YM- exam only?
- Thread starter Sea Change
- Start date
john_morris_uk
Well-known member
I agree - and as many people already know, I’m one of the examiners.
I really take issue with the idea that there’s some sort of RYA approved method of doing something on a yacht. The key questions as far as I’m concerned are “Was it safe” and “Is it repeatable?” (In other words a reliable technique.) The latter for when a wannabe YM pulls off a successful outcome of a requested evolution against all the odds. (Hint: the candidate might be asked to do it again later…!). If tack, heave to, reach tack close reach is taught by lots of sailing schools it’s not because it’s the only way to do a MOB. It’s because it’s safe and repeatable.
Crew management is a major element. I’ve even been in an exam where a candidate asked one of the crew to navigate. So what? The candidate still got tested on his nav later in the exam.
Remember to feed and water the crew. I get really cheesed off when we’ve been at it for hours and hours and nothing to eat or drink for anyone on board.
john_morris_uk
Well-known member
PS. There’s no excuse for a YM candidate not knowing IRPCS inside out. Get’A Seaman’s Guide to the Rule of the Road’ and go through it thoroughly.
LittleSister
Well-known member
Isn't the ability to take charge of pretty much any boat (and crew and location and weather) is what a candidate YM is being tested for?
An unfamiliar boat is just the sort of challenge a YM would know how to deal with, and be able to demonstrate that, it seems to me. (Not that I have a YM cert, nor any involvement in teaching or examining it.)
An over-familiarity with a crew you've sailed with for years might be a different sort of challenge to go into the exam with!
Sea Change
Well-known member
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.
I would certainly prefer to do some prep beforehand, it's just a matter of trying to squeeze it in alongside working full time and other commitments.
I would certainly prefer to do some prep beforehand, it's just a matter of trying to squeeze it in alongside working full time and other commitments.
DJE
Well-known member
It was years ago now but a group at our sailing club did a YM theory course over six Sundays one winter. Then three of that group booked an examiner and took the practical YM exam over a weekend on one of our own boats. We were all reasonably experienced beforehand and we all passed.
RunAgroundHard
Well-known member
You must have a valid first aid certificate, that meets the standard. A work place first aid certificate is not valid unless it has the hypothermia, drowning, heatstroke elements et cetera.
ylop
Well-known member
But it can easily be made WOBBLED with “Diesel” added as a final check. I’m generally not a huge fan on mnemonics but if you are trying to have everyone on a crew be consistent in approach it’s not a bad one. If you don’t do the “D” as part of the engine checks you may well be doing it in another part of the prep (after all 1/2 a tank might mean you have more than enough of nowhere near enough so it’s got to be part of the passage plan too rather than is the engine looking ok).
I’ve also not done YM nor am I an examiner but when I get on a new boat I spend time familiarising myself with its equipment and I’m sure the examiner doesn’t want to spend the first 1/2 day watching you work your way from now to stern working this one out. Nor will you inspire confidence if he’s there while you work out how the prop wash on this boat behaves etc, especially if all the other candidates have been using that boat for training and are already up-to-speed. If you want to master the art of working a boat out - charter one where everything is labelled in a language you can’t read!
st599
Well-known member
Has the requirement to be questioned on Radar during the YM exam come in, or has sense been seen and it's been dropped?
finestgreen
Active member
I did the exam in November and was given a navigation exercise "take us to this lat long using a radar fix".
I don't know what would have happened in a boat without a radar, but the exam guidance says you need to be able to demonstrate knowledge of every training course in the yachtmaster scheme (so includes the radar course).
st599
Well-known member
Well hopefully they finish the new radar course soon, the old one isn't fit for purpose.
B27
Well-known member
When we take charge of an unfamiliar boat, we tend to spend quite a lot of time familiarising and checking everything is ready for sea. More man-hours than in a YM exam.
RunAgroundHard
Well-known member
That is done before the YM Examiner arrives.
capnsensible
Well-known member
14th rule of boats. If you have a list of 100 things to check before going to sea, it will be number 101 that breaks.
flaming
Well-known member
When I did my coastal skipper, aged 18, I did a prep week with a school. Unfortunately the school didn't own their boats, but had an arrangement with owners, and the owner of that boat suddenly decided that he wanted to sail that weekend. So with 10 minutes notice, and the examiner being stalled in the office with a cuppa, I was rushed off that typical sailing school AWB and onto a Sigma 33. So that exam was the first time I'd ever sailed a Sigma 33, the first time I'd ever tried to park a boat bigger than a dinghy with a tiller, and the first time I'd ever sailed a yacht without a roller furling headsail.
I passed but it was more stressful than it should have been....
srm
Well-known member
I put the examiner on the helm (Rod Carr back in the early '80's) for short tacks up a river. He had mentioned his racing so told him he was the most experienced helm on board. He did it but I had to call the tacks.
As for others above this was direct entry but with a sailing school and three days prep with an instructor followed by two days of exams. Prep was well worth doing.
Also, had a question about towing and the tow sheering badly, examiner was not sure about my answer so I said "it worked well when we did it". Which led to more detailed questions regarding my experience.
Sandy
Well-known member
The examiner would not have given you the task. In my experience they are pretty switched on people and would have spotted that the vessel did not have a radar. They may have asked you about radar fixes at some point during the exam.
Did you pass?
finestgreen
Active member
Yeah, I was unclear, I meant: I don't know if they would have asked more hypothetical questions about radar, or just skipped the subject.
I did pass, yes
I was thinking I might write up the experience a bit in a thread of my own
Sandy
Well-known member
I look forward to reading the thread.Yeah, I was unclear, I meant: I don't know if they would have asked more hypothetical questions about radar, or just skipped the subject.
I did pass, yes
Congrats.
john_morris_uk
Well-known member
There’s a very clear directive out to examiners that we’re no longer allowed to do any such thing. (An examiner mucked up big time a while ago and there are all sorts of insurance implications.)
A fairly universal experience.
Very typical. A candidate hesitates over an answer or their answer isn’t straightforward etc. The examiner starts probing.
A casual “So why are you using that knot?” and a bewildered response leads to a deep dive into the benefits and advantages of different knots and the construction of lines and their properties. (All in the YM syllabus so you’re supposed to have some sort of basic knowledge.)
Not necessarily a pass/fail but all part of the bigger picture of the candidate’s qualities.