Category: RYA Blog

What is the Yachtmaster Ocean? It is the highest certificate of the Royal Yachting Association, ideal for those who are preparing for an ocean passage. Previous Experience and Knowledge To take this course, you must already hold the Yachtmaster Offshore certificate. If you do not yet have it, you may complete the theoretical course, but you cannot take the oral exam until the Offshore qualification is obtained. Before the oral exam, you must have completed a voyage on a vessel of up to 500 GT, covering at least 600 nautical miles, including 200 miles more than 50 miles from land…

In this article, we want to outline the necessary steps to process the Commercial Endorsement of an RYA qualification, which would be to move from a recreational title to a professional one. What the RYA says: What is a commercial endorsement? A commercial endorsement is required for work on board British-flagged vessels subject to the MCA’s codes of practice for small commercial vessels. A number of additional training courses and medical fitness certificates are required to be eligible for a commercial endorsement. Which certificates can be commercially endorsed? The following certificates may request a commercial endorsement: Course completion certificates: RYA…

The Master 200 qualification is the next level after Yachtmaster (Offshore or Ocean). If you took the M200 (limited) as only a YM Offshore, it is a simple stamp to add the Ocean later and become an M200 (unlimited). There are two options for the Master 200. The preparation for both is the same, depending on your experience and knowledge: The Master 200 (limited) can operate up to 150NM from a safe haven The full Master 200 (unlimited) qualification allows you to operate globally. Important: some countries don’t recognise these certificates. Benefits: Outside the UK, the Master 200 is more recognised…

The RYA online courses do not have an invigilated exam; it is included with the Shorebased course we organise in our centre. The invigilated exam is not compulsory, but there are a few exceptions that we are going to explain: INVIGILATION FOR DAY SKIPPER THEORYThe RYA Day Skipper Shorebased course has 2 assessment papers.The invigilated exam is optional and not required. INVIGILATION FOR YACHTMASTER OFFSHOREThe RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Course has 4 assessment papers.The invigilated exam is optional and not required.However, to enter the MCA large yacht qualifications (Officer of the Watch or Master 200), the 4 assessment papers must be invigilated. INVIGILATION FOR OCEAN YACHTMASTERThe RYA Ocean Yachtmaster Shorebased Course has 1…

We will explain what the Day Skipper course consists of and why we recommend it to everyone who has started in the world of Nautical.   The Royal Yachting Association's (RYA) Day Skipper qualification is roughly equivalent to the PER (Patrón de Embarcaciones de Recreo) in Spain. Prerequisites: 5 days of experience prior to the course. A level of PER theory. Be over 16 years old. If these prerequisites are not met, the starting point would be the Competent Crew course. The Day Skipper Workshop consists of 5 days on board a sailboat with a maximum of 5 students, staying at least…

To obtain the most prestigious international nautical qualification worldwide, the Yachtmaster Offshore, you have to take into account a series of prerequisites for the theory course and practical preparation: 1- Have a minimum experience of 2.500 miles.2- Level of Middle English.3- Have a theoretical basis of Yacht Skipper: with this basis, you will be ready to take the Theoretical Course of 40 hours.4- Have a Radio and First Aid certificate. For Radio, RYA offers an Online Course and it supports any STCW95 course. At Yacht Point, we provide personalized advice to students based on their location and work situation, helping them choose the option that best suits their…

The ideal way to learn to sail is by starting with the basics. Having sailing experience makes for better skippers. It not only teaches how challenging tasks like anchoring a boat or making coffee in rough seas can be, but also helps in managing the crew more effectively and understanding what can be reasonably expected from them. In Spain, there is no recreational qualification that certifies individuals as efficient crew members—skills such as properly using moorings, setting a furl, handling mooring maneuvers, or maintaining a steady course. These are tasks often expected from others, and the stress of unmet expectations…

There are many employers, professional or not, who, when approaching RYA training, need clarification on the functioning and possibilities of their RYA qualifications. We’re going to make a simplifying effort. The first clarification is that the Royal Yachting Association provides recreational courses. It is the MCA (English merchant marine) that certifies and enables you as a professional skipper. However, the MCA recognises the RYA standards as its own and only wants to check the skipper’s skills on board before certifying him for professional activity. Having said that, let’s look at the scheme of cruiser titles, whether motor or sail. Recreational level: –Competent crew – sailor…

In this article, we will focus on the Day Skipper theory course. This course serves as a basis for doing the YachtMaster Theory and serves as a preparation before doing the Day Skipper practice by sail or motor. Goal: This course will introduce you to the work of charts, navigation, meteorology and the basic concepts of nautical for the competent crew. This course is perfect if you want to learn to start making decisions on board and, most importantly, to learn nautical English! Methodology: It is a course that you can do online or face-to-face. We recommend doing it in person in our facilities, it…

This question has an easy answer: the nautical school that best trains students. For this, we must be able to cover several aspects. First, training must be practical and pragmatic, that is, it must be really useful for us. That covers the real needs of the student, either as professional skippers, recreational skippers or clients of a charter company. We must know how to handle ourselves safely, control the manoeuvre, and know the emergency protocols. And that can only be achieved through drills and exercises on board. Another key factor is the effectiveness of the teaching. There needs to be a…