Overview
Our two-week Yachtmaster Power Theory and Practical is an all-inclusive course combining the Yachtmaster Theory and the practical prep week.
This course is popular with experienced Superyacht Deckhands, crew from the commercial maritime sector, or those with RYA Yachtmaster sail looking to convert to Yachtmaster Power.
The advantage of the combined theory and practical course is the navigation is fresh in your memory, and you have all your notes to refer back to. The added advantage of being in a group is that everybody studies for the same goal, we find that customers help and encourage each other and learn a lot more than if studying at home.
The RYA Yachtmaster qualification
The RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Power Certificate of Competence allows the holder to skipper of a motorboat up to 24 meters in length, 150 miles from a safe haven. Add STCW Basic Safety Training, and you have a qualification to skipper a motorboat up to 200GT, which may be more than 24 meters.
The Yachtmaster Exam
The Yachtmaster exam is conducted by an RYA examiner independent of Flying Fish. Your instructor will not be onboard for the duration of the exam. The RYA examiner will look at all areas of the Yachtmaster syllabus and assess each candidate’s practical and navigational skills. Your examiner will complete a report form detailing skills covered during the exam.Â
The Yachtmaster exam will take between 24 and 36 hours to complete.
The Solent offers a great training ground with numerous ports, strong tides, and lots of traffic. Training in the Solent will improve your knowledge of skippering a small motorboat.Â
Flying Fish is based in Cowes, in the middle of the Solent therefore, we can operate in almost any weather conditions.
There are a maximum of four candidates on this course.
Please read our key facts for some of the detail regarding this course.
Key facts
You must be 17 years old to sit the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore exam.
You would have the following miles logged on a Motorboat between between 7 and 24m in length.
- A minimum of 2,500 miles are logged before you sit the Yachtmaster offshore exam. At least half the sea time must be in tidal waters.
Note: If you have been working on a Superyacht/a vessel over 24m, then at least 1,250 sea miles gained on the larger vessel can be used towards the 2,500 required.
- Five passages of over 60 miles, acting as skipper for at least two of these passages completed on a vessel between 7 and 24m in length.
- 2 of 5 passages above would have involved overnight passages.
- A GMDSS short-range VHF radio certificate
- A valid First Aid Certificate.
Please note that if you hold an STCW Elementary First Aid, it must have been issued in the last five years.
- All qualifying experience must be within ten years before the exam.
Click here if you need to refresh your STCW Elementary First Aid or complete a GMDSS short-range VHF course.
Please click the link below for more details on recording your sea miles, converting from sail to power, and lots more.
For RYA Yachtmaster’s to work as professional skippers, you must apply for commercial endorsement through the RYA. If you plan to work in the maritime sector, please see our article on how to apply for Commercial endorsement.
The RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Power certificate of competence allows the holder to skipper of a Motorboat up to 24 meters in length, 150 miles from a safe haven.
Add STCW Basic Safety Training, and you have a qualification to skipper motor boats up to 200GT, which may be more than 24 meters.
Not all candidates have the sea time or command experience for the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate.
Candidates with 800 miles logged choose the Yachtmaster Coastal certificate. Furthermore, some skippers have no intention of going offshore and want to stick to coastal waters.
If you own a motorboat, have no intention of going offshore, and are looking for a qualification that provides confidence, we recommend the Yachtmaster Coastal route.
This course is suitable for RYA Yachtmaster Coastal.
Fish Tales is a Fairline Phantom 40′. She has two Volvo Penta 370 HP diesel engines. She is a shaft-driven boat with a bow and stern thruster to help with maneuvers.
Fish Tales has two 12″ Garmin 8600 series plotters, a 24″ Garmin HD Radar, and an engine and rear-facing camera. All the instruments connect to a TV in the saloon so the entire crew can visualize the navigation exercise.
She is a comfortable, well-equipped boat with heating, a generator, and all the safety equipment you would expect to find on a CAT 2-coded vessel.
If you choose to stay with us, you will stay in one of our self-catering crew houses in Cowes, which are comfortable and centrally located. There is plenty of space to complete homework and chat through the day with others on the course. Our accommodation is a 5-minute walk from the town and our training centre.
All customers booked onto our Yachtmaster Theory and Practical Prep courses has their own room.
- RYA Yachtmaster theory packs, almanacs, and certification
- All training, fuel, and berthing fees included
- 100 miles logged
£231 Yachtmaster Offshore/Coastal exam fee is not included.
Monday – Friday
Arrive for a course briefing at 10:00 am. The RYA Yachtmaster Theory Course starts after the briefing. We will check you into your accommodation around 16:30 pm
Tuesday to Friday – cover all aspects of navigation, meteorology, passage planning, pilotage, IRPCS, secondary ports, and tidal navigation exercises.
Saturday
You will sit two exams during the day, chart work, and IRPCS. You will be awarded the RYA Yachtmaster Theory certificate on successful completion.
Sunday
Day off.
Monday
- 10:00 am Join the boat in Cowes
- Introduction to the boat and safety producers onboard
- Engineering, engines, control systems, and what to look out for
- Boat handling
- Marina berthing
- MOB and recovery at sea
Tuesday
- Engine checks/safety brief
- Navigational exercises in the Solent
- Anchoring
- Picking up mooring buoys
- MOB and recovery
- Marina berthing
- Night-time navigational exercises
Wednesday
- Engine checks/safety brief
- Marina berthing/confined space boat handling
- Single engine berthing
- Picking up mooring buoys
- Navigational exercises day-time
- Collision regs/quiz/use of radar
- Night-time navigational exercises
Thursday
- Engine checks/safety brief
- Navigational exercises in the Solent
- Picking up mooring buoys
- Marina berthing/confined space exercises
- Single engine berthing
Friday
- Engine checks/safety brief
- Navigational exercises in the Solent
- Boat handling exercises/single-engine berthing
- MOB and recovery
- Revision of the Yachtmaster syllabus
Friday afternoon, the RYA examiner arrives.
Saturday/Sunday
The Yachtmaster exam.
The examiner will join the boat, and your instructor will step off. The Yachtmaster Power exam will last between 12 and 48 hours depending on the number of candidates being examined, a maximum of 4 in any 2-day session. The exam will take place within the Solent. The examiner will ask each candidate to perform a series of practical and navigational exercises based on the weather and tidal conditions of the day.
What our previous students have to say
I recently completed my training with flying fish. From booking the course all the way through to receiving my certificates the team made it an effortless process and were always on hand to help.
Daisy
I completed the Superyacht Deckhand course with Flying Fish in January 2023 and I highly recommend anyone interested in starting a career in yachting do their training with Flying Fish.
Niall
Book Yachtmaster Power Theory and Practical today!
14 day(s)
£2,080
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Have you completed your VHF course?
STCW Elementary First Aid Certificates may need to be refreshed if more than 5 years old
1 day(s)
£170
STCW Elementary First Aid
The one-day STCW Elementary First Aid course forms part of the STCW Basic Safety Training and is a requirement for professional seafarers working at sea.
1 day(s)
£110