Become a Yachtmaster Offshore

The Yachtmaster Offshore certificate allows the holder to skipper a sailing vessel up to 24 meters in length to 150 miles from a safe haven. The RYA Yachtmaster Offshore qualification is recognised worldwide and is seen as the benchmark in professional sailing. Add an STCW Course (need link), then your qualification is upgraded to Master of Yachts of up to 200 gross tonnes (GT). With many yachts exceeding 24m in length, skippers are opting to complete STCW training, allowing more flexibility.

Sailors complete their RYA Yachtmaster Offshore qualification because they want a career as a professional skipper. Others choose to gain the qualification for personal reasons and have no intention of working in the yachting industry. Some sailors want to qualify to feel confident onboard and have the knowledge and skills to take your own yacht offshore. At Flying Fish around 30% of customers fall in this bracket. Completing the course as part of a gap year is a popular choice too, not only gaining a qualification for life but the qualification means you can travel and earn at the same time. It also provides some essential leadership and teamwork skills that will prove invaluable when starting a career and will look great on a CV.

If you are looking to start a career in the Superyacht industry then you will need your Yachtmaster Offshore certificate if you intend to become an officer in a few years time.

Most of the senior management team at Flying Fish have been working for Flying Fish and running our Yachtmaster training course for over 20 years and are all Yachtmaster Offshore examiners. It is the most common question we are asked; “How do I pass my Yachtmaster?” The simple answer, which all RYA examiners ask themselves during the Yachtmaster Offshore exam, one that requires most feedback on the practical report form. “Can the candidate take a group of my friends on an offshore passage and make the right decisions?” If the answer is yes then you will pass, if the answer is no then you probably won’t.

Believe it or not the sailing part of becoming a Yachchmaster Offshore, so sailing a yacht in a straight line is, for most, the easy bit. That said it is important to know the basics. Dinghy sailing experience is great for this. Areas that need most attention are; boat handling (parking), navigation, yacht maintenance, seamanship, passage planning and most of all leadership and crew management. Most business owners or senior managers will tell you that staff is the biggest challenge, same onboard any yacht, whatever size- if you have a well oiled team that feel confident in their manager/skipper then the business/yacht runs efficiently and safely.

The biggest quality examiners look for are the management and leadership skills the candidate demonstrates during the exam. Can the candidate think outside the box when faced with a problem and solve this with limited resources onboard? If there is a problem onboard then the crew will turn to the skipper for guidance, therefore, leadership and the ability to communicate effectively are essential skills to have if you want to pass the Yachtmaster Offshore exam. If we as RYA examiners feel that the candidate is going to make the correct and safe decision then it leaves us feeling confident to recommend to the RYA that the candidate be awarded the Yachtmaster Offshore certificate.

Flying Fish have been training people to Yachtmaster Offshore level since 1996. We have a huge depth of experience in this field and are known and respected all around the world as one of the leading providers of Yachtmaster training. You will be given all the practical sailing, navigation, safety and maintenance related training as well as the soft skills of management and leadership which are essential to becoming a competent Yachtmaster.

Whether you are a beginner or have some experience, on a gap year, looking for a new career or just doing this for a personal goal then we have a course option for you.

Flying Fish run all Yachtmaster Offshore courses in Sydney, Australia. Training in Sydney offers so much more than the hot climate. You will learn to sail on the beautiful Sydney Harbour and offshore along the East Coast of Australia. Customers are encouraged to go racing with yacht owners at Middle Harbour Yacht Club or join Flying Fish weekend courses as mate to a qualified instructor to gain experience.

There is so much to do off the water too. You can relax on beautiful sun-drenched beaches, enjoy world class food and, of course, learn to surf!