Yachtmaster Ocean

There is no training course for the award of Yachtmaster Ocean, but hopefully the following notes will serve to let aspiring Yachtmasters Ocean realise how to go about gaining the award and the various stages involved in its completion.

The Yachtmaster Ocean is experienced and competent to skipper a yacht on passages of any length in all part of the world.

Pre-exam requirement - all candidates must:

1. hold an RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence. Coastal Skippers do not qualify.
2. have completed, as skipper or mate of a yacht, a qualifying passage that meets the following criteria:
    a) the candidate was fully involved in the planning of the passage, including selection of the route, the navigational plan, checking the material condition of the yacht and her equipment, storing with spare gear, water and victuals and organising a watchkeeping routine.
    b) during the passage a minimum non-stop distance of 600 miles must have been run by the log, the yacht must have been at sea continuously for at least 96 hours and the yacht must have been more than 50 miles from land while sailing a distance of at least 200 miles.
3. hold a First Aid qualification as for Yachtmaster Offshore.

Form of examination

The exam consists of an oral and a written test.

Oral test

The candidate must provide the examiner with:

a) a narrative account of the planning and execution of the qualifying passage
b) navigational records, completed on board a yacht on passage, out of sight of land, showing that the candidate has navigated the yacht without the use of electronic navigational aids. The records must include as a minimum: planning reduction and plotting of a sun-run-meridian altitude sight and a compass check carried out using the bearing of the sun, moon, star or planet.

During the oral test a candidate may be required to answer questions on all aspects of ocean passage making in a yacht, including passage planning, navigation, world-wide meteorology, crew management and yacht preparation, maintenance and repairs.

Written examination.

The written exam will include questions on sights and sight reduction and world wide meteorology. Candidates who hold the Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Ocean Shorebased Course, a Royal Navy Ocean Navigation Certificate or a MCA Certificate of Competence as a Deck Officer will be exempt from the written examination.

View the Costs and Dates page for details of RYA courses.