Yachtmaster™ Offshore
The Yachtmaster™ Offshore is competent to skipper a cruising yacht on any passage during which the yacht is no more than 150 miles from harbour.
Full details of the exam syllabus and requirements are shown the RYA's Sail Cruising Logbook (code G15) and Motor Cruising Logbook (code G18), both available from the webshop (see right).
Yachtmaster™ Offshore practical exams can be taken under sail or power and your certificate will be endorsed accordingly. The candidate or a training centre provides the boat and the RYA provides an examiner.
There is no formal training course leading up to the exam, but those who have not previously taken RYA courses often find it useful to book themselves in for some informal training at an RYA centre prior to their exam. This training can be tailor-made to your specific needs and helps to fill any gaps in your knowledge that may become apparent.
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Yachtmaster™ Offshore exam pre-requisites
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| Minimum seatime |
50 days, 2,500 miles including at least 5 passages over 60 miles measured along the rhumb line from the port of departure to the destination, acting as skipper for at least two of these passages and including two which have involved overnight passages. 5 days experience as skipper. At least half this mileage and passages must be in tidal waters. All qualifying seatime must be within 10 years prior to the exam. |
| Form of exam |
Practical |
| Certification required |
A GMDSS Short Range Certificate (SRC) or higher grade of marine radio certificate. A valid first aid certificate - click here for a list of acceptable first aid certificates. |
| Minimum exam duration |
8-12 hours for 1 candidate, 10-18 hours for 2 candidates. No more than two candidates can be examined in 24 hours and no more than four candidates can be examined in one 2 day session. |
| Minimum age |
18 |
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.
Please click here to see the definition of passage.
The boat used must be between 7.5m (24ft)
and 24m (79ft) waterline length and be
in sound, seaworthy condition, equipped to the standard set out in the RYA Boat
Safety Handbook 2nd Edition (code G103). The boat must be equipped with a full
up to date set of charts and navigational publications along with working
instruments and either plotter or GPS. In
addition to the candidate there should be two crew on board as the examiner
will not take part in the management of the boat during the exam.
There may be vessels that will meet the
guidelines outlined above but by virtue of their layout, construction, handling
characteristics or other factors may be unsuitable for use for an RYA
Yachtmaster™ Practical examination. The RYA reserves the right to refuse an exam
on a vessel that, in the view of the RYA Chief Examiner, will not allow the
examiner to conduct an examination to the standard required by the RYA/MCA
Yachtmaster™ Qualification Panel.
Before you book your exam please check that you:
- can provide a boat
- have completed the required mileage and experience as skipper
- hold a VHF Radio Operators License or Short Range Certificate
- hold a valid first aid certificate click here for a list of acceptable first aid certificates
- have read the syllabus in RYA publications; G15 (sail) or G18 (power)
- have read and comply with the pre-requisites above.
If you need a Yachtmaster™ Offshore Certificate of Competence 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 - see left. 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.
The RYA Yachtmaster™ Offshore Certificate of Competence can used commercially in its own right. It is also a pre-requisite for the MCA's Officer of the Watch qualification, which enables you to work worldwide on vessels of up to 3000gt.