Preparing for your RYA Yachtmaster Offshore or Yachtmaster Coastal Certificate of Competence Exam

The following information is intended to help ensure you are suitably prepared for your Yachtmaster or Coastal skipper exam.

Pre-requisites

First of all, you must ensure you have the pre-requisite experience and that you have a valid RYA First Aid certificate and Marine VHF SRC certificate. Please bring your VHF and First Aid certificates with you and fill out and return the Sailing Log which we sent you with your joining instructions. Also bring your G15 log book or similar proof of sea miles and days at sea to the course. You will also need to bring a passport style photograph and the RYA examination fee which is currently £135 for Coastal Skipper and £155 for Yachtmaster.

Pre-course preparation

Preparation for your course is critical. Do not leave revision until the preparation week! Ahead of your preparation week you should be revising the following:

• Chartwork. In particular course to steer allowing for tide and leeway. We recommend working through the RYA Navigational Exercises (RYA book code G7) or attend a 2-day shorebased brush-up course.
• IALA buoyage. You must be able to recognise or describe any type of buoy by colour/shape and lights.
• Revise IRPCS in detail. In particular Part B Sailing and Steering Rules, Part C Lights and Shapes and Part D sound and light signals. Also Annex IV Distress Signals and Lights and Shapes Supplement. We recommend buying a copy of the IRPCS (RYA booklet code G2)

The Preparation week and exam

During your preparation week, you will receive several days of preparation with the exam on the afternoon of the fourth day and morning of the fifth. This week is intended to ensure you are familiar with the boat you will be examined on and that you know the capabilities of the crew who will be assisting you on the day. The preparation week is intended to bring you to peek form in readiness for your exam not to teach you to be a Yachtmaster or Coastal Skipper. If you are not already close to the required level then you should gain more experience before attempting an exam as it is unlikely you will achieve the required level with just the four days of preparation.

On the day of the exam, an external examiner will join the boat. Your preparation instructor may remain on board but will not take part in the exam nor can he or she offer assistance on the day.

It is important to remember that your examiner wants you to pass. However he or she will need to be satisfied that you meet the very high standards needed to be awarded a certificate of competence.

Exam topics are the same for Yachtmaster and Coastal skipper. However, Yachtmaster candidates must demonstrate a higher level of skill and knowledge in any particular area.

Candidates are assessed on the following topics:

1. Prior to going to sea
   1. Preparation of boat and crew
   2. Passage planning
2. Leaving and entering Harbour (possibly at night)
   1. Boat handling
   2. Pilotage
3. At Sea (possibly including a night sail)
   1. Seamanship and boat handling including sail trim
   2. Navigation and Chartwork
   3. Man over board recovery
4. Theoretical Subjects
   1. IRPCS
   2. Meteorology
5. Overall ability as skipper

Common reasons for not passing an Exam

Not all candidates pass first time and if you are unlucky enough not to make it through your examiner will suggest areas for development both verbally and afterwards in a formal report:

Here are some of the reasons candidates fail to pass their exam.

a)       Inability to demonstrate sufficient practical skills, i.e. boat handling or sail trim.

b)       Insufficient knowledge relating to the theoretical subjects such as Chartwork, meteorology and importantly IRPCS.

c)       Confidence as a skipper under pressure

d)       Crew management

By far the best advice is to try and relax and skipper the boat in your normal style.

Good luck.