RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Handbook or/and Shorebased Notes

BarryWhite

BarryWhite

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Dear Fellow & Respected Sailors,

Now that I have my dayskipper certificate, I would look to go to the next level and start studying for the Coastal and Offshore.

> Do you have experience with the books below ? What is the difference ? Which one should I order ?

- RYA Yachtmaster Handbook (RYA Yachtmaster Handbook)
- RYA Yachtmaster Shorebased Notes (RYA Yachtmaster Shorebased Notes)

THANK YOU !
 
They're both excellent.
Just as the syllabus for the Practical calls for you to get a range of cruising experience into your logbook before presenting yourself for assessment, so also is it worthwhile to read more widely/watch a range of videos.... learn more and deeper as best you can.
Saint Tom Cunliffe is good for this ( don't tell him I said so ). So also are Mike Peyton's little books of humourous* cartoons - every last one of which has a little gem of practical seamanship hidden inside.

Above all, enjoy the journey. It's not the RYA that tests you....

*sorted
 
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zoidberg said:
They're both excellent.
Just as the syllabus for the Practical calls for you to get a range of cruising experience into your logbook before presenting yourself for assessment, so also is it worthwhile to read more widely/watch a range of videos.... learn more and deeper as best you can.
Saint Tom Cunliffe is good for this ( don't tell him I said so ). So also are Mike Peyton's little books of humerous cartoons - every last one of which has a little gem of practical seamanship hidden inside.

Above all, enjoy the journey. It's not the RYA that tests you....
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Thanks ! Could you precise what is the difference between the Handbook and Shorebased Notes ?
 
The Complete Yachtmaster by Tom Cunliff is better than the RYA Yachtmaster Handbook, in my view.
However, Stress-Free Navigation and Stress-Free Sailing, both books by Duncan Wells will provide you with the skills you need, assuming you practise them.

There is an RYA Shorebased Course, with exam, RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore. The shore based notes book covers the stuff you need for that. Later, if you want to get the certificate of competence, you need to be assessed by an Examiner, at sea, of your practical skills, which could also includes any subject from the shore based syllabus. You dont need your shore based course certificate to be assessed for "Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence".

Its all explained here, if you need to more RYA Sail Cruising Training | Courses for beginners and professionals
 
I found the Yachtmaster Handbook absolutely bang on for helping to prepare candidates for their practical exam. I reckon it's best timed to use it as a guide in the few weeks before taking the practical assessment.

Every single candidate that I got to use this book passed their practical.

I know the author a bit. As head of training at one time within the RYA he had a lot to do with improving the whole scheme. So if the guy who more or less invented lots of it writes the book on how to pass, for me that's made it exceptional value. ?
 
I think the Shorebaased Notes come free with the theory course, bundled with the Training Almanac and the charts of Narnian waters required for the exercises and exam.
 
zoidberg said:
They're both excellent.
Just as the syllabus for the Practical calls for you to get a range of cruising experience into your logbook before presenting yourself for assessment, so also is it worthwhile to read more widely/watch a range of videos.... learn more and deeper as best you can.
Saint Tom Cunliffe is good for this ( don't tell him I said so ). So also are Mike Peyton's little books of humerous cartoons - every last one of which has a little gem of practical seamanship hidden inside.

Above all, enjoy the journey. It's not the RYA that tests you....
Click to expand...
Both James Stevens’ Yachtmaster Handbook and the Shore-based Notes contain useful, practical information. The Yachtmaster Handbook is filled with wisdom particularly concerned with how to prepare for and take the examination. Tom Cunliffe’s Complete Yachtmaster is, while also decidedly practical (like the man himself), certainly the more comprehensive. I find myself going back to it time and time again, and look forward to the new edition to see how his views evolve.
 
Oops! I made a 'foxes paw' in #2 and didn't notice.... and now I can't sneakily fix it. Sawdit!
Rong!

Now sorted.
 
MADRIGAL said:
look forward to the new edition to see how his views evolve
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Is there a new edition coming? I was looking recently and it seemed a very long time since the last update especially at a time when sailing/navigating has changed quite a bit in practice. I was rereading my copy (not the latest) recently and some of the advice feels pretty alien in 2021 so look forward to seeing how it changes.
 
I hear on the wind that it's now much, much easier to pass the YM Practical than in the past ( sez he, sticking head above parapet! :ROFLMAO: )
Does that mean the Book will be correspondingly slimmed down....? And if so, will we have fun spotting the bits that have been 'cancelled'....?
 
lustyd said:
Is there a new edition coming? I was looking recently and it seemed a very long time since the last update especially at a time when sailing/navigating has changed quite a bit in practice. I was rereading my copy (not the latest) recently and some of the advice feels pretty alien in 2021 so look forward to seeing how it changes.
Click to expand...
I know what you mean. The art and science of sailing and navigation continue to evolve, and I see that my 9th edition was published in 2017. The 10th edition of The Complete Yachtmaster is due to be published in November 2021, so we have only a couple of months to wait. You can pre-order on the Bloomsbury site.
I’m sure that amidst the state-of-the-art updates, TC will retain the practicality and delightfully (to me, at least) anachronistic turns of phrase that characterise his writing.
 
zoidberg said:
I hear on the wind that it's now much, much easier to pass the YM Practical than in the past ( sez he, sticking head above parapet! :ROFLMAO: )
Does that mean the Book will be correspondingly slimmed down....? And if so, will we have fun spotting the bits that have been 'cancelled'....?
Click to expand...
It depends which boat you do it on zoidberg. I found a 20 ton, 120-yr old gaff yawl to make the challenge more meaningful; it's not a real practical unless you finish covered in bruises ;)
 
It’s now almost 40 years since I was awarded my YM, and I assume that the syllabus has been tweaked and modified to take into account the technical advances over that period, for example knowledge of Morse code no longer seems to be a requirement, whilst back then the abréviation GPS would have just raised a blank stare.
Maybe it’s a bit like us oldsters saying GCSE’s are easier now than when we did them, I don’t honestly know, but IMHO it is a really worthwhile exercise aiming for the YM and a fantastic feeling when the examiner says that they consider you competent and will recommend that you be granted a YM Certificate.
 
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