How hard is the yachtmaster exam?

[Guest]

I have several thousand cruising and racing miles and hold an AYF coastal skippers ticket, as the RYA yachtmaster is a benchmark standard I am keen on obtaining it.

I wonder if anyone can let me know if it is worth taking a course and what percentage of people pass.

 

[Eric]

Prep was hard, exam was easy

I have done my YM exam this time last year. I didn't have any other qualifications, just a fair amount of experience. I started doing my VHF, first aid and theory courses and after that I have done the week prep followed by the exam.

I found that the week prep was hard work, I had a lot of fun and learned a lot though. We went through all the tricks, blind nav, finding unlit buoys in the dark, picking up mooring buoys under sail and lost of manoeuvring and navigation.

The exam was actually disappointingly easy. All I had to do was a passage from Hamble to Yarmouth in the dark. The three other people in my group, who went for their coastal skipper exam, had similar passages to Poole, back to Lymington and to Cowes. There we ended up dancing on tables in the Folly Inn (during the exam).

Others have told me other stories. Apparently there are no strict guidelines from the RYA as to what should be tested during an exam and how it is determined what makes a good Yachtmaster. I have heard people being failed for stupid little things and of people passed for their exams making huge blunders. I don't know to what extend this has been pub talk.

I don't know about pass rates, but people do fail their exams. My perception is that at the end of the day passing the exam is about common sense and confidence. If you can sail a boat around and bring it anywhere you want, then go for it.

Good luck
Eric

 

[graham]

I have done the shore based exam but not yet the practical exam. I understand from talking to an examiner I know that one of the parts people fail on is the rule of the road at sea.

You need a thorough knowledge of right of way ,lights sound signals ,daylight shape signals etc.

I can recommend a pocket book called" Rules of the road at sea a seamans guide".Best of luck Graham.

 

[saltydog]

I did it both ways ,, with and without a prep.,, on my own boat in home waters and in a group on the solent .. it is a bit like sitting the driving test ... you MUST know alll Mayday protocols, colregs etc, also it is easier doing it in a group as the pressure is not on YOU 100% of time.
If doing it again, I would try to get on a boat with a candidate ... they are often looking for people for this .. also I would do do the prep in a totally different yacht or sailing area.
good luck is also required, there is no doubt in my mind that doing it with a sailing school will increase the success rate, though I am not convinced that all fair in love and war if you get my meaning

 

[BrianJ]

If I can pass it then any dill can. Seriously it's like any exam, if you prepare yourself and put in the effort you will pass.
I also think the course and qualifications are worth the effort.
I had a "funny" the night I did mine. Two of us started the exam at 1400 and finished at 0100 next morning. I was asked to plot a course to bring us to a certain buoy in the middle of the bay. I failed, the buoy just wasn't in sight or where I reckoned it should be. The examiner then asked the second candidate to find it. After an hour he also failed, to teach us both a lesson in navigation the examiner then took over. Fortunately HE couldn't find it either.
Turns out it was a yacht club turning buoy that had been lifted out during winter. ....phew.
I passed.
Go for it , you will be a better sailor at the end of the exam.
Brianj

 

[jamesjermain]

The examiner will be looking for an easy confidence in handling the boat and, particularly, the crew - this is a skippers' exam, not just a test of boat handling competence.

A significant number of very competent yachtsmen fail because they are not used to handling four or five-man crews.

With your sea miles you are not short of experience and will, no doubt, find the boat handling side of things straightforward. But I would strongly recommend that you do a practical training week with a sailing school before tackling the exam. It is essential, but not compulsory. It is demanding, fun and you get t learn the little tricks and manoeuvres the examiners are likely to throw at you. We practiced all sorts of things like manoverboard, steering without a rudder, coming alongside everything under sail. What we hadn't practiced is what I got which was a manoverboard drill WHILE STEERING WITHOUT A RUDDER.

Do your homework on Colregs, Meteorology, Lights and signals and you will be fine.

JJ

 

[Guest]

I agree with what everyone else says. The examiner told me that he had failed about 40 % of the candidates that year, which may or may not be some kind of overall average.

When I did the exam, one of the candidates failed to notice a ferry coming at us from behind in a narrow channel and the examiner had to react to avoid a dangerous situation. The guy thought he had failed but because he did well in some other parts he still passed the exam. So you can make a few mistakes without necessarily being killed.

Good luck,
Andreas


Andreas

 

[Guest]

As a Yachtmaster Examiner of some 25 years standing I was surprised that none of my colleagues had posted a reply. I have been away for a while, hence the lateness of my reply.
I can offer no better advice than that given by James Jermain, but thought that an examiner's point of view might be of some help.

 

[Guest]

Thanks to everyone for an encouraging response.

 

[peterb]

If you decide to take it ........

Don't forget to let us know how you got on. And add your own appreciation of how hard it is!