Coastal Skipper

RYA Yachtmaster Coastal 

This is run over 3 weeks, the first 2 are spent milebuilding followed with a "skills & drill" preparation week prior to taking the exam. It is recommended you have completed your Yachtmaster Theory Course before arriving at our training centre as this will allow us to focus on the practical side of your training. We can help you with this is you have not already completed the theory. 

During this course you will cover 800 nautical miles. You should have completed 30 days at sea on vessels less than 24M skippered for at least 2 days and 8 night hours.

You will start and finish in Gibraltar - 

What's Included

  • Fuel 
  • Marina fees
  • Light meals at sea......breakfast, Lunch, snacks, and drinks (evening meals are not included).
  • Accommodation is onboard one of our motor boats for the duration of the course. Bedding and towels are also supplied.
  • Course Material

*Please note that exam fees are not included in our course fee - Current price is £208 and payable direct to the RYA on line


Previous Experience

RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Theory [not mandatory but highly recommended]


Coastal Skipper Practical Syllabus

Passage planning 

  • Can plan a coastal passage including a consideration of the capability of the vessel, navigation, victualing, weather, ports of refuge, tidal heights and tidal streams.
  • Knowledge of publications required and strategy
  • Knows local Customs procedures

 Preparation for Sea 

  • Is aware of safety equipment required for offshore passages
  • Can prepare a cruising vessel for sea including stowage, safety briefing, watch keeping, delegating responsibilities and equipment and engine checks

 Pilotage 

  • Can prepare a pilotage plan, with consideration of soundings, transits, clearing bearings, buoyage, port or harbour regulations and tidal considerations
  • Can pilot a cruising vessel by day and night

 Passage Making and Ability as Skipper 

  • Can take charge of a cruising vessel and direct the crew
  • Can organise the navigation, deckwork and domestic duties of a cruising vessel on passage
  • Is aware of the significance of meteorological trends
  • Is aware of crew welfare on passage
  • Can use electronic navigational equipment for planning and undertaking a passage, including the use of waypoints and routes

 Boat Handling Under Power 

  • How to identify and take into account wind and current conditions when planning and executing manoeuvres
  • Can control the cruising vessel effectively in a confined space under power, including all berthing and un-berthing situations
  • Pick up a mooring buoy 
  • Avoid excessive use of power
  • Additional for twin engine vessels: berth and un-berth in simple situations using one engine, including the correct use of lines

 Adverse Weather Conditions 

  • How to handle a vessel in strong winds
  • General conduct in restricted visibility
  • Prepare a cruising vessel for heavy weather
  • Navigate in restricted visibility

 Emergency Situations 

  • The actions to be taken when abandoning to a liferaft, and during helicopter and lifeboat rescues
  • How to carry out the aftercare requirements on a casualty who has been in the water
  • Describe to a crew member the effects of cold-water shock on a casualty who has been in the water
  • Recover a man overboard under power

Conversion from sail to power

RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Conversion from Sail to Motor

Convert your RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Sail to Yachtmaster Power
Holders of the RYA Yachtmaster Coastal or Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence are eligible for a “discount” in terms of the mileage and sea time that is required for the exam. In this course, we cover the necessary 1250 nautical miles. We run this course over 4 weeks. the first 3 weeks are spent milebuilding followed by a "skills & drills" preparation week, prior to taking the exam.

It is recommended you have completed your Yachtmaster Theory Course [not mandatory].

You will start and finish your course Gibraltar In short

What's Included

  • Fuel
  • Marina fees
  • Light meals at sea......breakfast, Lunch, snacks, and drinks (evening meals are not included).
  • Accommodation is onboard one of our motor boats for the duration of the course. Bedding and towels are also supplied.
  • Course Material

*Exam fees are not included in our course fee. - Current price is £241 and paid directly to the RYA. 

Previous Experience Required

A holder of an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal or Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence for Sail

Exam Syllabus

The examination will include an assessment of the candidate's skippering skills, boat handling, general seamanship, navigation, safety awareness and knowledge of the IRPCS (collision regulations), meteorology and signals. 
The examiner will set tasks for the candidates to demonstrate their ability as skipper and can be asked questions on any part of the RYA syllabus for all practical and shorebased courses up to Yachtmaster Offshore level. For the full Yachtmaster Syllabus please refer to our Yachtmaster Offshore page. 

Depending on the number of candidates, practical exam times range between 8-16 hours and can run over 2 days 

Yachtmaster Offshore Prep + exam Courses

RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Prep & Exam 

The duration of the preparation is 4 days followed by a 1 to 2 days exam depending on the number of candidates. The 4-day “skills & drills” is quite intense as we look to tweak your knowledge and ability and fill in any gaps or improve any weaknesses. The duration of the exam is 8 to 12 hours per candidate in which you will have to demonstrate a wide breadth of existing knowledge and skippering skills. You will start and finish your course in Gibraltar. 

What's Included

  • Fuel
  • Marina fees
  • Light meals at sea..breakfast, Lunch, snacks, and drinks (evening meals are not included).
  • Accommodation is onboard one of our motor boats for the duration of the course. Bedding is also supplied.
  • Course Material

 *Please note that exam fees are not included in our course fee - Current price is £241 and is payable direct to the RYA. 

Previous Experience Required: 

  • 50 days at sea
  • 5 days as skipper
  • 2500 miles logged
  • 5 passages of over 60 miles including 2 overnight and 2 as skipper (Half the qualifying seatime must have been conducted in tidal waters).
  • SRC/VHF radio operators certificate
  • valid First Aid certificate
  • Minimum age is 18

We highly recommend that you have attended an RYA 1 day Radar course. 


Yachtmaster Offshore Exam Syllabus 
Candidates may be given the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge of competence in the areas listed below. In each section the examiner will expect to see the candidate take full responsibility for the management of the yacht and crew. In Yachtmaster Offshore exams the candidate will be expected to demonstrate competence based on broad experience. 

1. International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea Questions will be confined to the International Regulations and although candidates must be aware of the existence of Local Regulations, they will not be expected to memorise specific local regulations. 

  • General rules (1-3)
  • Steering and sailing rules (4-19)
  • Lights and shapes (20-31)
  • Sound and light signals (32-37)
  • Signals for vessels fishing in close proximity (Annex II) D
  • Distress signals (Annex IV)

2. Safety 
Candidates will be expected to know what safety equipment should be carried on board a yacht, based either on the recommendations in the RYA Boat Safety Handbook (C8), the ISAF Special Regulations or the Codes of Practice for the safety of Small Commercial Vessels. In particular, candidates must know the responsibilities of a skipper in relation: 

  • Safety harnesses
  • Lifejackets
  • Distress flares
  • Fire prevention and fighting
  • Liferafts Knowledge of rescue procedures
  • Helicopter rescue

3. Boat Handling  
Candidates for Coastal Skipper examinations will be expected to answer questions or demonstrate ability in simple situations only. Candidates for Yachtmaster Offshore will be expected to answer questions or demonstrate ability in more complex situations and will also be expected to show a higher level of expertise: Coming to and weighing anchor under power or sail in various conditions of wind and tide. All berthing situations in various conditions of wind and tide Recovery of man overboard. Towing under open sea conditions and in confined areas Boat handling in confined areas. Boat handling in heavy weather. Use of warps for securing in an alongside berth and for shifting berth or winding 

4. General Seamanship, including maintenance  

  • Properties, use and care of synthetic fiber ropes
  • Knots
  • General deck-work at sea and in harbour
  • Engine operations - routine checks and service requirements
  • Improvisation of jury rigs following failure

5. Responsibilities of skipper  

  • Can skipper a yacht and manage the crew
  • Communication with crew
  • Delegation of responsibility and watch-keeping organisation
  • Preparing yacht for sea and for adverse weather
  • Tactics for heavy weather and restricted visibility
  • Emergency and distress situations
  • Victualing for a cruise and feeding at sea
  • Knows local Customs procedures
  • Standards of behavior and courtesy

6. Navigation  

  • Charts, navigational publications and sources of navigational information
  • Chartwork including position fixing and shaping course to allow for tidal stream and leeway
  • Tide and tidal stream calculations
  • Buoyage and visual aids to navigation
  • Instruments including compasses, logs, echo sounders, radio navaids and chartwork instruments
  • Passage planning and navigational tactics
  • Pilotage techniques
  • Navigational records
  • Limits of navigational accuracy and margins if safety
  • Lee shore dangers
  • Use of electronic navigation aids for passage planning and passage navigation
  • Use of Radar and electronics 

7. 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

8. Signals  

  • Candidates for Yachtmaster Offshore and Coastal Skipper must hold the Restricted (VHF only) Certificate of Competence in radiotelephony or a higher grade of certificate in radio telephony.