The Yachtmaster Coastal or Offshore Prep Week prepares experienced sailors for the Yachtmaster Offshore or Yachtmaster Coastal Exam. This is not a teaching course, but rather a preparation course with review of your existing skills and polishing it to RYA standards. The Prep Week is held over a period of 5 consecutive days on board, with daytime and night time navigation.
During the week we review your existing sailing experience while developing additional skills to manage the vessel using RYA principles and practices to the appropriate level of competence. Areas covered include but are not limited to: sailing of the vessel in different weather conditions, Man Over Board exercises, safety and emergency procedures, leadership and management of the crew, provisioning, navigation exercises such as blind navigation and passage planning, a review of the functioning of the diesel engine, radar, and other situations one might encounter as a skipper. We will review relevant theory such as the International Rules for Preventing Collisions at Sea, communications, navigation and various terminology.
From our base in Antigua, you will sail out of Jolly Harbour and practise navigating in St. Johns Harbour, around the north of the island to Long Island and then back down to Falmouth and English Harbour. Daily practice will also include docking in different conditions. Do not expect to log a 60 mile passage during this practice week, or to have many miles added to your logbook, as we concentrate on skippering skills and not distances.
All of our practical sailing courses are limited to four students on board. This allows us to give you maximum individual attention and for our instructors to create a bespoke sailing experience for each and every one of our students.
Groups of 5 can be accommodated on our Dufour 44’ should you wish to book together and enjoy the course as part of a larger group.
We often schedule complementary courses, should you need them, prior to or immediately following the Offshore/Coastal Prep Week, such as
RYA First Aid,
RYA SRC Radio
RYA Diesel Engine
RYA Radar
As you complete the week, you will continue to the RYA Yachtmaster Exam, which we try to schedule after a one or two day break following the course. At our school, we require proof of completion of the RYA Coastal Skipper/ Yachtmaster offshore theory course before enrolling in the YM Prep course. We recommend completing the theory course online (the most convenient option) or in the classroom beforehand.
Prerequisites to sit for the RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Exam (completed in the last 10 years)
- 800 Nautical Miles of which minimum 400 in tidal waters
- These may be reduced to 400nm of which minimum 200 in tidal waters if you hold a RYA Coastal Skipper Certificate of Completion
- 2 days as skipper
- 12 night hours
- 30 days at sea
- SRC/VHF Radio Certification
- First Aid Certification within the last two years
- 17 years old at time of exam
- You can order paper or e-books on RYA SHOP – it is not mandatory, but there are several books that might be very usefull before and during your preparation.
Prerequisites to sit for the Yachtmaster Offshore Exam are: (completed in the last 10 years)
- 2,500 Nautical Miles of which 1,250 in tidal waters
- 5 passages of more than 60 miles of which 2 as skipper
- 2 overnight passages
- 50 days at sea
- SRC/VHF Radio Certification
- First Aid Certification within the last two years
- You can order paper or e-books on RYA SHOP – it is not mandatory, but there are several books that might be very useful before and during your preparation.
Once you have obtained your RYA Yachtmaster Offshore/Coastal certificate of competence, you can request the Commercial Endorsement. We can help you with the process and advise on the Professional Practices & Responsibilities (PPR) course, which is one of the requirements for this Endorsement.
