question about Yachtmaster certificate

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Does a Yachtmaster offshore certificate has an expiration date if it is not commercially endorsed? I can't seem to find any expiration date on my certificate. it just says it is for power and motor yachts
 
No it does not have an expire date. However, I believe you must maintain the validity of your first aid certificate, which is a 1 day refresher either 2 or 3 years, to keep the Yachtmaster valid. There is discussion that it will have an upper age limit applied but this is not in place yet, or I am not aware of it. I came across this in discussion with James Stevens a while ago. It was something to do with the MCA approval of the scheme.

I learned a few years ago that the purpose of the original approver of the Yachtmaster Scheme (was it the Department of Transport?) was to have a body of amateur skippers who could be called upon in times of need to man all sorts of small commercial vessels, necessary for the function of the UK. The professionals would be either on RNR or Convoy duties!

That may be the tenacious link to the age related thing with a modern HSE twist by the MCA.
 
No. But then is it really worth anything as a document? To me it's a bit like my O and A levels - it says I was up to scratch on that particular day. It isn't like a driving licence which you need to take to the roads.
 
I think you'll find it's very highly thought of, though 'which school / examiner' seems to matter, which it shouldn't do in theory but I can understand why that is !

Probably one's background too; I know a couple of qualified Yachtmasters who are completely lost now it comes to running their own boat, zero experience of that, and ditto common sense...

No expiry date on my ticket, and before 1st Aid - though I have that separately anyway.

To provide a pool of skippers if the balloon goes up eh ? Pass me the keys to that Type 45 !
 
Seajet said:
I think you'll find it's very highly thought of, though 'which school / examiner' seems to matter, which it shouldn't do in theory but I can understand why that is !

Probably one's background too; I know a couple of qualified Yachtmasters who are completely lost now it comes to running their own boat, zero experience of that, and ditto common sense...
Click to expand...


You've lost me here.

Why does it matter who the examiner was?

How can you be a qualified yachtmaster with zero experiance of running a boat.


.
 
shaunksb said:
You've lost me here.

Why does it matter who the examiner was?

How can you be a qualified yachtmaster with zero experiance of running a boat.


.
Click to expand...

Certain sailing schools have an actively bad reputation, so that is not in one's favour; how they churn out ( any ) yachtmasters is a mystery.

The Yachtmaster Offshore ( and Ocean ) do not require any knowledge of boat ownership at all; when I did my course a fellow student had never owned so much as a Mirror dinghy, he'd sailed a lot on other people's boats.

At least one chap at my club is a YM Offshore in a similar situation, until buying his small cruiser a few years ago had never owned any sort of boat in his life.

Unsurprisingly, such people find they've suddenly run into a brick wall of ignorance, and are only slightly better off than a complete novice, in fact it's slightly horrifying...

Don't remember anything on the course about how to set up a mooring, getting masts up & down, winter maintenance & anodes, etc etc; I did see somewhere there's talk of including a part on diesels, which must be a good thing if it's true.
 
Seajet said:
Don't remember anything on the course about how to set up a mooring, getting masts up & down, winter maintenance & anodes, etc etc; I did see somewhere there's talk of including a part on diesels, which must be a good thing if it's true.
Click to expand...

There has to be a limit to the 'knowhow' which a candidate is expected to acquire and demonstrate, which reflects the stated aims.

Most of us acquire most of that, demonstrate the capability of running a boat 'n crew and keeping them reasonably safe, then pick up other 'knowhow' - as a form of 'Continuous Professional Development' - along the way 'cos we're interested.

Is my judgement, FWIW, rendered invalid because of the deployment of AIS? Do I need to do a refresher course in keeping clear of sticky-up granite because of the growing use of chartplotters and NavApps on smartphones? Am I not allowed to use a recognised anchorage until I've demonstrated my ability to use a new-fangled 'HHP' anchor....?

'Course not.

But there has been talk of some Yachtmaster 'add-on' short courses....

And the RYA, ever swift to scent a pound, are busy sorting out a 'mix 'n match' Bargain bag of Add-Ons as we speak ( allegedly! )

:cool:
 
Seajet said:
I did see somewhere there's talk of including a part on diesels, which must be a good thing if it's true.
Click to expand...

Come on!....It would be along the lines of 'checking all the things under the bonnet coloured yellow' ... which I understand is now part of the driving test......with an implication those are the only bits a user/owner should get anywhere near.

Vic
 
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VicMallows said:
Come on!....It would be along the lines of 'checking all the things under the bonnet coloured yellow' ... which I understand is now part of the driving test.

Vic
Click to expand...

I can think of some large sailing schools who'd struggle to find the engine themselves to point at !

However if Mike Dymond was sorting the course I'd expect to come out better than the average manufacturers' mechanics.
 
mikemanor said:
There are no age limits for YM, commercial endorsements or instructor quals. However, your medical fitness may affect your abilitly to retain commercial endorsements/instructor quals. See page 12 of Wavelength Spring 2010:

http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectio...res/General/Wavelength/WAVELENGTH April10.pdf

Mike
Click to expand...

So is a 12 month old circular to be believed or their current website?

http://www.rya.org.uk/sitecollectio...ising/TRA Cruising Instructor Information.pdf

Someone needs to update the documents on the site if the age restriction has changed!
 
When I got my YM I wasn't a boat owner, but I'd raced / cruised / chartered as skipper in various parts of the world, and done all the RYA certs in sensible order spaced out over many years combined with lots of short-hop miles (rather than ocean crossings which is what some do to qualify). My understanding of boat systems (engines, electrics, etc) was never a requirement and when I got my own boat some 6-7 years ago, I had a lot to learn.

After I got the YM Cert. I didn't sail for a while and was quite "rusty" but it comes back very quickly, and most important I think was the fundamental understanding of what I was doing, and how to avoid / get out of trouble. That actually is what the examiner was really looking for, and you don't lose that with time IMO.
 
Ubergeekian said:
Most of them, I expect. That level of commitment will almost certainly go with ownership.
I think it's fair to point out that some yachtmasters have very limited experience.
Click to expand...


Evidence?

1) Most of the guys doing YM practicals, to my actual experience over 15 years, do not own their own boat.

2) All Yachtmasters must have a mandatory level of 'experience'.

If, in your oppinion, this is not sufficient, then you should approach the RYA.
The MCA, are happy under their Codes of Practice, to allow all YM's (when commercially endorsed) to satisfy the manning requirements on commercial vessels - http://www.bms.com.tr/registration-&-coding/mca-coding.html.

So, how much 'experience' should be required?
 
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