Yachtmaster Theory and Prep. - Good Value?

Richard10002

Richard10002

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Hi,

Given that I have 30 years sailing experience, tons more than the basic requirements for Yachtmaster, 2nd Class, Foreign Going), Certificate, (i.e. 2nd mate Mercahnt Navy), and am a reasonably quick learner, both academically and practically:

I asked a sailing school, who I like the look of, for a competitively priced way of getting from ICC to Yachtmaster, which I am hoping will be mostly a rubber stamping exercise...

I agree that I will have to learn the RYA "way", and there will be some stuff I dont know, or dont know how to do, but most of it should either be teasable from the depths of my memory, or I will already have it at my fingertips.

The offer is £200 for the theory course including all materials and tuition/guidance within reason, (i.e. not much but hopefully enough), and the assessment.

The theory to be done between 5th April to 28th May

Then

£650 for 5 days own boat 1 to 1 tuition

Then

£250 for 1 day prep as skipper on own boat with 2 Day Skipper trainees and 1 day own boat exam with day Skipper trainees as crew.

plus exam fee £147 plus examiners expenses £20.

Total £1100 plus exam and expenses.

Strikes me as a bit more than I could get it for, but I am very attracted by the undivided attention of the instructor with 1 to 1 own boat tuition, where i will probably learn a lot more about handling my own boat than I would on a sailing school boat.

Other schools have previously suggested doing Coastal Skipper then Yachtmaster Practical over a 3 week period, with obvious extra cost for the extra time.

Any thoughts welcomed

Richard
 
This isn't going to help but I do training (not on sailing subjects) for which I charge £350 a day. Sounds a lot until you've paid Gordon and keep less than 50%. So the 1 to 1 training is pretty good value. The trainer is getting £130 per day gross. The problem is that you probably know the subject well enough already but are being prepared to pass an exam. Therefore is looks and probably is too expensive. Might be worth getting hold of the syllabus, buying the RYA books, cramming for the exam and giving it a go. If you fail you've only burnt the exam fee and expenses and you can always have another go. Unless of course you are under pressure of time?
 
I dont think you need to have the YM Theory before doing the Practical exam (or am I wrong?), hence I would have thought you need not worry about doing the theory part - you should know it all already.
Perhaps just bean up thoroughly on Coll regs and tides and such, if necessary.

Similarly its rather expensive having the 1 : 1 ratio - much more fun sailing with others, I reckon, and you can learn from their mistakes as well!

I did my YM Practical 12 years ago with Conwy Sailing School on a Victoria 34 - I had never done any other RYA practical exams before, but I had been sailing a long time (and picked up lots of bad habits!), and I had done the Theory at evening classes a few years before.

My YM Practical was a one week course - 5 days of getting to know the boat and training, followed by a 2 day exam, when 4 of us were examined. I thought it was excellent value then at (I think) about GBP 400 for the course and GBP 90 for the exam.
 
For what its worth I am the opposite of you, in that I have paper qualifications up to Coastal Skipper but only have practical qualifications up to Day Skipper. I am also short on experience. Which I am trying to rectify.

From my perspective I would have thought that a single day would have got you up to par for that area whereas because its a written examination and there is therefore only one way to get it right the class room may be the best area to focus on.
 
Richard

I think you are right, you may be able to get it for less, you may already know most of it. But I would go along with you in that the 1 on 1 on your own boat will be good, and I think it will give you a thorough "RYA" prep for the exam. So I would go with it. (I finally got around to doing the RYA radar last week having sailed 15,000 miles with one and was surprised how much I DIDN'T know and how much background stuff I also learnt)

Good luck with the exam /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Just curious...why do you now feel the need to get your RYA "ticket"??

[/ QUOTE ]

I need to do some kind of work, and plan to offer charter days or holidays when we settle somewhere, so need some kind of paper qualification, (as well as lots of other stuff), and might even go on to become an RYA instructor. Also some insurance companies offer a discount to Yachtmasters, (not a good reason on its own, as it would take years to recover the cost).

I also like the idea of doing it for the sake of it, I'm sure I will learn quite a lot. - a bit like Master Scuba Diver.

On the charter thing, which I will post on nearer the time, we've got the boat and will be living on it whatever happens, so dont need to earn any money to cover capital costs and general day to day running and mooring.

Richard
 
Having just done the Yachtmaster Theory and enjoyed it learnt form it and passed I'd be surprised if somebody with your training and experience would learn much from the theory part. It's not listed as a pre-requite. Omitting it will save you £200. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
I'm sure you'll do well just doing the practical.
 
Hi Richard

My guess is that with experience you could cram adequately for the RYA theory exam although it might be worth a day's tuition to get the exam details right. I did mine at night school and it was too slow .

I think the practical is a slightly different matter. I did my coastal skipper practical exam a few year's back and when we were talking to the external examiner we asked him about the failure rate. If I remember right he said about 30% at coastal, 40% at YM and 70% at YM Instructor. He definitely said that most of those are candidates who felt they had lots of experience and didnt need to do the 5 day prep course for the exam. All 3 of us from the prep course passed. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
With the background you describe, the schools concerned are having you on.

Its a good idea to do the theory, though you do not need to do it to get the YM certificate. Nevertheless, if you do the theory you will get less of a grilling at the practical and are more likely to know the answers to the colregs questions you will be asked. Many clubs offer this course during winter evenings and the cost is not likely to be more than £150.

I would recommend the YM refresher 5 day practical course but no need to do a one to one at all. In fact, better not to. The 5 day praxtical will give you practise in skills like picking up a mooring under sail - something that most of us never do otherwise. It will also teach you to pass the exam.

You can . if you wish, simp[ly pay to take the YM practical exam without any tuition at all.

Incidentally, you will still need your ICC. The RYA (no doubt in the interest of more dosh) dont put a photo in your YM cert and dont include foreign languages in the text so it is unacceptable as a substitute for the ICC. Great isnt it?
 
If you can remember most of your 2nd Mate's stuff and can meet the RYA seatime requirements, just arrange a practical. If you know how to sail your boat and haven't been away from the sea for too long, you shouldn't have a problem. Probably a good idea to have a look at the RYA theory syllabus in any case. Good luck!
 
Hi Richard

We run an RYA sail cruising school and it sounds to me as if you have been given a 'standard' response from the one you approached rather than advice geared to your particular experience.

If you are based in the UK there should be no need for you to do either a theory or a YM prep if you know your stuff. There is no 'RYA way' to do things - as long as you are safe and can justify why you choose to do things in a particular manner that is okay.

While the 5-day preparation could be helpful, my advice to you is to find a Yachtmaster Instructor who is also an examiner and ask him/her to give you a 'mock' exam in your own boat. You'll have to provide someone to crew for you. It will take 8 - 12 hours, including some night sailing.

Probably a good idea to buy a book to read in preparation - there are some that give advice on passing your Yachtmaster exam available from the RYA website http://www.rya.org.uk. You will also find Tom Cunliffe's Complete Yachtmaster available from Amazon at http://astore.amazon.co.uk/aegeansailing-21.

During your mock exam the examiner will be able to take you through what you'll be asked to do in the real exam and tell you which areas you need to work on.

You can then swot up or practice the manoevres and book your exam when you are confident. If they think you really have such bad habits that you should go to a school for a 5-day preparation they will tell you. You will also be told if your theory is not up to scratch but again I would not have thought it necessary for you to do a full course, given your background - just some revision.

If you cannot find an examiner to do a mock exam PM me and I may be able to put you in touch with someone in your area.

You will need a VHF radio licence and an up to date First Aid certificate before you can sit your exam, and you must also show evidence in your log book of sufficient miles.

If you want to work commercially you'll also need to do a Sea Survival course to get a commercial endorsement. You can find establishments that offer all these courses through the RYA site. They are one-day courses.

Let us know how you get on.

Regards

Melody
 
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond, and quite a mixture of opinion.

I'll give it all some thought and report back. As nobody has suggested that the prices are excessive, I'm leaning towards going for it. (I cant attend night school as I wont be in England much from Tuesday, and I was reasonably happy that the theory price competes very well with the various correspondence courses).

I'm convinced that I need a good refresher on theory, and am reasonably sure that there is a lot I can learn from a prep course.

Thanks again

Richard
 
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