Yachtmaster Preparation Course

Yachtmaster Preparation Courses and Exams

Cost – £950 max 3 students

Duration – 4 Days prep, then 1-2 days exam phase

We run preperation for Yachtmaster Exams over a 6 day period with the exam on the last day. The course will prepare you for the exam and is aimed at brushing up existing sailing skills. We will arrange an examiner for you and you will be able to use our training yacht during the exam. You can invite your own crew to help out or call on the help of others on your course. (exam fees are paid directly to the examiner by the student)

Yachtmaster Coastal

• Previous experience required: 30 days sea time (2 as skipper) 800 miles, 12 night sailing hours. This reduces to 20 days and 400 miles if you hold a RYA Coastal Skipper course completion certificate. VHF radio operators licence and a recognised first aid certificate.

This is aimed at more experienced skippers and is a natural progression from the Coastal Skipper Course. During the first couple of days your instructor will asses your existing skills and give you an honest appraisal of your likely performance during the exam. Over the following days your sailing instruction will be tailored to cover any areas of weakness that have been highlighted. You will take charge of the yacht in various situations and become familiar with close quarter manoeuvres both under sail and power. You will practice dealing with emergency situations, navigating in restricted visibility, pilotage plans and skippering techniques.

After 5 days your instructor will give you a thorough debriefing and you should feel confident in your ability to take the exam should you feel ready to do so.

Yachtmaster Offshore

Previous experience required – 50 days sea time, 2500 miles, including 5 passages over 60 miles (2 as skipper) and including 2 of which have been over night passages. VHF radio operators licence and a recognised first aid certificate.

To attain the Yachtmaster Offshore certificate of competence candidates must pass a practical examination of the skippering ability. A Yachtmaster is capable of skippering a yacht on longer offshore passages, they are more experienced than Coastal Skippers and can carry out the same things more smoothly and can perform at a high level in arduous conditions.

The 5 days prior to the exam is run along the same lines as the Coastal Skipper preparation. Your instructor will asses your skills and address any areas over weakness. A high level of boat handling under various conditions of wind and tide is required. Navigation skills should be at the level of Yachtmaster/Coastal Skipper theory and a thorough knowledge of collision regulations is expected. Your instructor will tailor the course to suit your individual needs in order to prepare you for when the examiner steps on board.

During the exam you will be asked to skipper the yacht during a passage and carry out various demonstrations of your skippering and sailing ability.

How to book

Once you have decided on which sailing course you would like to attend, there a several ways you can book.

If your course is in more than 6 weeks time you will only be required to pay a 25% deposit, with the balance payable 6 weeks prior to the start of your course. Just choose the deposit option from the drop down before you click on the “Book” button. Use the credit card button to pay by credit or debit card. You can also pay over the phone if you prefer.

You will find our current RYA Coastal Skipper courses and prices listed below. If you would like to discuss the course in more detail, please feel free to give us a call on 0239 3000 300 or contact us via the website.  Also take a look at our Testimonials page to see what our clients say about us or read some of our reviews on Trip Advisor.