YACHTMASTER PREPARATION WEEK AT SEA

• Intensive preparation for RYA/MCA Coastal or Offshore exams
• Expert tips, hints and skills to polish up
• Practice exam session
• Formal MCA exam at the end

• All meals and snacks on board
• Life jackets
• All mooring fees

What’s not Included

• Sleeping bag
• Waterproof boots
• Personal sailing insurance
• Oilskins

You will spend the entire course living on the yacht, with all meals included. One of Jules Verne Nautica’s expert instructors will work with you on the full programme, covering everything you need to know to be a competent and useful crew member on any future yacht you sail.

A training holiday

Each day, you will sail to somewhere new, visiting the wonderful harbours and anchorages of the Rias Baixas. You will finish each day both on the mainland and on beatiful anchorages, and there’s usually the chance to head into one of the local pubs for a well earned beer and chat about the day’s training.

In one of the best places to learn to sail

The Rias are easily one of the best sailing areas in the world, with their great variety of locations, sheltered waters, gentle tides and lots of fishing boats on the move. As we described in our overview of the Rías Baixas, this is really the only place to learn to sail.

Safety is absolutely paramount when heading out onto the water. We choose Rias Baixas for teaching because is one of the safest places to sail in Europe.

90% of crew join solo, so these are excellent courses if you are coming alone. There is nearly always a 50:50 mix of men and women, of all ages. It’s a small, fun group of like-minded people, all working toward the same goal.

You can expect four other crew members on board, giving a maximum of five.

Do not go and spend lots of money on sailing clothing. Especially when you are first starting out, you really don’t need it. The main consideration is to bring layers, so that you can adjust your temperature accordingly.

• Warm clothes including hat, scarf, gloves and thermal underwear.
• Sleeping bag
• Polarised sunglasses
• Sun block
• Wash kit
• Towel
• Flip flops (great for shower blocks)
• Swimming gear
• Phone charger
• Sailing boots and some deck shoes or non-marking trainers

Everything must be packed into a soft holdall that can be rolled away

Candidates may have the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge of competence in the areas listed below. In each section, the examiner will expect the candidate to take full responsibility for the management of the yacht and crew. In the Yachtmaster Offshore examinations, the candidate will be expected to demonstrate competence based on extensive experience.

International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea

• Questions will be limited to international regulations and, although candidates should be aware of the existence of local regulations, they are not expected to memorise specific local regulations.
  • General rules (1-3)
  • Steering and navigation rules (4-19)
  • Lights and shapes (20-31)
  • Sound and light signals (32-37)
  • Signals to vessels fishing in the vicinity (Annex II) D
  • Distress signals (Annex IV)

Safety

• Candidates are expected to know what safety equipment should be carried on board a yacht, as recommended in the RYA Yacht Safety Manual (C8), the ISAF Special Regulations or the Codes of Practice for the Safety of Small Commercial Craft. In particular, candidates should be aware of the responsibilities of a skipper in relation to:
  • Safety harnesses
  • Life jackets
  • Distress calls
  • Fire prevention and firefighting
  • Liferafts Knowledge of rescue procedures.
  • Helicopter rescue

Boat Handling

• Candidates for the Coastal Skipper examinations are expected to answer questions or demonstrate ability in simple situations only.
• Yachtmaster Offshore candidates are expected to answer questions or demonstrate ability in more complex situations and are also expected to demonstrate a higher level of experience:
  • Arriving and weighing anchor under power or sailing in a variety of wind and tidal conditions.
  • All berthing and unberthing situations in various conditions of wind and tide
  • Recovery of the casualty overboard.
  • Towing in open sea conditions and in confined areas.
  • Handling boats in confined spaces under sail
  • Boat handling in adverse weather conditions
  • Helming and trimming sails to sail to best advantage
  • Use of warps for securing in a side berth and for moving the berth or furling it.

General seamanship, including maintenance.

• Properties, use and care of synthetic fibre ropes.
• Knots
• General deck work at sea and in port.
• Engine operations and routine checks
• Improvisation of jury rigging after gear failure

Responsibilities of the skipper

• May captain a yacht and manage the crew.
• Communication with the crew.
• Delegation of responsibility and organisation of the watch
• Preparing the yacht for sea and adverse weather conditions.
• Tactics for adverse weather conditions and restricted visibility.
• Emergency and distress situations.
• Provisioning for cruising and feeding at sea.
• Customs procedures
• Rules of conduct and courtesy.

Navigation

• Charts, navigational publications and sources of navigational information.
• Charts including position fixing and course setting to allow for tidal current and room for manoeuvre.
• Tide and tidal stream calculations.
• Beacons and visual aids to navigation.
• Instruments including compasses, logbooks, echo sounders, radio navigation aids and chart instruments.
• Passage planning and navigation tactics.
• Technical handling
• Navigational logs
• Limits of navigational accuracy and safety margins.
• Lee’s coastal hazards
• Use of electronic aids to navigation for passage planning and navigation.x
• Use of waypoints and electronic routing

Meteorology

• Definition of terms
• Sources of weather forecasts.
• Weather systems and local weather effects.
• Interpretation of weather forecasts, barometric trends and visible phenomena.
• Ability to make passage planning decisions based on forecast information.

Signals

• Offshore Yacht Master and Coastal Skipper candidates must hold the Restricted Certificate of Competency (VHF only) in radiotelephony or a higher degree certificate in radiotelephony.