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RYA Yachtmaster Ocean
The ocean level, and the only one that still requires you to find your position by sextant.
Yachtmaster Ocean is aimed at ocean passage-making.
The current RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory course covers:
RYA lists around 40 hours plus examination time for the shorebased theory component.
- Who it suits
- Sailors who have completed a qualifying ocean passage and want it formally recognised.
- What it is not
- Not a taught course in the usual sense — the passage and the astro work come first.
Primary source: RYA training. Course structures and prerequisites can change; confirm the current version with the training body and school.
The course in context
Yachtmaster Ocean focuses on the knowledge and experience needed for ocean passages, including celestial navigation and the preparation behind a voyage far from immediate assistance. It is not simply an Offshore practical exam conducted farther out to sea, and a shorebased Ocean course alone is not the Certificate of Competence.
Before you start
Read the RYA’s current eligibility and qualifying-passage requirements before arranging a voyage. Your role aboard, the passage characteristics and the navigation evidence matter. Discuss what records you must keep while at sea; reconstructing required evidence afterwards may not be possible.
Skills you will develop
Ocean preparation
Consider the yacht, stores, crew and routines as a whole. Long passages make small weaknesses in planning or maintenance more consequential because alternatives are less accessible.
Celestial navigation
Understand the observations, calculations and checks used to obtain a position without relying solely on satellite navigation. The objective is reasoned navigation evidence, not just operating a sextant.
Passage review
Explain decisions made during the qualifying voyage and connect them to weather, navigation and seamanship. Your own participation is central to that account.
Training and assessment
The examination has oral and written elements, with exemptions possible under the current rules. Confirm your route with the RYA or an appropriate centre. Theory study, a qualifying passage and the certificate examination are related but distinct requirements.
Questions to ask the school
- Will my proposed passage qualify?
- What observation records must I produce?
- Which exam elements apply to my existing qualifications?
Related learning
Other RYA courses
RYA Sailing Pathway
The whole RYA cruising route in order, and where you are allowed to skip a step.
RYA Cruising Level 1: Start Sailing
A short introduction aboard a small cruising yacht — the shortest way to find out whether yachting suits you.
RYA Cruising Level 2: Basic Skills
The follow-on from Level 1, adding real boat handling on a small cruising yacht.
RYA Start Yachting
Two days aboard a cruising yacht, for complete beginners who want a genuine taste of yachting.
RYA Day Skipper Theory
The classroom half of Day Skipper: charts, tides, buoyage, collision regulations and passage planning.
RYA Day Skipper Practical Sailing
Five days in which you stop being crew and start being the person responsible for the boat.
RYA Coastal Skipper Practical
Skippering beyond familiar water and beyond daylight — longer passages, night pilotage, heavier weather.
RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore Theory
The advanced shorebased course: tidal work, passage planning, meteorology and collision regulations at Yachtmaster depth.
Australian schools using RYA
These schools advertise training under the RYA system. This does not confirm that every school currently runs RYA Yachtmaster Ocean; check the current course list directly.
Which course should you actually book?
Three questions — your experience, the boat you want to sail, and your goal — give you a starting course and the schools that teach it near you.