Celestial navigation and advanced offshore planning for global passages.
Take your navigation knowledge beyond coastal waters and learn the skills needed to navigate offshore and across oceans. The RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory course covers celestial navigation, advanced passage planning and worldwide meteorology — providing the intellectual foundation for serious offshore sailing and ocean passages.
What Will You Learn?
The Yachtmaster Ocean Theory course combines traditional and modern navigational skills used for offshore and ocean voyages. You’ll gain depth in:
- Celestial navigation — star sights, sun, moon and planet position fixing
- Sextant use and theory — accurate measurement and sight reduction
- Celestial plotting techniques — time correction, LOPs, and DR/ADRS
- Advanced passage planning — long-range routing and risk management
- Ocean meteorology — global weather systems and forecasting
- Ocean tactics — currents, gyres, doldrums and tropical weather
- Use of electronic navigation aids in blue-water contexts
- Safety, redundancy and long passage preparedness
This course blends traditional methods with modern tools, giving you confidence for extended offshore passages anywhere in the world.
Read the full RYA syllabus
For candidates who are progressing towards a MCA Masters 200, the final exam must be invigilated at an RYA training centre.
Our student instructor ratio is a maximum of 6:1. This allows us to give you maximum individual attention and for our instructors to create a bespoke classroom experience for each and every one of our students.
Who Is This Course For?
The RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory course is for sailors who:
- Want to navigate beyond coastal waters and into offshore and ocean cruising
- Are preparing for offshore passages, blue-water challenges, or long-distance delivery work
- Want competency in celestial navigation and advanced passage planning
- Enjoy mastering both traditional and modern navigation techniques
This course is advanced theory, not an introductory navigation class. A solid grounding in coastal navigation and meteorology (i.e., RYA Day Skipper Theory and RYA Coastal Skipper Theory) is assumed.
Pre-Requisites
To gain the most from this course you should already have:
- A firm understanding of coastal navigation, tides and weather
- Familiarity with basic chartwork and electronic aids
There is no minimum sea miles requirement for the theory class itself, but strong navigation fundamentals will help you assimilate ocean-specific concepts more easily.
Price and Availability
Typically delivered over five days (plus the exam on the sixth day) in a shorebased format at our Antigua location or you can also complete the RYA Ocean Theory online for flexibility before joining practical courses.
Price:
- Classroom version: USD $1,520 per person
- Online version: USD $499 per person
You can find the availability on our online booking platform here. If you don’t see the dates you want, contact us and we may be able to move course around or put you on the waiting list for your specific dates.
Classroom course availability varies by season—book early to secure your preferred dates.
What to Do Next?
You can now undertake the qualifying passages and exam for the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate of Competence, the highest RYA award, demonstrating the experience and competence to skipper a vessel of up to 200gt on passages of any length in all parts of the world.
You can also:
- Undertake independent blue-water sailing and deliveries
- Work towards fully commercial certifications, including the MCA Master 200
Completing this course gives you the confidence and competence to tackle planning and navigation for extended offshore and ocean passages with accuracy and foresight.
