Yachtmaster Ocean Qualification
Your guide to becoming a Yachtmaster Ocean – the highest qualification available in the RYA scheme.
Becoming an RYA Yachtmaster Ocean
The Yachtmaster Ocean is the highest qualification awarded by the RYA. Recognised worldwide, the Yachtmaster Ocean certificate proves you have the knowledge, experience, and confidence to skipper a yacht across an ocean.
What does the Yachtmaster Ocean qualify me to do?
The Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate of Competence allows the holder to skipper a yacht on an Ocean passage of any length.
The RYA has a structured route from beginner to Yachtmaster Ocean. You can choose sail or Power.
Whether you sail or enjoy powerboats, there is a route to Yachtmaster Ocean. To do the Yachtmaster Ocean, it’s fair to say that most people will choose the sailing route. This is because very few motorboats under 60 meters can cross an ocean. Smaller motorboats have a limited fuel range.
Become a professional skipper
After passing the Yachtmaster Ocean exam, you have the opportunity to become a professional skipper. You can achieve this by applying for commercial endorsement.
It it worth pointing out at this stage, if you are considering working as a professional skipper then you will need to complete a medical, either the ENG1 or ML5. The medical confirms you are fit to work at sea.
To apply for Commercial Endorsement you would have completed additional safety training courses, including STCW Basic Safety Training, plus an online Professional Practices and Responsibilities (PPR) course, and passed a medical.
Once you have completed these additional safety qualifications, you can apply for commercial endorsement and start a career as a professional skipper.
Superyacht crew
To become a Chief Mate on a Superyacht, Deckhands, Bosuns, and Officers must first obtain their Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate.
Requirements for RYA Yachtmaster Ocean
To sit the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean oral exam, candidates will be experienced sailors with a good depth of knowledge of sailing offshore and on extended passages.
The requirements for the exam are as follows:
- Hold the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence, or an MCA issued Certificate of Competence as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (OOW) on yachts less than 3000GT, unlimited area, Regulation II/1.
- Complete a 600-mile offshore passage acting in a position of responsibility (skipper or watch leader).
- Have completed a series of celestial sights fixing your position at sea, including a sun-run meridian altitude sight and a compass check carried out using a bearing of the sun, moon, or stars.
- Be a competent offshore and ocean skipper with good offshore experience.
- Have extensive knowledge of ocean weather patterns and conditions that can affect a trip across an ocean.
You will also need to bring photographic ID to the exam, such as a passport or driving licence.
Once you have met these prerequisites, you can sit for the Yachtmaster Ocean oral exam
The Yachtmaster Ocean qualifying passage
The qualifying passage is one of the most important steps on the road to Yachtmaster Ocean, and it is worth understanding exactly what counts before you start planning.
To be valid, the passage must be a non-stop voyage of at least 600 nautical miles from start to finish, with at least 200 of those miles more than 50 miles from a charted object.
It must last a minimum of 96 hours, and you must have acted as skipper or watch leader throughout, with genuine involvement in passage planning, navigation, victualling, and yacht preparation.
The voyage must have taken place within 10 years of your exam date.
During the passage you will need to build your exam pack. Keep detailed logbooks and navigational records, record your celestial navigation calculations and plots, note the weather forecasts and observations you made along the way, and write a narrative account of the passage covering your watch systems, victualling, and any significant decisions.
The more thorough your exam pack, the more confident you will feel in the oral assessment.
Celestial navigation
Celestial navigation is what separates the Yachtmaster Ocean from every other RYA qualification. To pass the exam you must be able to fix your position at sea using the sun, moon, stars, and planets, without relying on electronic navigation aids. In practice this means taking and reducing sights accurately, plotting those observations as confirmed positions on a chart, and using celestial bodies to check compass accuracy.
It is a skill that feels unfamiliar at first but becomes deeply satisfying once it clicks. If you were crossing an ocean and all electronic equipment failed, knowing how to use a sextant could be the difference between safety and a serious situation.
The exam demands genuine competence, not just a passing familiarity.
The Yachtmaster Ocean exam
The exam consists of an oral and a written assessment and typically lasts between one and a half and two hours.
Full details of the syllabus and requirements are set out in the RYA Yachtmaster Scheme Syllabus and Logbook (G158), which is worth reading thoroughly before you book.
The oral
The oral is the heart of the exam. At least 48 hours before you sit, you need to send your examiner two things.
The first is a narrative account of your qualifying passage. This is not just a log summary. It should paint a clear picture of how and why you planned the passage the way you did. Cover your weather assessment, how you selected your crew, your navigational strategy, how you victualled and bunkered the yacht, and include copies of the relevant log pages. Think of it as telling the story of the passage to someone who was not there.
The second is your navigational records from the passage, completed on board, out of sight of land, showing that you navigated without electronic aids. At a minimum these must include the planning, reduction, and plotting of a sun-run meridian altitude sight and a compass check carried out using the bearing of the sun, moon, a star, or planet. These records need to be clear and well organised. They are evidence of your competence, not just paperwork.
During the oral itself, expect questions on all aspects of ocean passage making, including passage planning, navigation, worldwide meteorology, crew management, and yacht preparation, maintenance, and repairs. The examiner wants to understand how you think as a skipper, not just whether you can recite the rules.
The written
The written exam covers sights and sight reduction, and worldwide meteorology. If you hold the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Ocean Shorebased Course Completion Certificate from an invigilated exam at an RYA recognised training centre, or an MCA issued full STCW Certificate of Competence as a Deck Officer (Unlimited), you are exempt from the written exam.
Note: If you need your certificate commercially endorsed to work on a vessel subject to the MCA’s codes of practice, you will need to apply for commercial endorsement separately once you have passed.
The difference between Yachtmaster Offshore and Ocean
Yachtmaster Offshore and Yachtmaster Ocean differ in Astro navigation, using the sun and stars to determine position. If you were sailing across an ocean and all electronic equipment were to fail, then having the knowledge to fix your position using a sextant would prove invaluable.
The Yachtmaster Offshore allows you to take a yacht on a journey no more than 150 miles from harbour. On the other hand, the Yachtmaster Ocean has no restrictions or limitations.
How do I become a Yachtmaster Ocean?
There are two options; the first is if you have your own boat. By having your own yacht, you can learn skills at your own pace with friends and family. You may want some basic training to get you going in the right direction, then build miles and experience. This option is cheaper if you don’t count the yacht’s cost, and you can learn at your own speed.
The drawback is that achieving Yachtmaster Ocean is finding the balance between training, work, friends, and family can be tricky. Furthermore, convincing friends to go sailing in the depths of winter means achieving your goal can take years.
The second option is joining a structured training programme.
You can complete all the training at once and not have the hassle of owning your own yacht.
A lot of people combine the Yachtmaster Ocean with travel, completing their training somewhere warm and sunny.
Our Yachtmaster Ocean Course takes you from a novice sailor to Yachtmaster Ocean in 16 weeks. The training programme includes all the skills, qualifications, and experience you need to become an Ocean Master.
The course is for everyone, regardless of age or experience. It is suitable for beginners and experienced sailors who don’t have any formal qualifications. Whatever your sailing experience.
