Time	40 hours minimum study time.
Prerequisites	Theory knowledge up to RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore Theory
Min. Age	none
Exam	8 hours to 2 days on the water
Aim	To understand the knowledge required to skipper a vessel across Oceans.

This course is a theoretical land based course aimed at yacht skippers advancing beyond the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore level.

It is an advanced course in astro navigation, sextant use and global meteorology that gives you the background knowledge required to skipper a vessel on ocean passages.

What Does the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory Allow You to Do?

The RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory sets you up to be ready for your ocean qualifying passage and the subsequent RYA Ocean Exam.

Who Can Do an RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory?

The RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory course is open to anyone who has equivalent knowledge to that covered in the RYA Day Skipper Theory and RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory courses. There is no age limit.

If you are a complete novice to nautical sailing, then you may want to consider the RYA Essential Navigation and Seamanship course or the RYA Day Skipper Theory course is also suitable for novices.

If you are an experienced mariner with many years of experience, both skippering and taking on navigational duties but with no formal training, then you may first want to cover the RYA Fast Track to Yachtmaster course which is essentially the same as the RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory course but with extended content to bridge the gap for someone without an RYA Day Skipper Theory course completion. This will bring you up to the required theory knowledge of the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory.

Can You Go Straight to the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory Course?

A theoretical experience in line with the RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory course is required.

A practical experience in line with the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore certificate of confidence is desirable but not required.

If you have advanced practical skills but lack theoretical knowledge, then the RYA Fast Track to Yachtmaster Course might be best to do first before taking on this course.

Where Can I Do My RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory Course?

There are many thoughts on where is best, but to be truthful, it is what works for you best. 

Your 2 main options are in a classroom course or via an online provider. The 2 different types of learning suit different types of people.

Classroom courses benefit from listening to and talking to other students as well as having the instructor in front of you. Online courses benefit from being able to work at your own speed, repeat lessons and get a more in depth learning experience as you are not tied to completing the course at the end of the week.

At Ardent Training we pride ourselves on bringing the best of both of these worlds together with built in discussions on our online platform, a student forum and every single lesson being recorded in video format as well as visual and text.

How Long Does the Course Take?

The RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory is suggested to take a minimum of 40 hours of learning, plus exam time. 

How this time is shaped can vary. In online courses, you can generally work at your own speed, while in classroom environments, anything from evening classes of 2-3 hours a week to 3 weekends in a row to a 5 or 6 day course over a week is possible.

Is There a Set Syllabus?

There is indeed a syllabus. Each of the following topics represents a specific part of the learnings that will be covered on an RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory course in varying levels of detail.

Astro navigation, Astro navigational tools, sun sights, planets and the moon, stars, meteorology, communications, passage planning and making, GNSS and compass checking detail the various aspects of the syllabus.

Read on to learn in a little more detail about how each of these is covered in a little more detail.

What Will I Learn on the Course?

The RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory course covers a wide range of topics and introduces many topics and important knowledge that will be useful not only for completing an ocean qualifying passage but in preparing and passing your RYA Yachtmaster Ocean exam.

There are 3 main aspects to the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean course; Astro navigation, global meteorology and ocean passage making. A lot of the course is built around Astro navigation, but the other parts are just as important.

Within the Astro navigation, you will learn about why we use it and how we can find our position using just the sun, moon, planets or stars. 

Whilst learning about the celestial bodies, we will also focus on the basics of a sextant, time measurement and how we can use all we are doing to check our compasses as well.

An important aspect is also passage making, the various stages of it, what is different about passage plans on an ocean level and what publications and resources we need to be aware of.

On the meteorology side, we will look at how global weather evolves from the heating of the earth to creating weather systems while also looking more closely at unique weather patterns around the world, especially tropical revolving storms.

The course is in depth, and will cover many different topics and aspects that you may have seen before. While the RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore Theory were supercharging the RYA Day Skipper theory, this RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory course is on very different themes.

What Is the Cost of an RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory Course?

As ever, many schools differ in price and it is important to understand everything that is included within your course such as materials, available content and instructor help. As always, the cheapest is not often better.

At Ardent Training, our online RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory is due very soon and you can join our waiting list here.

What Is the Pass Mark for the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory Course?

There is no specific pass mark as such. The instructor aims to bring you up to a level where you have a satisfactory level of theory knowledge across the subjects covered to be able to put your new learnings into practice during your ocean qualifying passage and then to show your knowledge during your RYA Yachtmaster Ocean exam.

What Comes after RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory

After your RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory course you will want to get out on the water and complete an ocean qualifying passage. After that, with your course knowledge still fresh you will want to do your RYA Yachtmaster Ocean exam.

You can look to start gaining more miles at sea, longer ocean passages and progressing in your career as a fully fledged RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Skipper.