Self-Study Yachtmaster Offshore Theory?

jlavery

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My ICC was not from the RYA, and has been expired for more than 10 years, so that's not an option. But just getting an ICC from the RYA de novo is just a quick practical exam, as far as I understand, so certainly the path of least resistance here.
The practicalities are:
  • You have to be an RYA member
  • You need to find someone to do the assessment
    • Some sailing clubs are set up to do them (but only for club members - it's what I do for our club). Depending on tides etc., and as long as no tuition is needed, it takes about 1/2 a day.
    • Many cruising teaching establishments run ICC assessments - for example Sail ICC Assessment - Portsmouth and Chichester Marine Training
However the faff with a cruising teaching establishment is that they often run it as a 2 day course. 1 for brushing up, and 1 for assessment. I think this is because their experience is that often people do need some input before achieving the standard. So that adds to the cost and time taken.
 

st599

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The practicalities are:
  • You have to be an RYA member
  • You need to find someone to do the assessment
    • Some sailing clubs are set up to do them (but only for club members - it's what I do for our club). Depending on tides etc., and as long as no tuition is needed, it takes about 1/2 a day.
    • Many cruising teaching establishments run ICC assessments - for example Sail ICC Assessment - Portsmouth and Chichester Marine Training
However the faff with a cruising teaching establishment is that they often run it as a 2 day course. 1 for brushing up, and 1 for assessment. I think this is because their experience is that often people do need some input before achieving the standard. So that adds to the cost and time taken.
ICC also has a residence/citizenship hurdle to pass.
 

billskip

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ICC also has a residence/citizenship hurdle to pass.
Is that for new ?or renewal?
Also I maybe wrong but the icc is now issued up to 12 mtr and a different qualification for up to 24mtr...for new ..

Renewal of old (issued after '99) remains for 24 mtrs. Also a change of address even outside the UK is possible. That said it becomes questionable as to its validity if you are a resident of another country as you will have to comply with your country of residence rules ....I believe..
 

Dockhead

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It's definitely a flaw in RYA courses/exams that they don't publish the detail of the syllabus and what they expect. AFAICT you're buying blind.

I got around that for Dinghies for my kids by buying the RYA Dinghy instructor book which allowed me to deduce what a Dinghy Instructor would be looking at. So, I wonder if there's an equivalent of the G14 Dinghy Instructor book for YM Examiners. In which case you can read word for word exactly what they're looking for. (Having said that in reality I'm not sure they followed the syllabus much anyway.)

I suspect it's all very subjective. :(
Hot tip. I've bought the instructor book and will now plow through it. Thanks!
 

Alicatt

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Had that discussion with the Waterweg Polite (Police for the water ways) last summer they said the RYA ICC was fine even as a Belgian Resident as was my RYA SRC for the VHF, I also asked the BIPT Belgian Telecoms dept. and they said it was fine as long as the issuing country was a member of the ITU.

My wife would have to have an "Algemeen Stuurbrevet" (unlimited steering licence) to be able to helm our boat without my supervision on inland waters and coastal waters out to 6km from the shore. There are further licences up to equivalent to the Yachtmaster Ocean and a restricted licence (Beperkt Stuurbrevet) that only allows inland waters and slow speeds.
This is the equivalence chart on the Dept. of Transport for Belgium (PB2 is not mentioned on it!)
https://mobilit.belgium.be/sites/default/files/documents/publications/2024/pleziervaart_buitenlandse_certificaten_nl (1).pdf

One local sailing school does RYA courses to progress to a higher level of certificate than the Algemeen Stuurbrevet.
 

capnsensible

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I am moving my UK-flagged boat (a Moody 54) from the Baltic to the Med this summer, and understand I need a formal qualification as skipper in the waters of many Med states, despite the fact that the flag state does not require any such.

I don't mind that so much -- I've kind of wanted to do this for a long time anyway. But I don't want to spend more time or money than necessary. I have been sailing all my life and have at least 50,000 miles of experience as skipper including the high Arctic up to Greenland, a transat, Cape Hatteras, countless North Sea crossings, and I have taught a number of people to sail. I once taught a Colregs course. I think my knowledge is fairly complete, but working through a formalized syllabus in preparation for the exam will surely be beneficial as everyone no matter how experienced has holes in his/her knowledge.

I am a lifelong learner in different fields -- a couple of languages under my belt for example, self-taught -- and don't need any help with discipline. So an online course for £350 seems like a waste of money, if I could only get my hands on appropriate texts with the appropriate emphasis on the subjects I will be tested on. Do any such texts exist? For example, does the RYA "Yachtmaster Handbook" (G70) cover the necessary material? Is a certificate such as what you get from an online course, worth anything?

I will be grateful for any tips!
Hiya. I've prepped loadsa Yachtmasters, Coastal and Offshore. My fave training book is the one below. If you can buy, beg or borrow a copy, you won't regret it. Answers all your questions. Good luck.

G70-cover-2023.jpg
 

capnsensible

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Wouldn't it be great if a YM examiner could also issue ICCs. Then you could do a YM exam cold and, if you failed, be issued with an ICC. Which would be a very efficient way to ensure you waste least time.

Sadly, having spent nine (yes nine) precious days getting "qualified" to "teach" young kids to sail, I sense that the RYA are all about wasting as much customer time as possible because that's essentially the commodity they can charge for. :(
That's not the way it works. There are no consolation prizes. You get examined for the test you have applied for.
 

billskip

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Had that discussion with the Waterweg Polite
OK, the reason I asked is, I have an ICC but am resident in Spain, ( Tenerife) the ICC has been issued to my Spanish address but I have been told as I'm a resident I need Spanish qualifications.
I can AFAIK use my ICC if required outside Spainish waters with my passport, but the ICC has my Spanish address on it.
 

Alicatt

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OK, the reason I asked is, I have an ICC but am resident in Spain, ( Tenerife) the ICC has been issued to my Spanish address but I have been told as I'm a resident I need Spanish qualifications.
I can AFAIK use my ICC if required outside Spainish waters with my passport, but the ICC has my Spanish address on it.
Mine has my Belgian address on it too.
 

Mark-1

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I've just bought a copy myself, unlikely to ever need YM but should demystify the exam a bit.

For anyone finds this thread from google in the future, I don't know what the OP thought but I've just read the section on YM exams in the YM Instructor Handbook. IMHO it's definitely worth a read for anyone taking the exam or trying to work out the most time/money efficient way to do it.

It has a checklist of topics to be examined and also raises the possibility of a partial retest for things that can be assessed off the water.
 
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