RYA Yachtmaster – Preparation and Exam

Do you want to work as a commercial skipper? Fancy a life on the water instead of your 9-5?

The RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Coastal / Offshore Sail is the certificate of competence needed to work anywhere in the world as a commercial skipper!

Next available Prep week – 26-30 Oct, 2026
Next available exam – 2-4 Nov, 2026

To achieve RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore/Coastal certificate of competence, you will need to attend a 1-3 day exam where you will be examined on your navigation, seamanship and sailing skills to the highest standard. This qualification allows you to be the skipper of a sailing yacht up to 24m in length, up to 200gt and operate 150nm from a safe haven Because of this, all candidates must posses an exceptionally high knowledge of sailing and maritime knowledge. Click here to be redirected to the RYA webpage outlining all pre-requisites required before applying for the Yachtmaster Exam.

In addition to the RYA-mandated prerequisites, Southern Cross Yachting requires all candidates to have completed the RYA Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Theory and RYA Coastal Skipper Practical courses before attending the exam through our training centre. If you don’t have this experience, please contact our office to discuss the best pathway for you.

Before undertaking the RYA Yachtmaster Exam, a compulsory preparation week will assess your strengths and weaknesses and coach you in the areas needed to pass. This prep runs over 4–5 days, is non-liveaboard, and includes a night sail on at least one evening. All students must arrive for the prep week with a comprehensive understanding of navigation, sailing, and seamanship – the prep is designed to refine existing skills, not to teach new ones. The content is tailored to the candidates onboard but, in our experience, most prep weeks focus on:

• Passage planning

• Man overboard recovery

• Close-quarters handling

• Skippering techniques

• Navigation in restricted visibility

• Pilotage

• International Collision Regulations (IRPCS)

Your instructor will provide regular debriefs throughout the week to help you focus on any weaker areas.

After the prep week, candidates generally have a couple of days to rest, review, and provision the yacht as part of the lead-up to the exam.

During the exam, your RYA-accredited examiner can ask you to explain or demonstrate anything from the Yachtmaster exam syllabus to a professional level. This can be found as a downloadable PDF at the top of this page. From our experience, we recommend all candidates study the RYA Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Theory course in depth prior to attending the prep week — with a strong focus on IRPCS.

If you’d like more information about the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Exam, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly office team.