RYA Yachtmaster Exams

Feel ready for your RYA Yachtmaster Exam?
Wish to become examined by Leon Schulz? 

 

If you haven’t been RYA trained by Reginasailing you may become examined as an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal, Offshore, or Ocean, if you wish to book me as your examiner. 

 

Who feels ready for the Yachtmaster Exam?

The idea is not to “try” and then hopefully “see if you pass”. The idea is rather to regard the Yachtmaster as proof of a long-time achievement. 

If you ask me, you need to feel pretty confident that you are an able seaman and sailor. As the saying goes: “You can’t tanke the Yachtmaster – you must earn it.”

The exam should be at the very end of your sail training as a statement and proof that you have reached a very high standard as a humble, able, careful, polite and skilful seaman, knowing a lot about boats, equipment, service, weather, planning, pilotage, tides, radar, as well as traditional navigation. You need to feel that you are safely able to take your family and friends on a coastal trip, extensive offshore cruise or even on an ocean crossing. 

Don’t rush it is my tip! Wait until you feel you are ready for it!

Failing is in no way fun, especially since most of the candidates are grown up men and women, often having been very successful in life and who have no desire to be assessed and tested and then disqualified. School was a long time back, wasn’t it?!

Take it as a challenge and reward yourself by being able to demonstrate your skills when you feel confident. 

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As an RYA Yachtmaster examiner, I would be very happy to become your guest and join you on one of your days out, observing your seamanship and then recommend you to the RYA, so they will be able to provide you with a Yachtmaster’s Certificate of Competence, which is recognised all over the world! 

 

This is also why the RYA requires that you have a lot of sailed miles before you apply for a Yachtmaster exam. And it’s not the absolute number or sailed miles that matters. Not the least the quality of miles are equally important and what roll you had onboard.

Anyone can join an Atlantic crossing, sailing for thousands of miles without doing much, which is not comparable with collected miles sailed in the tidal English Channel or Scotland.

That’s why the stated miles are the bare minimum and it’s up to the examiner to evaluate if the time at sea corresponds to what would be expected from a Yachtmaster Candidate. 

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RYA Yachtmaster Coastal

This exam is an official proof of the fact that you are up to the standards of an Coastal Skipper. Sailed miles are not as stringent and one can expect that you are still on a steep experience curve. The theoretical knowledge that is expected is, however, equal to the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore.

Before you book an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Exam please make sure you have the minimum of the following:

• 30 days at sea on a vessel <24m
  (if you have the RYA Coastal Skipper certificate: just 12 days)
• 2 days as skipper on a vessel <24m
• at least 800 miles of sailing experience
  (if you have the RYA Coastal Skipper certificate: just 400 nm)
• 12 night hours
• SRC (VHF) certificate fulfilling GMDSS including DSC
• Valid and in date First Aid Certificate (RYA or equivalent, see here for details)
  Most First Aid Certificates are valid for 2 years, except STCW’s Proficiency in Medical First Aid, which is valid for 5 years.  
• Passport sized photo with written name on the back 
• RYA Yachtmaster Theory course is recommended 
• El. Navigation and Radar Simulation is recommended 
  (this is not an RYA course and also conducted by Rudi Engel, so you may join this and still be examined by me)

The RYA Yachtmaster Coastal is often done together with the Offshore exam. The difference might not seem too big, since you are given very similar scenarios like the Yachtmaster Offshore. The difference is how prepared and stressed you will feel and how well you must perform. Or, as they say: The leeway for a Yachtmaster Coastal candidate is a bit bigger.

Before you attend your exam you need to decide which one you go for, since you cannot get the Yachtmaster Coastal as a “consolation prize” in case you fail the Yachtmaster Offshore!

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An example: A Yachtmaster Coastal candidate might be told when it’s time for a MOB drill, the Yachtmaster Offshore will most probably experience a MOB when he or she expects it the least, just like in the real world. 

A Yachtmaster Offshore might get the scenario of an engine failure while having to pick up a mooring buoy, while the Yachtmaster Coastal may use the engine.  

 

RYA Yachtmaster Offshore

This exam is more what most sailors consider the “real” Yachtmaster and which is also necessary in order to take the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean certificate.

You need to to have a fairly high standard. I usually ask myself: would I lend my yacht to this candidate or would I let my children sail with this candidate? The certificate should give the sailor the acknowledgement that he or she can safely take a yacht on a passage taking several days and nights sailing 150nm offshore. The theoretical knowledge is expected to cover all aspects of sailing, except for subjects only necessary to cross an ocean or mastering celestial navigation.

Before you book an RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Exam please make sure you have the minimum of the following. The documented minimum sea time and miles must have been completed in the last 10 years.

• 50 days at sea
• 5 days as skipper on a yacht <24m
• At least 2,500 sailed miles in total
  (Many candidates have considerably more and if you have just touched the 2,500 miles, you are likely to experience a rather challenging exam) 
• Of your total sailed miles, at least 1,250nm must be in tidal waters.
  (Now, officially most waters are tidal except the Baltic up to Skagen – Gothenburg and the entire Mediterranean, but if you have too few miles in “real” tidal waters, such as the North Sea or English Channel or around Scotland and Ireland, you are likely to experience a rather challenging exam)
• At least 5 “qualifying passages” over 60nm, of which at least 
  – 2 overnight
  – 2 as skipper
  See definition of “qualifying passage” here, meaning the shortest navigable route between two harbours. 
• SRC (VHF) certificate fulfilling GMDSS including DSC
• Valid and in date First Aid Certificate (RYA or equivalent, see here for details)
  Most First Aid Certificates are valid for 2 years, except STCW’s Proficiency in Medical First Aid, which is valid for 5 years.  
• Passport sized photo with written name on the back 
• RYA Yachtmaster Theory course is highly recommended 
• El. Navigation and Radar Simulation is highly recommended
  (this is not an RYA course and also conducted by Rudi Engel, so you may join this and still be examined by me)

 

The examiner comes onboard for 1 – 2 days depending on how many Yachtmaster candidates there are to be examined (up to four in a 48 hours exam). You are being assessed during all these hours, including when you act as crew, as skipper, as mate or making tea and coffee! You are not asked to do any specific things in detail, but you need to have an holistic approach taking out your examiner on a nice, enjoyable cruise, where all sorts of things can happen, such as MOB, engine failure, fog or that you need to anchor under sail or pick up a mooring buoy in tidal waters under engine or sail. You might be asked to sail into a confined estuary where you can only enter at a certain hight of tide and you will need to prove that you are confident and can prepare a passage plan.

You will be asked to check the boat before departure, including engine check, you will provide a safety briefing for your crew and you will need to show that you master classic navigation as well as electronic navigation including safe usage of the radar and know the limits of your boat, equipment and crew. Stability and weather are also subjects you need to have a decent understanding for, applying your knowledge for pleasant and safe day-to-day sailing.  

It’s the applied knowhow that counts, not being able to master a lot of fancy words by heart, such as all the cloud names in a warm front. You will not be asked to do certain manoeuvres, just given certain scenarios which you need to master. 

 

 

It’s a great exam and I do not know many sailors who did not enjoy their exam – after they have passed, that is… 

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While you may do the exam on your own boat and even without any prior preparation in an RYA Training Center (“Yachtmaster Prep Course”) the failure rate is rather significant for own-boat candidates who believe they are able seaman just because they have sailed with their own boat under very specific conditions and possible limitation.

 

RYA Yachtmaster Ocean

In contrast to the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore exam that is completely practical, often taking two days onboard a vessel spanning over a vast number of challenges, the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean is more like an “add-on” to the Yachtmaster Offshore. While all other courses starting with Competent Crew, via Day Skipper and Coastal Skipper all the way up to the Yachtmaster Offshore generally is “more of the same” but in greater depth, with bigger surprises and more challenges, the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean is something completely different. If you are well prepared, this oral exam feels more like 1.5 – 2 hours of pleasant conversation with your examiner. 

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Before you book an RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Exam please make sure you have the following:

• Your RYA Yachtmaster Offshore certificate 
• Your RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory course certificate, passed within the last 10 years
  (Technically, it is, in fact, officially not compulsory with the theory course, but if you can’t show your theory certificate, your exam turns into an additional written test and I don’t know many examiners who are very pleased with candidates who have not done the theory course before the exam)  
• Sailed an Ocean Qualifying Passage (within the last 10 years) as skipper or mate, meaning you have been fully involved in the planning and passage
  The Ocean Qualifying Passage must have been at least 600nm long (shortest navigable route from one port to another with no terrestrial objects which could be used for navigation). 200nm of these 600nm must have been at least 50nm from shore and the trip must have taken at least 96 hours. 
  Anything on the North Sea does not work, due to the oil rigs. 
  See definition of “qualifying passage” here, meaning the shortest navigable route between two harbours. 
• Present a celestial fix (e.g. Sun-Run-Sun) which you have taken on the Ocean Qualifying Passage or, alternatively, on a shorter route taking your out of sight of land sailing from one port to another.
  Sight should include a number of shots presented as a straight line and your fix should have been obtained without any help of an electronic calculator or App, using the sight reduction method. 
• Present a compass check, meaning determining the deviation of the compass by means of a compass shadow
• Valid and in date First Aid Certificate (RYA or equivalent, see here for details)
  Most First Aid Certificates are valid for 2 years, except STCW’s Proficiency in Medical First Aid, which is valid for 5 years.  
• Passport sized photo with your written name on the back 

 

Provided you have done your RYA Theory Course this oral exam can take place anywhere and consists of three parts:

1. Questions around preparation and Planning of the Ocean passage 
2. Questions around the execution and Monitoring of the Ocean passage 
3. Presentation and discussing your celestial fix and compass check

1. You will be asked about your decisions, planning and execution of the ocean trip you did or any other future ocean passage you might undertake in a much smaller and more simply equipped boat, in case the boat you used had all bells and whistles, including a generator, watermaker, satellite communication etc. You need to be able to plan and undertake an ocean crossing also on a simple boat, or in case any of the equipment malfunctions. You will be interviewed on preparation, appraisal, choice of route and time of the year, passage planning, boat and crew inspection, pre-departure training, extra equipment, spares & tools, bunkering, victualing and much more!

2. Then you will be asked questions on how you monitored your passage and would have dealt with emergencies and medical issues. You will be asked about fishing, waste handling, environment, communications, power management, global tropical & high-latitude weather, contingency plans and redundancies and any relevant subject.

3. Last, but not least, your position fix will be presented and checked (or has already been seen, if you have sent in your sun-run-sun in beforehand). You might be asked why you did a specific correction or how a certain calculation is done. You are not allowed to have any significant errors in your calculations, but you will not have to do it on site. You bring it and we discuss it! 

 

If you are interested in becoming examined by myself, Leon, you are welcome to contact me for further details and dates etc. 

I hope this encourages you to go along with the RYA Yachtmaster scheme so you, too, can continue to sail in safety, comfort and style. Welcome to the Reginasailing Hall of Yachtmasters!