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RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory – All The Information You Need

What is the rya coastal skipper and yachtmaster theory course.

The RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory course is a theory-based course aimed at yacht skippers advancing to RYA Coastal Skipper and RYA Yachtmaster exams.

It is an advanced course in navigation and other nautical topics such as meteorology that allows you to skipper a vessel on coastal voyages by day and night.

What Does the RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory Allow You To Do?

The RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory sets you up to be ready for your RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail or Motor course.

The course will also provide you with the relevant nautical theory knowledge to help for those advancing to the RYA Yachtmaster Coastal and RYA Yachtmaster Offshore exams.

Who Can Do an RYA Yachtmaster Theory Course?

The RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory course is open to anyone who has equivalent knowledge to that covered in the RYA Day Skipper Theory course. There is no age limit.

If you are a complete novice to nautical sailing, then you may want to consider the RYA Essential Navigation and Seamanship course or the RYA Day Skipper Theory course is also suitable for novices.

If you are an experienced mariner with many years of experience, both skippering and taking on navigational duties but with no formal training, then there is another suitable course that we have at Ardent Training for you. This is the RYA Fast Track to Yachtmaster course which is essentially the same as the RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory course but with extended content to bridge the gap for someone without an RYA Day Skipper Theory course completion.

Can You Go Straight to the RYA Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Theory Course?

A theoretical experience in line with the RYA Day Skipper Theory course is required.

A practical experience in line with the RYA Day Skipper course is desirable but not required.

If you have advanced practical skills but lack theoretical knowledge, then the RYA Fast Track to Yachtmaster Course is for you.

If you currently lack both theory and practical experience, you will want to start at RYA Day Skipper Theory.

Where Can I Take My RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory?

There are many thoughts on where is best, but to be truthful, it is what works for you best. 

Your 2 main options are in a classroom course or via an online provider. The 2 different types of learning suit different types of people.

Classroom courses benefit from listening to and talking to other students face-to-face, as well as having the instructor in front of you. Online courses benefit from being able to work at your own speed, repeat lessons, and get a more in-depth learning experience as you are not tied to completing the course at the end of the week at the same pace as the others in the classroom. At Ardent Training we pride ourselves on bringing the best of both of these worlds together with instant 1:1 instructor support on demand, built-in discussions on our online platform, a student forum, and every single lesson being recorded in video format as well as visual and text.

How Long Does an RYA Yachtmaster Theory Take?

The RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory is suggested to take a minimum of 40 hours of learning, plus exam time. I believe the average to be about 50 hours in total.

How this time is shaped can vary. In online courses, you can generally work at your own speed, while in classroom environments, anything from evening classes of 2-3 hours a week, to 3 weekends in a row, or a 6 or 7 consecutive day course over a week.

Is There a Set RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory Syllabus?

There is indeed a syllabus. Each of the following topics represents a specific part of the learnings that will be covered on an RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory course in varying levels of detail.

Navigational Instruments, tidal heights, tidal streams, position fixing and chartwork, Meteorology, pilotage, safety, passage planning and marine environment detail the various aspects of the syllabus.

Read on to learn in a little more detail about how each of these is covered in a little more detail.

What Will I Learn in the Yachtmaster Theory Course?

The RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory course covers a wide range of topics and introduces many topics and important knowledge that will be useful not only for completing an RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Course but in preparing and passing your RYA Yachtmaster exams.

Navigational instruments will cover all those aids to navigation that we have to use onboard such as GNSS, compasses, radar and chartplotters. At this stage, charts should be known about and so they won’t be taught in this course other than using them for our chartwork.

Tidal theory will cover everything from how they are created to using the tidal curves, working out secondary port data, clearances and all about tidal streams. Tidal streams include using a tidal atlas, tidal diamonds and computation of rates table.

Our chartwork at this stage is using the pre-learned tidal information to advance our basic dead reckoning positions to more complex estimated positions, courses to steer and even doing running fixes.

Fog, weather effects, frontal depressions and pressure systems will all be covered within meteorology while IRPCS will see a more in-depth look at vessel lights, shapes and their various characteristics which allow us to know what to do to prevent a collision at sea.

Pilotage and Passage planning will bring all our knowledge together as we learn all the steps contained within the structure of a passage plan and how to formulate and use these. Safety will of course be covered in full, but personal and on-board safety items while we will also look at things to be aware of while being in and to help protect the marine environment.

How Much Does This Course Cost?

As ever, many schools differ in price and it is important to understand everything that is included within your course such as materials, available content and instructor help. As always, the cheapest is not often better. At Ardent Training, our online RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory is priced at £345 and that includes everything. A unique student pack with Ardent Training extras, free worldwide postage, access to materials and instructor help and of course, your end-of-course certificate.

What Is the Pass Mark for the RYA Yachtmaster Theory Course?

There is no specific pass mark as such. The instructor’s aim is to bring you up to a level where you have a satisfactory level of theory knowledge across the subjects covered to be able to put your new learnings into practice during your RYA Coastal Skipper Practical course.

What Comes After RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory

After your RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory, we suggest progressing on with your RYA Coastal Skipper Practical Sail or Motor course as soon as possible. That way, all your recent learnings are still fresh in your mind and you can use the practical tasks to consolidate all your knowledge. After that, you can look to start gaining more miles at sea, longer passages and progressing the to coveted RYA Yachtmaster certificates of competence.

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Yachting Monthly

• Digital edition

Tips and hints for passing your Yachtmaster practical

• Katy Stickland
• July 21, 2021

Having brushed up on their theory, racing turned cruising sailors Liz Rushall and her husband Mark now put it into practice and tell you how to pass your Yachtmaster Practical exam

The humble fender and bucket, used to simulate a man overboard, is surprisingly effective in revealing things about your boat handling, leadership and decision-making skills. Credit: David Harding

Having got through her Yachtmaster Theory , Liz Rushall shares her tips and hints for the Yachtmaster Practical 

It’s not often I wish to not be aboard a boat, writes Liz Rushall .

Liz Rushall has won national dinghy and keelboat titles, but currently cruises a 28ft classic called Ragdoll

But in the dead of night, stressing about to what extent should I be using the instruments, when the examiner hasn’t said you can or can’t, and not being able to ‘chat’ with my crew as I would normally, and I was well out of my comfort zone.

This was after making myself feel a complete idiot from being unable to articulate the type of diesel engine, it’s cooling system and the location of the heat exchanger on an unfamiliar boat, and getting my words impossibly muddled up about flares and liferafts.

I was a bag of nerves.

Whilst I hadn’t committed any of the instant fail sins (running aground, involuntary gybes and hitting anything), I certainly spent the first night feeling broken.

Luckily, James Pearson, our extremely patient examiner asked many ‘helpful questions’ and allowed us to correct some of our verbal gaffs over the two-day exam.

Why do a Yachtmaster exam?

Having completed, and passed the Yachtmaster exam with my husband and brother, we are still justifying to curious friends the ‘why on earth, with all your experience’ we did it.

Mark, an Olympic coach, and I have raced successfully all our lives, and more recently cruised Ragdoll , our little 28ft long-keeled classic boat some respectable distances.

However, whatever our friends kindly say, we knew that following a few cruising errors in previous seasons, it was time to hit the refresh button and fill in some knowledge gaps.

The adage that you never stop learning in sailing could not be more true.

During our training, and more so during the exam itself, we certainly discovered our fourth Johari window – the stuff ‘we didn’t know we didn’t know’.

Liz and Mark did their Yachtmaster Practical and subsequent Yachtmaster Offshore exam with Universal Yachting in Hamble. Credit: David Harding

Before starting the Yachtmaster process, we knew we were coming at the exam via a slightly unusual route.

We’d never done the conventional pathway of practical Day Skipper or Coastal Skipper exams.

In fact, despite winning a number of championships, we didn’t have a sailing qualification to our name.

Due to hectic work schedules, and our perhaps ‘assumed’ experience, we were steered towards doing a three-day ‘crash’ course ahead of the exam, with Hamble- based sea school Universal Yachting.

Our three-day Yachtmaster Practical training was probably as taxing for us as for our senior instructor, Clive Vaughan.

With acres of knowledge, Clive patiently drilled us through multiple boat-handling techniques.

Universal Yachting supplied us with a brand new Dufour 412 for our Yachtmaster Practical course and exam – a completely different experience to our wooden classic, with few electronics.

Leadership style

One of the immediate ‘culture shock’ challenges we all experienced was the expected leadership style.

When we race, whether as skipper, helm or crew, it is always a collaborative set-up. Barking orders rarely wins races.

Discussing situations, sharing thinking and playing to your team’s strength does.

However, to get us ready for the exam, Clive had to actively encourage us to direct each other.

Being so used to sailing together, it felt odd having to issue instructions and to ‘tell’ rather than share thinking.

Liz is used to a more collaborative approach to sailing, so needed to adapt to a different leadership style. Credit: David Harding

The exam leads you to a scenario where individual leadership is highly valued.

However, it felt very unnatural, and not how any of us would typically operate either in racing or in business.

In my case, it definitely began to affect my decision-making capabilities and confidence in myself.

I found it best to consider the role of skipper for Yachtmaster as a more managerial position.

For this to work, planning ahead was crucial so I was prepared to give my crew specific instructions when situations arose.

Clearly, being ahead of those situations was a key as was coming up with a step-by-step plan for my crew in a variety of situations.

Berthing skills

In a short space of time Clive taught us new techniques for berthing a modern, high-sided, 40ft yacht.

With its high topsides, shallow forefoot, deep fin keel and spade rudder, it naturally seeks the wind when going astern.

Reversing up-tide and upwind into a berth is amazingly easy, and is a skill suited to this boat.

However, this manoeuvre is simply not an option in our long-keeled Ragdoll , as she exhibits very limited manouverabiility when going astern, while in the more modern, fin-keeled Dufour it was a dream.

As such, using just a stern line we could then motor forward with the engine to bring the bow in, rather than a spring.

Liz and her husband Mark were not used to reversing into a berth but it proved a very useful technique and would be especially handy when sailing short handed. Credit: David Harding

It’s a brilliant technique if you are sailing shorthanded, but not one we had ever used before.

We practiced a lot of going astern and parking scenarios, which left me puzzling why I’d spent so much of my sailing career using springs as a sure way of getting our little boat on and off the dock.

What is obvious, however is that, once we are back onboard Ragdoll reversing onto a pontoon berth may be that much harder.

Going astern is always going to be tricky on a long-keeled yacht where prop walk has a much larger influence but there are conditions in which it will work for us and the ease of using the engine to pull the bow in will certainly make it worth the practice time.

It is easier, when shorthanded, to make off the aft mooring line and then use power ahead to hold the boat in to the berth. Credit: David Harding

As ever, we need to spend a little more time finding what works best and when.

The key is to try different options on our boat in a variety of scenarios to better understand what she will and won’t do, and how she differs to other boats.

Inevitably, you cannot simulate every scenario, and switching from training mode to exam mode was tricky too.

During the Yachtmaster Practical, one of us had to park the boat on a crowded outer hammerhead pontoon with a strong crosswind.

We’d been so drilled into our new mooring techniques, it took two failed attempts before the realisation that it was OK to do it the way we’d normally do, with a spring line!

Close-quarter manoeuvres

We’d all been advised in an exercise not to turn this boat on the spot using just small amounts of forward and astern, something we always do to turn our long-keeled boat in a tight space.

Faced with a tight turn in a marina, with cross tide, my decision making fell apart.

On a long-keeled boat that carries her way for ages, there needs to be much more momentum and water flowing over the rudder to generate the turning moment, whereas on this boat, a combination of prop wash over the rudder and lack of full keel could turn her around smartly.

Manoeuvring astern, focus will be on where you are aiming, but don’t forget to check what the wind and tide are doing to your bow. Credit: David Harding

It was an alien experience to be relying on engine and fenders to come into a berth and stop.

I was still not used to how much quicker a light, fin keeled boat could be made to turn on the spot by putting the helm hard over and giving the engine some revs, and we tended to be too tentative applying engine power.

In hindsight, taking a break between our Yachtmaster Practical course and the exam could have given time to let new knowledge sink in, and to practise it in different scenarios.

Night passages

Both the Yachtmaster Practical training course and the exam were a brilliant way to challenge our sailing skills.

Lacking an autohelm, we don’t do many night passages.

When we do it tends to be into harbours we know.

We are very familiar with sailing racing dinghies out of strange harbours all over the world, racing in fog and some very extreme conditions.

However, it’s a very different experience when cruising.

Ahead of our night passage, looking at sources of likely light pollution was helpful for situational awareness. Credit: David Harding

Completing a number of night passages and pilotage exercises during the Yachtmaster Practical was so useful.

It’s much easier to recognise lights on vessels and buoys for real, rather than pictures on a page, but to have brushed up on the lights for fishing vessels, and commercial vessels other than the most basic – restricted in ability to manoeuvre, constrained by draught and towing – really paid dividends in making sense of what we saw on the water.

We also spotted some very curious light combinations, including sailing yachts impersonating a fishing vessel by displaying both masthead tricolour and steaming light and it was helpful to decipher what was what.

One of the biggest obstacles on a close-in night passage is light pollution.

Close to shore there were many other uncharted lights to contend with.

A big lesson was to look beyond the chart markings and having a sensible check of what is on the shore near where you are going to be sailing before you set off so you have a good chance to anticipate potential confusion.

Blind passages

The exercise I’d been most dreading was the blind passage making.

You are navigating from down below, relying on your crew to tell you depths, speed and log readings.

My biggest issue is doing the maths on the hoof. The contours give you one number, the depth sounder another, and the height of tide another.

Under pressure, figuring out which subtracts from which promptly turns me into a gibbering wreck.

As it happens, during Yachtmaster Practical training, I managed to navigate pretty much exactly to the desired point using a bit of dead reckoning and some bad maths, so that was a huge confidence boost.

However, this is where I do take issue with a number of the Yachtmaster course books. The authors all assume a level of maths capability.

There’s no scope for those of us who have a touch of dyscalculia, a learning difficulty associated with numeracy.

Distance may well equal speed multiplied by time.

But I also soon realised that it makes things much easier if the time segments you are working to also need to be a percentage of the hour.

So, calculating positions every six minutes in fog allows you to divide your speed neatly by 10 to give you how far you will travel in 6, 12 or 18 minutes.

Having spent hours close to tears of frustration trying to figure out these calculations, I devised my own crib sheets that meant I could read off a percentage to use against each minute of an hour.

Fifteen minutes is therefore clearly 25% of an hour, 14 minutes is 23.3% and 13 minutes is 21.7, for example.

This crib sheet and others are something I will be using on my own boat to avoid future frustrations.

Mooring under sail

Other exercises included sailing onto anchor or mooring buoys.

Doing this downwind and uptide was something we’ve never had occasion to do in a race.

It’s more normally been a case of there’s no wind so fling the kedge out.

Dropping the mainsail well out from the buoy and using the headsail to steer in offered a great deal of control.

It was also very useful making a practice approach to give a good idea of how hard the current is running and from how far out we need to start scrubbing speed.

It was also particularly useful to set up a variety of clear transits so we had a good idea of actual boat speed on the approach as the log becomes essentially useless in tide.

You may decide to moor under motor most of the time, but I found the exercise trained us to have real control of how to place and stop the boat exactly where we want it and not rely on the engine.

Man overboard

Doing hours of man overboard exercises under engine and sail during our Yachtmaster Practical was brilliant, as evidently, we all needed some practice

Since the drill involves doing three or four things instantly, we were keen to work through techniques for short-handed MOB.

It was fascinating to quick stop the Dufour.

Rather than the conventional ‘figure of eight’, we learned to throw the boat into a tack, heaving to with the wheel hard over.

The Dufour was easy to control under sail using the fill and spill method during our Yachtmaster Practical. Credit: David Harding

She happily turned on the spot, giving you time to sort yourself out.

We’re still not sure how Ragdoll will behave, although we’ve come away with new ideas to try.

It was certainly eye-opening how quickly our recovery times came down after only a few short attempts.

Getting hove to quickly was a key so that we could remain in sight of the ‘casualty’ and it also helps slow everything down when you have a number of tasks to complete under stress.

As with manoeuvring in a marina, we also found under sail the Dufour easier to scrub speed off using the ‘fill and spill’ method than we suspect Ragdoll will be, as she both carries more way, and requires more way to maintain steerage, but we will certainly be doing some practice on her to improve our skills.

Switching between Yachtmaster Practical training and starting the exam, with just a couple of hours, was harder than I’d realised.

Suddenly, three days of Clive’s expert advice was switched off.

James explained the exam format, and how he would set us tasks, not give any feedback, just take notes. He also said we would make a lot of mistakes. And we did!

Within minutes we were on deck talking safety gear.

Despite hours successfully collecting our MOB bucket, now we weren’t just discussing recovery techniques, but demonstrating them with the examiner as our body on the dock.

It literally was in at the deep end and it continued relentlessly.

‘Question time’ highlighted that whilst I’d attended diesel maintenance and sea survival courses, clearly my memory hadn’t.

We were then into the sailing elements of the exam.

Liz found the Yachtmaster Practical and subsequent exam stressful. Credit: David Harding

It’s a good test of practical scenarios both ashore and afloat, testing your knowledge and skills in a variety of difficult situations.

Having successfully managed to navigate our night passages, day two started early.

Whilst it was a relief to go sailing, it promptly turned into your metaphorical ‘worst ever day in the office’.

After a few straightforward exercises sailing on and off moorings, I was set the first passage from Portsmouth Harbour to Wootton Creek.

On route, the instruments ‘went down’, the MOB bucket went overboard whilst I was down below chart-plotting, then the steering cable ‘broke’.

Of course, the engine had ‘failed’ too.

It seemed endless, and hard not to wonder ‘am I doing the right thing?’

Fortunately, we sailed in with emergency tiller fitted without running aground or doing circles in front of the Wightlink ferry!

Continues below…

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The day continued and each one of us went through our practical exercises with yet more scenarios thrown at us on the way.

Just as you think about breathing freely, it’s time to be hauled below for more questions. Result!

My lights knowledge was better than my crewmates. But, we were all stumped by the exercise to interpret a radar chart.

We’d never used radar as we use AIS on Ragdoll instead.

In desperation, I even checked the Yachtmaster books I’d borrowed, but no joy.

At this point I was ready to volunteer to be the next MOB.

By the afternoon the breeze was pumping a good Force 6 off Cowes and my brother got his MOB exercise.

Despite being over- canvassed for the brisk conditions, the Dufour handled brilliantly, our bucket was safely retrieved with a bit of engine assistance.

But it really hit home that simply getting back to your MOB is only half the problem, and just how difficult full recovery onboard is in these conditions.

It was a huge relief to get back to Universal Yachting’s dock, and thankfully I parked the boat first time.

Looking in the mirror

We each had a really useful one-on-one feedback session with James, leaving us with a clear picture of our strengths and areas to work on.

We were seeking our knowledge gaps, and we certainly found them. Evidently for me, even having done courses like shore- based engine maintenance, how to do basic engine trouble shooting was something

I was weak on. I also found that my maths was an area that needed attention.

The experience highlighted what stress and tiredness can do to your ability to function ‘normally’.

Adapting to the pre-requisite to tell your crew what to do, and not discuss things, made if feel a bit surreal, but it does mean you can’t hide behind the knowledge of others, and is realistic if you are sailing with beginners.

Discoveries

Am I glad I did the Yachtmaster ? Absolutely. Did it achieve my goal? Yes, it did, but not in the way I expected.

Having felt complete failures at the time, however, it was amazing to pass and come away with a clear idea of our weaknesses, and ones I hadn’t been aware of before.

There’s much we want to try on Ragdoll , and have already discovered that our ‘highly recommended’ MOB ladder is impossible to use, even in a flat clam.

The learning curve continues…

4 Takeaways from the Yachtmaster Practical

• Understand the engine: Don’t rely on having had a look at the engine manual and your notes from your diesel engine course. Make sure you know the location of the fuel dipstick and the coolant header tank, know how to tighten the alternator fan belt, where the fuel and oil filters are, how to bleed air out the fuel system and have a plan to troubleshoot if the engine stops or overheats.
• Understand the boat: Try to do challenges regularly onboard, such as taking away instruments and engine; it’s surprising how quickly knowledge escapes you in times of stress. Take your boat out and get to know her characteristics. Find an empty marina and spend some time pontoon bashing – try coming in forward and astern. You need to know whether you have enough steerage astern and other boat-specific characteristics such as prop walk one way or another.
• Leadership roles: Although we don’t usually sail with one person solely in charge it was interesting to have the exam take place under these conditions. It did highlight how little official pre-emptive trouble shooting we tend to do. It’s well worth having a variety of ‘what if’ scenarios pre-planned ranging from safety critical MOB drills through to more off the cuff situations. ‘What if’ plans will also be useful for night sailing where what you are faced with might look quite different to what you think you will see from your planning at the chart table.
• Cheat sheets: Struggling through much of the maths for blind navigation forced me to create a number of cheat sheets. Even for those who do not struggle with such things, I’d strongly recommend writing some out anyway. The basic maths for tide and depth calculations might not seem that hard but when you are tired and stressed there is nothing better than having something that allows you do a quick common sense check.

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Test your theory knowledge

Try our RYA theory quiz to test your knowledge and see whether our  Day Skipper  or  Yachtmaster  theory course is best for you.

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• Certificates of Competence

RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Exam

Full details of the exam syllabus and requirements are shown in the RYA Yachtmaster Scheme and Logbook (G158) available from the RYA webshop.

RYA Yachtmaster Coastal practical exams can be taken under sail or power and your certificate will be endorsed accordingly. You or a training centre provide 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.

The exam will include an assessment of your skippering skills, boat handling, general seamanship, navigation, safety awareness and knowledge of the IRPCS (collision regulations), meteorology and signals. You will be set tasks to demonstrate your ability and may also be asked questions on any part of the syllabus for all practical and shorebased courses up to RYA Yachtmaster Coastal level.

RYA Yachtmaster Coastal exam pre-requisites

Boats used for exams.

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 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, as the examiner will not take part in the management of the boat during the exam.

Before you book your exam please check that you:

• can provide a boat (either your own or a training centre's boat)
• have completed the required mileage and experience as skipper
• hold an SRC (Short Range Certificate) or higher level GMDSS radio operators qualification
• hold a valid first aid certificate
• have read the syllabus in the RYA Logbook (code G158)
• have read and comply with the pre-requisites above.

Additionally if not on the boat, you will need to bring to the exam:

• laminated or waterproof charts
• GPS set (may be hand held)
• tide tables
• pilotage information for the local area, eg pilot books, port information etc
• plotting instruments.
• Photographic ID card or document, such as a passport or driving licence

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 .

Useful links

Arranging your exam, commercial endorsements, exam payments service, mca manning requirements, professional qualifications.

Day Skipper Knowledge self test

• Post author: Dhara
• Post published: 16th January 2019
• Post category: Latest News

Do you have the assumed navigational knowledge to make a success of your RYA Day Skipper practical course? Take our fun Day Skipper Knowledge self test and find out! If you enroll on a RYA Day Skipper practical course it is assumed that you have navigational knowledge to Day Skipper shorebased ability. This little test helps you gauge your current level and help you decide if you need to do the theory course. You can mark yourself in this test – the answers are at the end for you to check how well you did. It’s also well worth revising your theory knowledge prior to the course, especially if it is a little while since you took your theory course and you might be a bit rusty.

If you book your RYA Day Skipper theory online course with Sail Boat Project we’ll give you a £50 discount when you book 5 days of a practical course.

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• Yachting Monthly's Scuttlebutt

RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Written Paper - Grrrrr

• Thread starter rpthomas
• Start date 28 Feb 2006
• 28 Feb 2006

Don't u just love the RYA? I have the sights and the passage to qualify for my Ocean exam, and so asked the RYA for back papers so I could see the level at which the written test would be set. "Its in the syllabus", said the RYA. No, its not. What the syllabus tells me are the subject areas, not the level at which they will be covered. Atomic theory is covered in O Level Science, but you wouldn't expect a 15 year old to answer Graduate level questions. So I'm stuck. I don't want to spend five days learning how to use a Sextant and reduce sights (things I know already) just so I can avoid the written test, but have no idea what level the paper is set at so can't easily revise for the written test. Every competent examination body publishes back or sample question sets for their examinations. The RYA do it for their Restricted Radio Certification (though the book has some startling errors, like not including the position of the distressed vessel in its Mayday Relay example). If the RYA expects to be taken seriously, they should do this for ALL their written tests. (Rant over). Anyone done it? Anyone got any back papers? Can you give me some pointers? Perhaps there is an RYA Ocean examiner reading this. If so, can you help? Richard  

I didn't have to do a written test, just had a chat with the examiner and showed him I knew what I was doing....my technique was not RYA method, so did some star sight calcs using their method. He'll quickly know if your up to looking after people and boat in ocean crossings. Maybe check exactly what they expect of you? mine didn't want me to do any questions and answers.  

snowleopard

Active member.

It's been a few years and they've changed the syllabus a bit but FWIW- There WILL be a question on TRSs so you need to be able to identify dangerous/navigable semicircles and what action to take based on changes in wind direction, pressure and forecasts for either hemisphere. For the nav, though you might be asked briefly about sextant errors, the questions will mainly be based on written observations. You will be given name of body, time, deck watch error, observed altitude, index error and DR position and asked to plot an intercept. Noon lat will almost certainly come into it and they may put them together to get a sun-run-sun fix. They like to use the moon to see if you can do the extra bits. I don't know how far they go into star sights these days but if it's still the same as it was 13 years ago, expect a question along the lines of 'at time x in DR position x, identify suitable stars for a fix and give azimuths and angle to set on the sextant' (they expect you to use air tables vol 1) You'll need a copy of the RYA practice navigation tables which contain extracts from nautical almanac and air tables - no use using your own as the dates of the questions may be several years ago!  

Quite correct Tiga. You can take the oral exam without doing the written paper but if you do, they will want a lot more than just a chat about passage planning and a flip through your sights. I don't know how you'd go about taking the shorebased exam without taking the course first.  

jamesjermain

I did the theory many years ago and can't remember the details too well. As I recall, the course (a long weekend) concluded more with a course completion certificate than an actual exam - there was a process of continual assessment including a quite formal astro test. Like most RYA certificates, there are two routes to it: classic classroom-exam-practical-pass/fail; and proven previous experience straight to competence assessment. The YMO theory course is really there to teach astro and consolidate knowledge on ocean met. (particularly hurricanes, passage planning, yacht preparation, crew management (particularly watches and safety), sources of information (pilots, almanacs, tables etc). You also need a first aid certificate. The actual 'exam' is an oral assessment in which your sights and log books are examined and you can ebe questioned on any aspect of the published syllabus. The level required is, I have gathered, quite variable. You may be asked some very basic questions together with some quite searching ones. I suspect the examiner will suss you out quite quickly then either give you an easy ride or get more penetrating if he thinks you might not be up to it or boarderline in some areas. As I discovered in my YM Offshore assessment, the examiner might also think - 'I've got a right one here, let's see what he can really do' - and throw the works at you. Fortunately I/we coped. The worst was manoverboard under jury steering. I think he was a bit surprised when we did it.  

hantsgaffer

I'm working through The Ocean theory at the moment, The RYA practice tables for Ocean, have a set of questions in the front along with a 'check paper', alas no answers but you can see the level. Mainly reductions to position and plot from a set of readings, some planning of star sights and the theory around Ocean crossing, tropical storms etc.  

Ah! Thanks. I'll get the book. And thanks, guys. It seems slightly more flexible than the RYA guff seems to suggest. R  

You might try : - "Ocean Yachtmaster Excercises" by Pat Langley-Price & Philip Ouvry specifically headed at the RYA exam - I used it as a prep. before I took my exam and it worked ....  

Well-known member

[ QUOTE ] The RYA do it for their Restricted Radio Certification (though the book has some startling errors, like not including the position of the distressed vessel in its Mayday Relay example). Richard [/ QUOTE ] I'm curious. None of the standard SRC exam papers I have covers a mayday relay, and the examples in the recommended textbook show you simply relaying the mayday message received. Which after all is what you should do. So what is it that you are referring to? Anyway, when I did my YMO theory (never gone far enough to do the practical) the learning was about moon, sun and star sights, tropical revolving storms, and boat management / skippering on long crossings. Mind you GPS was then in its infancy. I would be surprised if they still put the same emphasis on the sextant nowadays. The meteorolgy is particularly interesting.  

Sorry, I should have made the reference clearer: VHF Radio (inc GDSS) VHF G22/02 Updated 2002 Pub: RYA page 27 QUOTE: "The mayday call and message" The Mayday Relay Call and message are formatted as follows: Mayday Relay (repeated three times) This is (name or callsign of the station making the tx, spoken three times) Mayday (Name and MMSI of vessel in distress) Nature of the distress Assistance required Time (optional) Over END QUOTE OK, so you have relayed the mayday message. But what is the position of the vessel in distress? The introductory text makes it clear that the Class D VHF DSC has no facility for sending a position with an Urgency alarm, and even if it did, it would be yours, not the distressed vessell. If it sent a Mayday and you know its MMSI and are relaying its distress call, presumably you will either have its position from DSC screen, or from the original message. Or at least an estimated position for it, even if its a bearing from you and you give your own position. A relayed Mayday with no position seems to me to be missing the point of the whole thing. Presumably the Coastguard will call it up using its MMSI and ask it? This post wasn't meant as a whinge, but simply frustration with the RYA doesn't seem to provide the kind of examination support that other examination authorities do, and a request for insight from others who have done the written test. Thanks to those who have offered suggestions, which are helpful. Richard  

I too have a question mark over how much the RYA are actually an examining body, when compared to those that serve other vocational and professional sectors. I struggle with their lack of consistency in how practical and theory is taught, and the almost secretative nature of past examination papers. Then there is the minmum level of external verficiation in observing and verfiying that instructors and sailing schools are doing their job correctly and complying with quality standards. The result is that we all have a different view of what the RYA will expect from us in an "examination" and have a wide range of stories to tell over how easy or how hard it was to pass. Are we and our cash being taken for a ride ? Just a bit of paper from the RYA or a real qualification to be recognised ?  

Now: Examination Standards at RYA Thanks. Given that the MCA delegate the setting of standards to the RYA, and given the desire to keep Yachting free of regulation (its about the only place that is, these days), it seems important that the RYA should exhibit the same level of professionalism as other examining bodies. Should this be a separate topic? Richard  

bilbobaggins

Re: Now: Examination Standards at RYA The RYA *is* the awarding body, in education admin parlance, and it does levy an annual fee on 'training providers' which is apparently hypothecated for the 'external verification' task. There is a commendable urge to minimise the costs - standardisation visits are expensive, in any field - and it is ( very informally ) acknowledged that such visits tend to be geared to those providers that are causing a volume of complaints. The RYA considers that 'training providers' such as FE colleges are well capable of developing and maintaining standards of instruction, for they are involved in that in a continuing process, in everything else they do. It's the sailing schools, with sometimes very ropy standards of pedagogy and usually a very strong-willed character in charge, that require all the diplomacy and gentle handling of egos that 'RYA Towers' is so well regarded for. Don't lose sight of the fact that the RYA is 'a company limited by guarantee' and, at its core, a business. I don't know how the RYA would otherwise 'vet' the standards of someone who does his own thing, certain in the knowledge that he "knows all this stuff and that no half-baked, jumped-up RYA instructor has anything to tell him about boat handling and management" - even though that tutor may have decades of relevant experience, several teacher and/or trainer courses under his/her belt, and has been through an RYA assessment instructor course as well. The several YM Ocean examiners I've met could, each and all of 'em, separate the wheat from the chaff in minutes flat. They're as good as it gets. The guy I got considered that he was entitled to question me about 'any part of the syllabus' - both he and I took that to mean *anything* from Competent Crew, onwards. And I think that's fair enough.... Good luck with your 'sun's amplitudes' and your moon and planet fixes. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif  

Re: Now: Examination Standards at RYA I think your comments raise even more questions in my head. Does the RYA allow the quality and robustness of their qualification sytem to be comprised in the name of saving themselves the cost of increased external verification ? Are FE Colleges considered by the RYA to be exempt from being monitored by their assumed status and capability, despite some of the worst experiences of teaching today being found in evening class courses ? To maintain diplomacy, (ie income), are some accredited centres for RYA qualifications a law unto themsleves in terms of how it should, be taught and examined ? Is the RYA more of a "business" that is non-profit making as a result of high fees demanded by their examiners, or is it an "Awarding Body" that should come into line with quality assurance standards that others have to follow under the Qualifications Curriculum Authority ? Most sailors do not undertand how Awarding Bodies and qualifications work in the UK. Ignorance is one the ways our academic bodies avoid the truth about the real value of a so called recognised qualification. How many of us throught we could drive car after we had passed our test, only to find it was simply a legal requirement to be on the road and there was still much to learn.  

You also need a first aid certificate. ___________________________________________________ ??????? The RYA regs only state that the Ocean certificate " is open to candidates who hold the RYA/DoT Yachtmaster Offshore certificate or DoT coastal certificate issued-------------- prior to 1974" also, <You can take the oral exam without doing the written paper but if you do, they will want a lot more than just a chat about passage planning and a flip through your sights. I don't know how you'd go about taking the shorebased exam without taking the course first.> From 'RYA Yachtmaster (Ocean) Excercises and tables booklet' - "candidates who do not hold course completion certificate for the RYA/DoT Yachtmaster Ocean Shorebased course will be required to take a written exam on the star sight planning and reduction and meteorology"  

[ QUOTE ] I too have a question mark over how much the RYA are actually an examining body, when compared to those that serve other vocational and professional sectors. I struggle with their lack of consistency in how practical and theory is taught, and the almost secretative nature of past examination papers. Then there is the minmum level of external verficiation in observing and verfiying that instructors and sailing schools are doing their job correctly and complying with quality standards. The result is that we all have a different view of what the RYA will expect from us in an "examination" and have a wide range of stories to tell over how easy or how hard it was to pass. Are we and our cash being taken for a ride ? Just a bit of paper from the RYA or a real qualification to be recognised ? [/ QUOTE ] There is an issue of balance and proportionality here. You cannot treat a day skipper qualification in the way you would "recognised qualifications in professional or vocational sectors". Leaving aside the question of cost and what the RYA can do with just £20 or so fee it charges, day skipper courses are aimed at giving some basic skills to those who want to go sailing. Raise the cost too much, make them too difficult and the take up would fall. The RYA policy is one of encouraging people to continue to learn, not one of making hurdles for them to jump over. By the time you get onto YM, there is outside examination seperate from the sailing school and mostly done by master mariners. But even YM is not really a serious professional qualification. Any RYA teacher worth his salt has past exam papers available for mocks etc. But do you really need to see past papers to know that you will be asked to do a course to steer, and an EP and a secondary port etc in the YM theory. The questions are exactly the same as those you see in the exercises anyway. Whilst the practical is a judgement of your ability to skipper a yacht done by a professional skipper. Sailing is not an academic subject to be taught in a schoolroom way. Its a practical skill with limited book learning.  

Doug_Stormforce

Richard I can not of course give away any exact question/answers from the written papers. I can however tell you in answer to your original question your knowledge level would be expected to be able to do the following. Reduce sun sight and mer pass plot position lines and run between sights. Describe basioc corrections that you would make.allow for with a sextant in normal use Be aware of global trends month by month ie what time of year to attemp a Northen Hemphisphere West to East Trans Atlantic passage. Understand basic trends of a hurricane/TRS, when they occur, if you are in the likey track or not and what action to take if you are in the likely track. there is nothing that comes up in the paper that isnt coveed in Tom Cunliffes book or learnt from a bit of ocean sailing mixed with common sense. hope this helps  

• 12 Jun 2013

thumbsupsyd

Dear Richard and other sailors, Thanks for the info on the Ocean stuff. Very useful. I'm have been planning on taking it myself now for a number of years, but being a delivery skipper have found it difficult to combine a period of having the money and having the time! I've usually got one of those, but never both! I'm loathe to take the sailing school route, I've thrown far too much money at them at various stages of my career. Thus I stumbled on this thread, trying to get hold of past papers. In an attempt to avoid even the correspondence/online theory courses. So I put it to you guys. Whats the cheapest way to get a commercially endorsed ocean yachtmaster? FYI. I am a commercially endorsed YM. With 50 000nm experience, a lot of which is comprised of 'ocean' passages. Good winds and safe sailing. Matthew Skipper with Thumbs Up Sailing Yacht Delivery http://www.sailingyachtdelivery.com  

• 23 Dec 2013

I am providing this information because I do not agree with the apparent RYA policy of secrecy around the level of the ocean written exam. I see this as an attempt to have people give lots of money to the RYA for their courses despite already having the knowledge and experience required. I spent many unnecessary hours worrying about the exam. This was not needed. If you have the knowledge and experience to get through the oral the written will be trivial. The 2 hr exam is in two parts. Part A, Sun run Sun sight reduction and plot. If you can reduce meridian passage and sun sights you are ok here. The RYA approved method is to use the example 249 table provided but check with your examiner on approved methods, most will be flexible. Part B Three questions on Ocean planning and handling. One question will be about tropical revolving storms, you should know this well anyway. One question will be about prevailing ocean conditions, here are the two examples that I have. My concern about being asked about monsoons in the Indian Ocean were totally unfounded. List and describe the information on an Admiralty Routeing Chart. Which of the following routes has the best chances of favorable currents:- Newfoundland-UK Gib-Canaries Portugal-UK One question will be about boat prep for passage here are the two examples I have:- Discuss how you would provision a 37ft boat with 4 people aboard for a passage of 2700nm from the Canaries to Caribbean. Discuss storage and fresh water requirement. Discuss how you would prevent cross contamination of fresh water. What charts and publications would you have aboard a yacht for an ocean passage. If you have done a few passages as skipper this should be no problem Good luck with your exams Prometheus.  

• 24 Dec 2013

The RYA don't like passing out old exam papers as the questions rotate every 2 or 3 years ans with a full set of previous papers you could walk the exam. Having said that it's not difficult, you get extra marks (or possibly just marks) for logical layout which the poor old examiner can follow when he's marking it all.  

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