By Marcin Wojtyczka

6 minutes read

In this article in series about RYA certifications we reveal how to pass the RYA Yachtmaster® Coastal Certificate of Competence.

The RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Certificate of Competence is proof that you have the knowledge needed to skipper a yacht on any coastal cruise.

The holder of a Yachtmaster Coastal qualification should be competent to skipper a yacht of up to 24 metres LOA (up to 200gt) in waters up to 20 miles from a safe haven.

Don’t treat the examination just as an exam. This is a great opportunity to get feedback on your skills and become a better sailor.

Requirements

You can find the official requirements here.

To pass the exam you need ample experience and be able to navigate as well as handle the boat at sea in sight of land. You can take the exam without holding previous certifications from the ladder (e.g. daily or coastal skipper) or doing any course before as long as you have enough knowledge and experience.

Prior to the Yachtmaster Coastal examination, you must have a minimum of 30 days at sea, with 2 days as a skipper and at least 800 miles logged, including 12 night hours. If you hold the Coastal Skipper course certificate already then this is reduced to 20 days at sea with 2 days as skipper, 400 miles logged and 12 night hours. Half the qualifying sea time must be conducted in tidal waters. You will also need to hold a GMDSS short-range radio certificate.

Preparation

Before taking the practical exam at sea, it is recommended to take Yachtmaster Offshore Theory course especially if you have not sat at the chart table for a while. Holding the RYA Yachtmaster Theory is also required if your long-term goal is to become the Officer of the Watch 3000GT.

You should also consider taking a practical preparation course. There is no official RYA prep course, but many sailing schools offer on-the-water preparation courses. Our trips are focused on training based on the RYA syllabus and can get you prepared for the exam as well. We can evaluate whether you are at the right level to pass the exam and identify gaps in your knowledge. Many of our participants passed the prestigious RYA Yachtmaster Coastal exam and keep returning year after year to us in order to become yet more confident and experienced. Our practical on-the-water training builds confidence, teaching you everything from basic terminology and safety tips to how to skipper a yacht and manage its crew.

Exam Syllabus

This is a broad description of the topics that will be covered during the practical exam. You are supposed to demonstrate knowledge of competence in many areas listed below. In each section, the examiner will expect to see that you can take full responsibility for the management of the yacht and crew.

1. Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (ColRegs)

Questions will be covering the International Regulations. You must be aware of the existence of Local Regulations, but they will not be expected to memorise specific local regulations.

  • General rules (1-3)
  • Steering and Rules of the Road (4-19)
  • Lights and shapes (20-31)
  • Sound and light signals (32-37)
  • Signals for vessels fishing in close proximity (Annex II)
  • Distress signals (Annex IV)

2. Safety

You will be expected to deliver a safety briefing and know what safety equipment should be carried on board a yacht, based either on the recommendations in the RYA Boat Safety Handbook (C8), the ISAF Special Regulations or the Codes of Practice for the safety of Small Commercial Vessels MGN 280 (M). It should cover the following areas including the responsibilities of a skipper:

  • Safety briefing
  • Life jackets
  • Safety harnesses
  • Lifejackets
  • Distress signalling (flares and electronic means)
  • Fire prevention and fighting
  • Liferafts
  • Boat stability
  • Knowledge of rescue and emergency procedures
  • Helicopter rescue

3. Boat Handling

You will be expected to answer questions or demonstrate ability in simple situations only. Topics can include:

  • Coming to and weighing anchor under power in various conditions of wind and tide
  • Simple berthing and unberthing situations in various conditions of wind and tide
  • Recovery of man overboard and being able to describe the effects of cold-water shock and the aftercare requirements of a casualty who has been in the water
  • Boat handling in confined areas under sail
  • Boat handling in heavy weather
  • Helmsmanship and sail trim to sail to the best advantage (point of sails)
  • Use of warps for securing in an alongside berth and for shifting berth or winding

4. General Seamanship, including maintenance

  • Properties, use and care of synthetic-fibre lines
  • Knots
  • General deck work at sea and in the harbour
  • Engine operations and routine checks and troubleshooting
  • Improvisation of jury rigs following gear failure

5. Responsibilities of skipper

  • Can skipper a yacht safely and manage the crew
  • Communication with crew
  • Delegation of responsibility and watch-keeping organisation
  • Preparing yacht for sea and for adverse weather
  • Tactics for heavy weather and restricted visibility
  • Emergency and distress situations
  • Victualling for a cruise and nutrition at sea
  • Customs procedures
  • Standards of behaviour and courtesy

6. Navigation

  • Charts, navigational publications and sources of navigational information
  • Chartwork including position fixing and shaping course to allow for tidal stream and leeway
  • Tide and tidal stream calculations for standard and secondary ports
  • Buoyage and visual aids for navigation
  • Instruments including compasses, logs, echo sounders, radio navaids and chartwork instruments
  • Passage planning and navigational tactics
  • Pilotage techniques
  • Keeping navigational records
  • Limits of navigational accuracy and margins of safety
  • Lee shore dangers
  • Use of electronic navigation aids for passage planning and passage navigation
  • Use of waypoints and electronic routeing
  • Position fixing with and without the use of GPS
  • Course to steer and estimated position
  • Coming in and out of the harbour during the day and/or night
  • Knowledge of Radar and how to use it for collision avoidance and restricted visibility
  • General understanding of AIS for restricted visibility

7. Meteorology

  • Definition of terms
  • Sources of weather forecasts
  • Weather systems (frontal depressions and highs in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere)
  • Local weather effects (sea breeze, fog, wind funnel effect)
  • Interpretation of weather forecasts and synoptic charts, barometric trends and visible phenomena
  • Ability to make passage planning decisions based on forecast information

8. Signals

You must hold the SRC Certificate of Competence (VHF) in radiotelephony or a higher grade of certificate in radiotelephony

Learning materials

  • Insightful blog series on the Yachtmaster exams from the perspective of RYA examinator.
  • The Complete Yachtmaster - Bestseller since first publication that has established itself as the standard reference for Yachtmaster students as well as skippers of all levels of experience.
  • RYA Yachtmaster Shorebased Notes - Highly illustrated book on all aspects of the RYA Yachtmaster syllabus.
  • The RYA Navigation Exercises - This is one of the best books about navigation. It accompanies all RYA training courses and includes two training charts (RYA Training Charts 3 & 4).