Ocean Graduate Plus

Aim

A 23-week programme to develop professional mariners, with the qualifications, practical sailing experience and engineering skills to work as skippers of small and large ocean going sail and motor yachts.

Duration

23 weeks

Pre-requisite experience

The course includes all the mileage and training necessary, all that we ask is that
you have enough boating experience to know that you want a life at sea.

Beyond RYA/MCA Yachtmaster

The programme develops and consolidates the practical sailing skills, background engineering and theoretical knowledge needed to gain the coveted RYA/MCA Yachtmaster (Ocean) certificate with commercial endorsement. STCW 95 training is included, as is preparation for the MCA Master 200 examination.

Ocean passages

It’s essential to gain ocean passage making experience and qualifications in order to skipper commercially operated yachts on passages over 150 miles from port. The Ocean Graduate includes three weeks of overseas experience, during which candidates complete at least one 600-mile passage to qualify for Yachtmaster Ocean. This passage gives students the opportunity to put their yacht management skills into practice on an ocean passage, as well as taking the celestial navigation sights needed for the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Ocean qualification.

Self skippering

To become a fully-rounded skipper, the right amount of experiential sailing, balanced with the right amount of instruction and coaching is essential. We call our experiential learning ‘self-skippering’, developing your command skills and confidence to a high degree of competency.

Practical engineering and yacht maintenance skills

The systems aboard modern yachts are increasingly technical so a crew member’s engineering skills are every bit as important as command and seamanship knowledge. This balance of skills is an essential part of our Maritime Academy ethos – we have first-rate shore-based facilities and some of the best instructors in the business. The programme will develop your skills and knowledge of all aspects of yacht maintenance, including propulsion systems, electrics and electronics, refrigeration and air conditioning, GRP repairs and rigging.

Opening the widest employment opportunities

Professional skippers holding professional-level power and sail qualifications can make swift progress in their careers aboard both sail and motor yachts. This programme includes tuition aboard motor yachts, including twin-engine control and high-speed navigation. Successful Ocean Graduate students gain an internationally recognised commercially endorsed command level qualification for motor vessels.

Successful candidates will gain qualifications to

Command sail and motor yachts up to 24m
Work as crew on sail and motor yachts up to 3000gt
Work as chief engineer on sail and motor yachts (engine and mileage limitations apply)

Syllabus

70-day's sea time, including:

Full training towards MCA Master 200gt
Ocean voyaging
Celestial navigation
At least 3,000 miles of practical experience at sea
600 mile Yachtmaster Ocean qualifying passages
Motor yacht tuition
Tender handling, including RYA Powerboat Level 2 course
Food preparation, hygiene, victualing, budgeting and petty cash controls

Preparation for RYA/MCA Yachtmaster/Coastal Skipper practical exams, including:

Close-quarters handling under power and sail
Skippering and command skills
Navigation and chart work
Electronic navigation aids
Pilotage by day and night
Navigation in restricted visibility
Meteorology

Shore based training

Yacht systems

Pumps, water makers, refrigeration
Heating and air conditioning
Black and grey water systems
Boat electrics, including generators and batteries
GRP repair, varnishing, paintwork, anti-foul
Rigging, rope work, winch servicing, sail repair
Propulsion systems, stern gear, hydraulic operation, outboard motors

Navigation and electronic aids

Transas Interactive Bridge Simulation, including Electronic Chart Display Information System (ECDIS) and Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA)
Computer simulated radar training / on board radar navigation and collision avoidance
Use of other navigational aids including GPS, log, depth
Ship-to-shore communications using GMDSS compliant Long and Short Range Radio and Inmarsat C
Ocean currents and ocean meteorology
Use of sextant and sight reduction

Yacht management

Guest care and shipmasters’ business
Stability and construction standards

Qualifications

Successful candidates will gain the following qualifications:

RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Ocean
RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore (Sail)
RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore (Power) or Coastal Skipper (Power) (1)
Commercial Endorsement for Yachtmaster / Coastal Skipper Certificates (2)
DTI CEPT Long Range Radio Certificate
GMDSS General Operators Certificate
MCA Ship Security Officer

STCW 95 Basic Training

RYA / MCA Personal Survival Techniques
MCA Personal Safety and Social Responsibility
MCA Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting
MCA Elementary First Aid

RYA Small Craft Radar
RYA National Powerboat Level 2 certificate
RYA International Certificate of Competence (3)
RYA Diesel Engine Maintenance Certificate
MCA Approved Engine Course

The Ocean Graduate programme also includes all training necessary for MCA Master 200gt, but not the final exam. This is an oral examination that graduates can take at a time of
their choosing following the course.

Notes:

Candidates with over 1,250 tidal miles, including three skippered passages over 60 miles of which 1 is skippered and 1 is overnight, logged in a power vessel plus 21 days onboard a power vessel in advance of the course can enter for the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster (Power) exam. Candidates without the above pre-requisite experience will be entered for the Coastal Skipper (Power) exam.

£17 + plus MCA ENG1 Medical Examination

Free to RYA members –membership fee £34