YACHTMASTER PREPARATION WEEK AT SEA
A week of intensive preparation, fine tuning your sailing, navigation and skippering skills (ends with a two day MCA exam)
Introduction
To attain the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore candidates must pass a practical examination of their sailing and skippering ability. You must show that you can skipper a yacht on extended offshore passages by day or night, safely and competently, dealing with any issues as they arise.
At the start of the week, you will be assessed on your strengths and weaknesses, and then the remainder of the week we will work with you toimprove your practical siling skills and refresh your theory knowlege… In particular, we are likely to focus on: passage planning, recovery of a casualty overboard recovery, close-quarters boat handling, skippering techniques, navigation in restricted visibility, pilotage and knowledge of the International Collision Regulations.
Before joining the course, you must have Theory knowledge to the standard of the Yachtmaster Shorebased Theory Course, plus RYA Coastal Skipper or equivalent practical levels of skill and
experience.
During the exam at the end of the week, the examiner will ask each candidate to skipper the yacht on several short passages and complete various demonstrations of their skippering and sailing ability over the course of the weekend, including all aspects of the Yachtmaster Theory
Course..
Previous experience required
Sea time 50 days, 5 days as skipper, 2,500 miles logged within 10 years prior, 5 passages of
over 60 miles including 2 overnight and 2 as skipper (Half the qualifying seatime must have
been conducted in tidal waters). VHF radio operators certificate and a valid first aid certificate.
SUMMARY
Duration
5 days (Mon - Fri) or three weekends
Preparation: 4 days in the local area, starting at 9am on Mondays.
Exam: 8 hours per candidate (Friday and Saturday). As the Exam may run into Saturday evening, it is not advised to make any travel
arrangements before Sunday
Location
Ría de Vigo, NW Spain. Based in Monte Real Club Yates Baiona.
Price
950€
- Intensive preparation for the RYA/MCA Coastal or Offshore exam
- Experts hints, tips and skills polishing
- Practice exam session
- Formal MCA exam at 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 spend the full course living on the yacht, with all meals provided. One of the expert Julio Verne Nautica instructors will work through the full syllabus with you, covering everything you need to know to be a competent and useful crew member on any future yachts you sail on.
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 place to learn to sail
The Rias are easily one of the best sailing grounds in the world, with its huge variety of locations, sheltered water, smoth tides, and lots of fishing ships moving by. As we describe in our Rias Baixas overview, this really is 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 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 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.
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)
Safety
- Candidates will be expected to know what safety equipment should be carried onboard 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 to:
- Safety harnesses
- Lifejackets
- Distress flares
- Fire prevention and fighting
- Liferafts Knowledge of rescue procedures
- Helicopter rescue
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 and unberthing situations in various conditions of wind and tide
- Recovery of casualty overboard
- Towing under open sea conditions and in confined areas
- Boat handling in confined areas under sail
- Boat handling in heavy weather
- Helmsmanship and sail trim to sail to best advantage
- Use of warps for securing in an alongside berth and for shifting berth or winding
General Seamanship, including maintenance
- Properties, use and care of synthetic fibre ropes
- Knots
- General deck-work at sea and in harbour
- Engine operations and routine checks
- Improvisation of jury rigs following gear failure
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
- Victualling for a cruise and feeding at sea
- Customs procedures
- Standards of behaviour and courtesy
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 waypoints and electronic routeing
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
- 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.
FREQUENT ASKED QUESTIONS
In order to provide you with all the information that we can offer you, you can find in this section the answers to the most frequently asked questions.
What time does my sailing course start and finish?
Start: 1830hrs on Friday and Sunday
Finish: 1600hrs on Friday and Sunday (approximate time)
Do I need insurance?
No, Julio Verne Nautica has full public liability insurance.
Travel and personal property insurance recomended.
Where will be sail to?
You will be sailing in the Rias baixas, which is one of the best training grounds available. You may visit some of the well-known harbours and anchorages as Islas Atlanticas National Park.
Will we get off the boat?
Most nights you can jump off the boat to stretch your legs asore and enjoy Spanish hospitality ashore. Some nights we may be at a quiet anchorage.
How many students will there be on the boat?
We take a maximum of 5 students per boat.
Will I be cooking?
Part of learning to sail is learning how to live aboard a yacht. All chores, including cooking, are shared equally between all students and the instructor. Don’t worry – there’s a set menu and lots of help at hand!
Will I be sharing a cabin?
It may be necessary for you to share a cabin. Couples and friends will normally share. If you are coming on a course on your own there is a possibility you will have to share a cabin but this would only be with someone of the same sex.
Can you cater for dietary requirements?
We can accommodate basic dietary requirements such as vegetarians and minor food allergies. If you have any concerns, please check with us before booking.
