RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Theory

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The Yachtmaster course is advanced training for more experienced skippers building on the Day Skipper course. This course equips you to navigate safely on coastal and offshore passages and will take your theory knowledge to the standard required for the Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore practical exams, concentrating on advanced navigation and meteorology skills. This course allows some time for revision of the basics and then moves on to advanced navigation techniques.

TOPIC COVERED

• Positioning
• The Magnetic Compass
• Tides
• Tidal Streams
• Buoyage
• Lights
• Pilotage
• GPS and Chart Plotters
• Echo Sounders
• Logs
• Deck Log
• Meteorology
• Rule of the Road
• Safety at Sea
• Navigation in Restricted Visibility
• Passage Planning
• Marine Environment

Pre-requisite Experience :
All though no formal certificates are required all candidates should have knowledge to Day Skipper Theory level

To take the Practical examination, candidates must be ages 18 or over and require:

• VHF SRC
• Valid first aid certificate
• 50 days at sea
• 2,500 sea miles including at least 5 passages over 60 miles acting as skipper for at least 2 of these passages and including 2 of which have involved overnight passages
• 5 days experience as skipper

*Half the qualifying sea time must have been conducted in tidal waters e.g. outside the Med and at least 1250 miles on vessel of less than 24 meters

If you do not have enough seatime to attend the Yachtmaster Offshore practical exam you could have enough seatime to challange the Yachtmaster Coastal:

Yachtmaster Coastal exam pre-requisites:

Candidates must be ages 17 or over and require:

• VHF SRC
• Valid first aid certificate
• 30 days at sea
• 800 miles (12 nights hours)
• 2 days experience as skipper

*Half the qualifying seatime must have been conducted in tidal waters and up to 50% of the qualifying mileage and days on vessels up to 24 m

(If you hold the Coastal Skipper course certificate the Yachtmaster Coastal exam pre-requistes are reduced to 20 days, 2 days as skipper, 400 miles, 12 night hours)