Yachtmaster Theory Online

[Yabs]

Hi all,
My sister-in-law would like to do her Yachtmaster Theory online. Can anybody recommend a good supplier. I did come across one which looked good a few weeks back, with a trial animated Yachtmaster quiz, but I can't seem to find it again.

Thanks

 

[rafiki_]

I recently did an ICC with http://bacchusyachting.co.uk/

They are based at Haslar, great quality and really nice people. Could not be more helpful. I will go back to them for further training.

 

[Boat2016]

Try here, they were recommended to me a little while back www.oceantraining.com

 

[brman]

A good question! When I wanted to do it I had a search around for recommendations but most comments were pretty old.
Plus, I think the problem with recommendations is that very few people have used enough different providers to make a fair comparison.

A couple not already mentioned:
https://www.kippersailing.co.uk/courses/yachtmaster/
http://www.navathome.com/

For what it is worth, I am about half way through my yachtmaster theory with navathome. Like I say, without doing another providers course, it is pretty hard for me to make any meaningful comparison however....
Positives:
1) I like the fact that it is on line in that I can do it anytime and at any pace. eg. I spent a lot longer on the navigation stuff than would have happened in a classroom which was useful to really get to grips with it and experiment with different ways of doing things (eg interpolation of tides via graphs or using a calculator or approximation). Although see item 2 in the "not so sure" section below.....
2) For the navigation stuff I think it has a good structure of instruction followed by worked examples followed by test examples. At times I thought "not another tide calculation" but it did help make it 2nd nature when doing it for real.
3) For the few questions I had asked of the tutor the response have been fairly quick. ie within 12 hours, generally only a few hours.
4) For the online exercises and tests (eg in navigation) you are given a few attempts to improve your score and also shown exactly which bit of it you didn't get right. Initially I thought this was cheating but actually it really helped to improve on areas you are weak on. And there are enough questions that if you are still taking multiple attempts by the last questions you know you still have some work to do!
Note: when I say tests, I don't mean the final exam, I mean the test questions it gives you to gauge your progress as you go through the various modules.
5) This might sound an odd "positive" but.....
I have not formally completed a day skipper theory course (started but never finished years ago). I told navathome this when I signed up and in the early sections I found myself asking a fairly basic question. The response was a fairly curt "you should have learnt that on your day skipper". My first reaction was that that wasn't very helpful but it became clear the tutor really wanted me to make sure I properly understood the day skipper stuff before diving into the yachtmaster level stuff half cocked and coming unstuck later. In hindsight a fair point, I was given enough pointers to put my back on track and it did make sure I didn't have any further problems.
Not so sure about:
1) I think their website sells it as "Fully animated HTML 5 graphics with optional voice over make it a pleasure to learn. (no videos or slides)". While this is true, to often I did feel like I was reading a slide with a voiceover. That said, I didn't find that a problem as the info is laid out clearly.
2) With a number of the navigation tests I didn't agree with their answers! I think the trouble is they have used the techniques taught (eg graphs for interpolation, plotting on a paper map) to create the "correct" answer. Unfortunately these methods are not 100% accurate so the results will vary (maybe a degree on a course, or .1 Nm on a position etc). That itself would not be a problem except you start dropping marks if you are a degree out etc. This led me to start using a calculator for interpolation and trig to work out course to steer etc, wasting a lot of time trying to get the "correct" answer. Only to find I was wasting my time.
In reality this is just me being overly pernickety, I am sure most people would be very happy with 96% as a score
3) I have found the passage planning section very wordy and the structure is not completely consistent and clear. If you work well with words this will not be a problem but I have a very visual memory so I would much rather a few well structured checklists with a clear explanation.
Again though, that is probably as much to do with my learning style than the course.

Don't take the negatives too seriously - I certainly don't regret signing up with them although I guess I would have to wait to the end (and see if I pass!) before saying whether I would recommend them without reservation.

hth...

 

[Scubaboy79]

I did my Day Skipper theory with www.navathome.com and was very impressed. It allows you to go at your own pace, study when is convenient for you and from the comfort of home! I was skeptical initially about the availability of the tutors, but anytime I asked a question (it seemed whatever time of day or night) I invariably received a comprehensive response within minutes. What was even more impressive was that when it came to doing my final assessment online, the tutor(s) were clearly monitoring in real time and sending me live email encouragement and feedback. Thoroughly recommended from me.

 

[Andibs]

Did Day Skipper with Navathome. Thoroughly recommend them

Andy