The RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence is one of the most useful and credible of all yachting qualifications. It thoroughly tests your ability as a skipper, and can therefore appear daunting to potential candidates. Our RYA Yachtmaster Preparation course aims to refine your existing skills and abilities as a skipper and sailor. We will assess and work on skippering and navigational techniques, close quarter sailing skills, man overboard recovery, pilotage, passage planning and much more. At the start of the week the instructor will assess your abilities, strengths and weaknesses, through coaching and practise during the five days these areas will be strenghtened. You will be debriefed on a daily basis and through discussion any areas which require improvement will be the focus. With practice and thorough preparation, you should be able to relax sufficiently to let your skills shine through any exam nerves.
Our preparation course takes place over 5 days with FREE use of the yacht at the end of the course for the exam, (this could be up to 2 days for 3 candidates). There will be a maximum of 3 students ensuring you get sufficient expert instruction and practise time. All of our courses are all inclusive (NO HIDDEN EXTRA COSTS), see below for details. Whilst we will do our very utmost to prepare you we want you to have the best chance of achieving your Yachtmaster ticket and with that in mind we recommend that you read the pre-course requirements and skills below.
Course Information
- 5 days Top Notch Tuition!!
- Accommodation on board
- All food on board - three meals a day plus snacks and refreshments
- Home baked tray bake (when Lou is able!)
- All mooring fees and marina costs
- Use of waterproof clothing
- Use of personal safety equipment
- Any incurred fuel costs
- International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
- Safety
- Boat Handling
- Pilotage in good and restricted visibilty
- Passage planning plus passage making considerations
- General seamanship, including maintenance
- Responsibilities of the Skipper
In addition you should have the following experience:
Yachtmaster Coastal
- 800 logged miles (reduced to 400 if you already hold the Coastal Skipper Certificate)
- 30 days sea time
- 2 days as Skipper
- 2,500 logged miles
- 50 days sea time
- 5 days as Skipper
- 5 passages of over 60 miles including 2 overnight and 2 as Skipper
You should hold the VHF Operator's Certificate and a First Aid Certificate.
- Execute MOB under sail
- Pick up a mooring buoy under sail in various conditions of wind and tide
- Leave a mooring buoy under sail in various conditions of wind and tide
- Drop the anchor under sail in various conditions of wind and tide
- Weigh the anchor under sail in various conditions of wind and tide
- Reef sails under sail
- Handle a boat in confined areas under sail and power
How do I Book?
Check out the available course dates and then contact us or book online. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact Lou or Jim for more information.
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Testimonials
A great sailing weekend with Nomad with bespoke training tailored around our specific requests. Very approachable, great fun, and super-flexible to adapt around what we wanted and the prevailing weather conditions. I've also done various RYA courses with Nomad which have all been great - THE place to go for Day Skipper, Comp Crew, Yachtmaster training whether on the water or in the classroom
Jim and Lou Barden are fantastic instructors. I've now done competent crew and Day skipper with them as well as some other sailing. They factor in diets, nice marinas, tailored training, and social activities (pubs in the evening!).
I wouldn't go anywhere else for my Yachtmaster training.
I recently completed my coastal skipper theory with Jim from Nomad, in a well structured course conveniently located in central London. I've subsequently been out in the Solent with them, benefitting from fantastic downwind sail training by Lou. Yachtmaster arranged with them for next year, they were really flexible in our planning for this.