RYA Yachtmaster Offshore / Ocean

In September 2019 I decided to sit the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Practical exam. Having sailed for more than 35,000NM many people have asked me why? Well, after 30 years of running, performing and touring with Bash Street Theatre I have decided to take a break and become a professional sailor. I would like to develop a mixture of teaching, yacht delivery and charter work. I would love to be a skipper on classic charter boats, and also teach on gaff rig boats (in between sailing on Island Swift) and to do this I needed to pass the Yachtmaster.

I decided to take the course with Cornwall Cruising because they are based in Falmouth, not far away from my home in Penzance. After sailing gaff rigged boats for most of my life, it was going to be a different sailing experience on a Beneteau 35. I chose to do this on a modern boat because I wanted to have that extra experience. I spent a week brushing up on my navigation, secondary ports and such, and then joined the boat on a Sunday evening. 

Coming from my block-an'-tackle, all-over-the-deck world of traditional sailing, I was looking forward to an 'easy' cockpit-bound week using winches, cockpit-led halyards, as well as a fridge and pressurised water (hot water, even). But, of course, I knew this was not going to be anything like a holiday. The instructor worked us hard all week, and of course, there was question after question.
"How do you calculate the minimum depth to anchor?"

"What light does an isolated danger mark show?" 

"What do three short horn blasts mean?" - and this went on through lunch and supper. No time to rest.

Then, there were the sailing 'party tricks' - blind navigation and night navigation - things we don't usually do while cruising. It was great fun. Suddenly you are given a few minutes to prepare, then you have to navigate the boat from position A to B 'in fog'. To simulate this, you are sent below to the chart table. All you are told is the depth of water. You relay to the helmsman above, the compass course and speed under motor. Mainly it is about contour navigation. For night navigation you are given a series of waypoints to which you have to navigate, using navigation lights, transits and sectors. This was also fun to do and watch.

Sadly, it was not great weather, with strong winds all week, and we lost one day which was particularly stormy. We spent this time on theory, all useful stuff, but I needed that missing day to become more familiar with this new boat. Unfortunately, there were more gales forecast for the exam day, so it was postponed. This was frustrating, but it gave me more preparation time. It had been a cold, wet and tiring week, but very rewarding.

I went home, recovered in the warmth, did some more revision, and returned a week later to redo the prep course. Like the week before, we practiced 'man overboard' drills and picking up a buoy under sail, which I really enjoyed. I was feeling much more confident as I got to know the boat more, but started to get nervous as the exam day drew near. In fact it was a two day exam, because there were four of us doing it.  

Day One

The examiner arrived, checked our logbooks and took our application forms. With four candidates being examined together, the process was that any one of us could be selected at any time to complete a task as skipper. This meant that I was constantly on edge - mentally preparing myself to take control when asked.
When it was my turn, I was asked to sail back to Falmouth, pick up a buoy under sail, and then anchor off Falmouth under sail. All went smoothly. I pointed out that it was a lee shore, but was asked to anchor anyway.  After some night navigation, we arrived back at the marina with the first day over.

Day Two

I guessed that it might be my turn to motor out of the marina so I was prepared when the examiner asked me to. Most of my experience of manoeuvring under motor has been on long keel boats, which is completely different from a fin keeler. This went well, and I had just given a sigh of relief, when the examiner asked me to 'park' in a different finger berth, which I also completed successfully. The rest of the day was filled with doing various other manoeuvres, including man overboard and blind navigation. When we were safely moored up, we went through our passage plans and we were asked lots of questions on many elements of the syllabus. We did not have to wait long before we were told that we had all passed. Hurray!

On reflection, the exam was more straightforward than the intensive preparation weeks. The hardest part was not knowing who was to be skipper next, and having to be mentally prepared for this at all times. The experience has made me a better skipper and enabled me to practice skills in a different way than when cruising. It was a great experience and I highly recommend it.

Update
May 2020 I took and passed the Yachtmaster Ocean oral exam, based on our passage from Antigua to Horta in 2016.
March 2020 Cruising Instructor course cancelled after 24 hours! No idea when I will be able to take it now.

P.S. I would love to have shown some photos, but I was too busy to take any.

November 2019