The RYA have recently removed the RYA Yachtmaster Sail to Power conversion Exam meaning that if you already hold either the RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Certificate of Competence or the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence for Sail and wish to gain the ‘Power’ qualification students are now required to take the full RYA Yachtmaster (Power) Exam.
We have decided to combine our exam preparation courses this year as we have found, from experience, that shortening the Preparation time, for RYA Yachtmaster Sail certificate holders, from 4 to 2 days hasn’t been successful.
The exam you take is now the full exam and you can be tested on anything from the Yachtmaster Syllabus and log book (G158) and you will be expected to plan a passage for the examiner. We have also identified that boat handling is a weak area for RYA YM Sail candidates so the additional time on the helm is very beneficial. You may want to consider the additional half day practical boat handling opportunity; these are bespoke to the students needs and are scheduled prior to the preparation days.
Pre-requisites are less than required for students who do not hold an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal or Offshore Sail certificate but it is important that you do meet these pre-requisites.
As a Yachtmaster Sail the areas you should concentrate on are:
If these subjects sound daunting then you should consider our Two day RYA Radar and one day RYA Diesel courses or an additional Practical Boat Handling day.
As with all exam preparations, this is not the time to learn techniques from scratch but to revise and polish existing skills.
Full details of the exam syllabus and requirements are shown in the RYA’s Motor Cruising Logbook (code G158).
How does it work?
Simple really: We aim to work with you to ensure you pass your exam. The preparation time gets you familiar with the boat, and re-looks at exam techniques whilst polishing existing and any rusty skills.
It is important that students update / refresh their Yachtmaster Theory knowledge as there is no time time to re-teach you.
What’s included (on our boat):
What’s not included:
Notes re Pre Requisites for the exam for holders of RYA Yachtmaster Coastal or Offshore Sail
Charter of boat only for an exam is £1200
Exam requirements | Must hold an RYA Yachtmaster Offshore or Coastal (Sail), GMDSS compliant Marine Radio Operators licence, RYA First aid or another valid certificate, RYA Sea Survival Course (recommended – compulsory if you are seeking a MCA/RYA Commercial Endorsement. |
Exam pre-requisites | YM Coastal Exam: Minimum 400 miles, 12 days at sea, 2 days as skipper, 12 night hours. YM Offshore Exam: Minimum 1250 miles, 25 days at sea, 3 days as skipper, 3 passages over 60 miles (along the rhumb line) including 1 overnight and 1 as skipper |
Exam Duration | RYA YM Coastal 6 – 10 Hours one candidate, 8 – 14 Hours for two candidates. 8 – 12 hours for one candidate, 10 – 18 for two candidates. The examiner may ask questions, or set tasks on any part of the syllabus. Please note you may be asked to prepare a passage plan. |
Recommended Additional Training Opportunities | Practical Boat Handling £325pp for 4 hours. Yachtmaster Theory Refresher 2-days £250pp Mile builder / Skippered passages £650pp plus fuel (split between number of attendees – max 2) RYA Radar – 2 days £250 |
Minimum age | RYA Yachtmaster Coastal – 17 years. RYA Yachtmaster Offshore – 18 years |
Maximum Student : Instructor Ratio | 5 : 1 however we aim to keep to 4:1 |
The Coaching and Exam is held on our school boat, Fenland Dancer. She is a Princess 368 with a fly bridge and 2 x 300Hp Cummins engines on shafts. She has the latest Raymarine electronic equipment and her salon was refurbished summer 2019.
Any classroom work takes place in the Mendez Marine Classroom at Deacons Marina or onboard Fenland Dancer.
If taking on your own boat: The boat used must be between 7m (23ft) and 18m (59ft) and be in sound, seaworthy condition, equipped to the standard set out in the RYA book Cruising Yacht Safety (code C8). The boat must be equipped with a full up to date set of charts and navigational publications and be efficiently crewed (minimum 2), as the examiner will not take part in the management of the boat during the exam.
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. The exam fee is additional and is currently £200.00 RYA YM Coastal and £231 RYA YM Offshore
Before you book your exam please check that you:
If you need a Yachtmaster™ Offshore Certificate of Competence (Power) in order to work on board a commercial craft subject to the MCA’s codes of practice, you will need to get it Commercially Endorsed. You can then work as a Master of commercial vessels of up to 200gt in category 1 to 6 waters – that is up to 150 miles from a safe haven, day or night.
The RYA Yachtmaster™ Offshore Certificate of Competence (Power) is a pre-requisite for the MCA’s Officer of the Watch qualification, which enables you to work worldwide on vessels of up to 3000gt.
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