always hard to determine who is ready to take the examination and who is not (at least, without some time on the water with them) but as with our comments on the Yachtmaster Coastal candidate, as a rule, anyone that does not know how to confidently come alongside under motor, recover a man overboard under sail or sail onto a mooring buoy in tidal waters (and know which sail plan to use in differing conditions and why) - or cannot plot a fix derived from a running fix or explain the passage of a low pressure weather system is probably not ready to take the examination.
The difference between a RYA Yachtmaster Offshore and RYA Yachtmaster Coastal is primarily one of depth of knowledge and competence. A good candidate has probably been RYA Day Skipper qualified for a few years (perhaps Coastal Skipper too) and he should have sailed extensively in different areas as skipper. He should also have recently studied for and passed the RYA Yachtmaster Shorebased Theory Course.
At Jolly Parrot Sailing we offer bespoke preparation weeks and use of one of our yachts for candidates looking to take the examination thereafter. Student numbers are limited to four and courses are aimed at candidates looking to brush up on weaknesses and prepare for the exam itself.
Contact our Yachtmaster Instructor and Training Centre Principal for more information on 07925 784407 .
Related articles:
What is a saloon berth.
30 May 2024
The pros and cons of in-mast furling.
Full details of the exam syllabus and requirements are shown in the RYA Yachtmaster Scheme Syllabus and Logbook (G158) available from the webshop (see right).
RYA Yachtmaster Offshore practical exams can be taken under sail or power and your certificate will be endorsed accordingly. The candidate or a training centre provides the boat and the RYA provides an examiner. Note: All qualifying sea time and passages must be gained on vessels appropriate to the type of exam i.e. gained in sailing vessels for a sail exam and power vessels for a power exam.
There is no formal training course leading up to the exam, but those who have not previously taken RYA courses often find it useful to book themselves in for some informal training at an RYA centre prior to their exam. This training can be tailor-made to your specific needs and helps to fill any gaps in your knowledge that may become apparent.
The exam will include an assessment of your skippering skills, boat handling, general seamanship, navigation, safety awareness and knowledge of the IRPCS, meteorology and signals.
Documented minimum sea time completed on a seagoing sailing or motor yacht (as appropriate) in the last 10 years: which may be reduced to 25 days if the candidate already holds an RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence ; ; , which may be reduced to 1250 miles if the candidate already holds an RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence if the candidate already holds an RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence
At least half the qualifying sea time should be gained in tidal waters and on vessels less than 24m LOA, and all seatime must be on vessels of the same discipline as the exam to be taken, i.e. sail or power. Contact if your sea time is on a yacht greater than 24m and 500gt. For example, an RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Sail wishing to be examined for RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Power | |
Practical | |
. | |
| 8-12 hours for 1 candidate, 10-18 hours for 2 candidates.No more than two candidates can be examined in 24 hours and no more than four candidates can be examined in one 2 day session. |
18 at the time of the exam |
You may use your own boat or a boat that you have chartered or borrowed. You will be responsible for ensuring the boat is seaworthy and suitable for the area in which the exam takes place and equipped as shown below.
The boat used must be between 7m and 18m (LOA) and be in sound, seaworthy condition, equipped to the standard set out in the RYA Boat Safety Handbook 2nd Edition (code G103). The boat must be equipped with a full up to date set of charts and navigational publications along with working instruments and either plotter or GPS. In addition to the candidate there should be two crew on board as the examiner will not take part in the management of the boat during the exam.
There may be vessels that will meet the guidelines outlined above but by virtue of their layout, construction, handling characteristics or other factors may be unsuitable for use for an RYA Yachtmaster Practical examination. The RYA reserves the right to refuse an exam on a vessel that, in the view of the RYA Chief Examiner, will not allow the examiner to conduct an examination to the standard required by the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Qualification Panel.
Before you book your exam please check that you:
If you need your Certificate of Competence in order to work on board a commercial craft subject the MCA's codes of practice, you will need to get it commercially endorsed .
Arranging your exam, commercial endorsements, exam payments service, mca manning requirements, professional qualifications.
Develop your skills and understanding.
Whether you’re a competent navigator planning an ocean passage, or you’re interested in offshore navigation techniques, the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Shorebased Course will help you develop skills in celestial navigation, worldwide meteorology and voyage planning.
This course will introduce you to the principles of celestial navigation, the practical use of the sextant, the measurement of time, position fixing by the sun and stars, compass checking and great circle sailing.
You’ll also study concepts of worldwide meteorology, including tropical revolving storms, and passage planning for ocean voyaging.
Upon completion of the course, you’ll have a firm understanding of the theory of astronavigation and be able to fix a position using sun, moon and star sightings. You’ll be awarded RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory Certification.
Course Syllabus
To complete this course, you’ll need:.
This course is offered both residential (all-inclusive) or non-residential (lunch included).
Course | From | To | Non-res | All-inc |
---|---|---|---|---|
RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Shorebased | 12/10/2024 | 17/10/2024 | ||
RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Shorebased | 11/11/2024 | 16/11/2024 |
The testimonials below from previous students, give you an insight into the benefits of the Yachtmaster Ocean course and the outcomes you can expect.
Yachtmaster Ocean Student
| Yachtmaster Ocean Student “ |
Need help finding the right course for you?
IMAGES
COMMENTS
The RYA Yachtmaster® Ocean is experienced and competent to skipper a yacht on passages of any length in all parts of the world. Qualifications. Full details of the exam syllabus and requirements are shown in the RYA Yachtmaster Scheme Syllabus and Logbook (G158), which is available from the RYA webshop. The exam consists of an oral and written ...
The gold standard. The RYA Yachtmaster® Certificate of Competence is often the ultimate aim of aspiring skippers. It is a well known, highly respected qualification worldwide, proving your experience and competence as a skipper. Unlike other qualifications in the cruising programme, there is no formal training course to become an RYA Yachtmaster.
The RYA Yachtmaster Ocean is the highest certification level at RYA. The holder of a Yachtmaster Ocean qualification should be competent to skipper a yacht of up to 24 metres LOA (up to 200gt) anywhere in the World (Category 0 waters - unlimited). The assessment is done by oral interrogation (~1.5 hours).
Yachtmaster Ocean Exam Requirements / Prerequisites: In addition to holding an RYA Yachtmaster Certificate of Competence (or an MCA OOW Yachts less than 3000gt) the candidate must complete a qualifying passage on board a sailing or motor yacht up to 500gt. *Candidates must hold an OOW (Yachts less than 3000gt) in order to claim qualifying passages on vessels greater than 24m LOA.*
Furthermore the Yachtmaster Ocean CoC Exam is required for the Chief Officer 3000 Certificate of Competence (for yachts over 200 tonne). There are 5 stepping stones to becoming an Ocean Yachtmaster CoC holder. Steps 1-4 can be taken in any order although the order presented below is the most logical. Step 5 can only be completed once the first ...
RYA Yachtmaster Offshore exam pre-requisites. 5 passages over 60 miles long, which must include 2 overnight passages and 2 as skipper, which may be reduced to 3 passages including 1 overnight and 1 as skipper if the candidate already holds an RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence 3. 1 At least half the qualifying sea time should be ...
Requirements for the Yachtmaster Offshore Exam. To sit the RYA Yachtmaster offshore exam, you are required to have the following miles and experience. All completed within the last ten years: A minimum of 2,500 miles are logged before you sit the exam. At least half the miles must be in tidal waters. Five passages over 60 miles long**.
The gold standard. The RYA Yachtmaster® Certificate of Competence is often the ultimate aim of aspiring skippers. It is a well known, highly respected qualification worldwide, proving your experience and competence as a skipper. Unlike other qualifications in the cruising programme, there is no formal training course to become an RYA Yachtmaster.
Specific Criteria. Distance: The passage must be a non-stop journey of at least 600 nautical miles. Offshore Distance: At least 250 miles of the passage must be more than 50 nautical miles offshore. This requirement is designed to ensure that the passage includes a significant amount of open ocean sailing, testing navigational skills away from ...
Prerequisites: 50 days spent at sea 2500nm cruised, with at least 50% in tidal waters 5 days as skipper 5 60nm passages, 2 as skipper: Min. Age: 18: ... This is to progress and upgrade your RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Motor certificate of competence to an RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Motor certificate of competence. To do this there is 3 main steps ...
Additional requirements are completion of: (i) the RYA Basic Sea Survival course, or STCW Personal Survival Techniques; and (ii) the RYA Professional Practices and Responsibilities course. STCW endorsement ... The RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate of Competence can be used commercially in its own right, but is also a pre-requisite for the MCA's ...
The RYA Yachtmaster® Ocean is experienced and competent to skipper a yacht on passages of any length in all parts of the world. Qualifications. Full details of the exam syllabus and requirements are shown in the RYA Yachtmaster Scheme Syllabus and Logbook (G158), which is available from the RYA webshop. The exam consists of an oral and written ...
Recommended Reading: RYA Day Skipper Handbook Sail (G71), RYA Yacht Sailing Techniques (G94), RYA Yachtmaster™ scheme and syllabus (G158) Course Prerequisites: RYA/MCA Yachtmaster™ Offshore Certificate of Competence for those intending to ultimately gain the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster™ Ocean Certificate of Competence, otherwise a knowledge of ...
Route to RYA Yachtmaster (Power or Sail) The Yachtmaster Certificate of Competence Exam can be taken in a powered or sail craft (i.e. there are two separate disciplines). Much of the route (the shorebased courses) is identical for both disciplines. There are actually three levels of Yachtmaster ( Coastal, Offshore and Ocean).
During RYA exams candidates will be questioned extensively about their qualifying passages, mileage and sea time. Additional for RYA Yachtmaster Ocean: Candidates on Ocean qualifying passages must have acted in a capacity of either mate or skipper throughout the entire passage. If circumstances prevent astro sights being taken on the ocean ...
The RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor exam is open to anyone who meets the minimum criteria, with all experience within the last 10 years. 17 years of age or older. 30 days spent at sea. 800nm cruised, with at least 50% in tidal waters. 12 night hours.
The RYA Yachtmaster Offshore has long been the qualification that cruising yacht sailors, both amateur and professional, have aspired to. Quite aside from the fact that it is the gateway to working in the yachting industry if the desire so takes you, it is good to know that you have mastered the sweep of skills and experience necessary for you to be deemed competent at skippering a sailing yacht.
The highest of the RYA qualifications is Yachtmaster Ocean. Full information about the requirements are given below. The majority of Rubicon 3's offshore passages are suitable as qualifying passages, but not all. You can see our full list of ocean qualifying trips here. We can only take a maximum of three watch leaders so please check ...
The RYA Yachtmaster Offshore certificate is the first penultimate qualification in the RYA's training programme with Yachtmaster Ocean and subsequent instructor certifications being the only RYA qualifications superior to it.. The certificate is only available after an independently assessed practical examination has been set and passed. The candidate is examined on the water by an RYA ...
RYA Yachtmaster Offshore exam pre-requisites. 5 passages over 60 miles long, which must include 2 overnight passages and 2 as skipper, which may be reduced to 3 passages including 1 overnight and 1 as skipper if the candidate already holds an RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence 3. 1 At least half the qualifying sea time should be ...
To. Non-res. All-inc. RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Shorebased. 12/10/2024. 17/10/2024. £545. £695. RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Shorebased.
Enrolling for this course was a bold step, as the enrolment requirements included a minimum of 5 days on board and 100 miles behind the scenes, which could theoretically be achieved with a separate Competent Crew course. ... My dream is to be RYA Ocean Yachtmaster certified and spend a lot more time at sea than I can afford now. I know for sure ...
Certificates of Competence; RYA Yachtmaster; What is an RYA Yachtmaster? The RYA Yachtmaster® Certificate of Competence is often the ultimate aim of aspiring skippers. It is a we
Cruising instructor (sail) Who is it for. The RYA Cruising Instructor course is the first step if you would like to teach RYA sailing courses. The certificate will allow you to te
Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Rio Games and the Brazilian Real. Ryan Lock had planned his trip to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f