Yachtmaster Offshore in 2027: requirements, theory and how to prepare
Offshore Theory, written by a superyacht bosun with a commercial Yachtmaster Offshore · 2 November 2026
A Yachtmaster Offshore sat in the 2027 season is prepared this winter: the theory while the boats are laid up or in the yard, the miles once the season starts, and the exam when the sea time is complete. This guide sets out what the RYA asks for, as it publishes it today, and a plan month by month from November 2026.
What the RYA asks for
These are the pre-requisites the RYA lists for the Yachtmaster Offshore exam on its Yachtmaster Offshore page, consulted on 2 November 2026.
| Yachtmaster Offshore | |
|---|---|
| Form of exam | Practical, under sail or power. All the sea time must be on vessels of the same discipline as the exam. |
| Minimum exam duration | 8–12 hours for one candidate, 10–18 hours for two |
| Minimum age | 18 at the time of the exam |
| Sea time | Documented, on a seagoing sailing or motor yacht, in the last 10 years |
| Days at sea | 50, on yachts up to 500gt |
| Days as skipper | 5, on vessels less than 24m LOA |
| Miles | 2,500, on yachts up to 500gt |
| Passages | 5 over 60 miles long, including 2 overnight and 2 as skipper |
| Tidal waters and size | At least half the qualifying sea time in tidal waters and on vessels less than 24m LOA |
| Radio | A GMDSS compliant marine radio operator's qualification such as the RYA Short Range Certificate, or higher |
| First aid | An RYA First Aid Certificate or another valid first aid qualification |
If you already hold a Yachtmaster Offshore in the other discipline, sail or power, the RYA allows these to be reduced to 25 days at sea, 3 days as skipper, 1,250 miles and 3 passages, including 1 overnight and 1 as skipper.
What counts as a day, a passage and a skipper
The RYA's qualifying passages page defines them. A day at sea is eight consecutive hours living on board, most of them at sea; shorter periods cannot be added together, and only one counts in any 24 hours. A passage is a non-stop voyage, and its distance is the shortest navigable route: both the planned distance and the distance run have to exceed the 60 miles. The skipper is the person nominated and responsible for planning and running the passage.
Nothing here is new for 2027
Everything above is what the RYA publishes today. We do not guess at changes for 2027. Before you plan the season around it, and again before you book, check the Yachtmaster Offshore page on the RYA website for anything new.
Radio and first aid: two short courses
If you do not hold them yet, both are short. The RYA gives the Marine Radio SRC course as 10 hours plus exam time, online or in a classroom, with the exam in a classroom. The RYA First Aid course is one day in a classroom, and the RYA says it satisfies the requirement for the Yachtmaster certificates. Book them for the winter, when you have the days, and make sure the first aid certificate is still valid on the day of the exam.
The theory comes first
The practical exam assesses your skippering, boat handling, seamanship, navigation, safety awareness and your knowledge of the collision regulations, meteorology and signals, and anything in the RYA Yachtmaster Scheme Syllabus and Logbook (G158) up to and including Yachtmaster Offshore can come up. The examiner is watching you skipper; the chartwork, the tides and the weather have to be there already, so that your attention is on the boat.
The RYA's Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore theory course is the one theory course for both Yachtmasters: 40 hours plus exam time, in a classroom, online or by distance learning, starting from knowledge to the level of Day Skipper Shorebased. That is why the plan starts in November: the theory over the winter, a few hours a week, and the season left for the sea.
For what the theory covers subject by subject, read the guide to the theory exam.
The plan, month by month
From November 2026 to the 2027 season. Each month has its part of the theory, in the order the chartwork builds on itself, and its lessons and guides. If you already have the sea time, the exam can come as soon as the theory is ready.
November 2026: count the sea time, open the chart
Before any theory, set your logbook against the table above: days, miles, days as skipper, the 60-mile passages and the overnights, and how much of it was in tidal waters on boats under 24 m. What is missing is next summer's list. Then start with the chart, and direction, distance and time.
Module 01: reading a nautical chart →
Module 02: dividers, the plotter and the latitude scale →
Guide: true, magnetic and compass →
December 2026: fixing your position
Everything that needs no tide: position lines, crossing bearings and the cocked hat, dead reckoning and the running fix.
Module 03: position lines, bearings and transits →
Guide: the cocked hat and crossing bearings →
January 2027: tides
Heights at a standard port and a secondary port, springs or neaps, clearance under the keel, and the tidal streams.
Module 04: chart datum, tide levels and range →
Guide: secondary port tidal heights →
Free secondary port tidal height calculator →
February 2027: the course to steer and the almanac
The stream and the wind, the course to steer, and the move to real ports in the almanac. The SRC and the first aid course, if you still need them.
Module 05: the course to steer, the one-hour triangle →
Module 06: standard and secondary ports in the almanac →
Guide: course to steer and the tidal triangle →
March 2027: passage planning, the weather and the mock exam
All of it at once in a whole passage plan, then the forecast and the barometer, and the mock exam to find what is still weak.
Module 07: one whole plan, Boulogne to Rye →
Guide: the shipping forecast and the barometer →
All winter, alongside
The rules of the road, lights and shapes, and buoyage, a lesson at a time; they are free with no account. Safety, radar and the diesel engine go in the gaps.
Guide: navigation lights and shapes →
April to August 2027: the miles
The list from November: the passages over 60 miles you are missing, the overnights, the days as skipper on a boat under 24 m, and the sea time in tidal waters. Log each passage as you go, with the dates, the miles and your role on board, because the examiner will ask about them. When you can see the sea time being complete, book the exam.
The end of the season: the exam
The exam is usually arranged through an RYA training centre, often with a preparation course before it, and outside the UK it has to be. In the UK you can also request an examiner directly from the RYA, providing a suitable boat and crew yourself and allowing at least 10 working days for an examiner to be allocated. There is no formal course leading up to the exam, but the RYA says most candidates find a prep week extremely beneficial. The boat must be between 7 and 18 m long, with two crew on board, because the examiner takes no part in running her. See the RYA's page on arranging your exam.
Two weeks before, go back through the mock exam and the passage plan, so that the chartwork is fresh when the examiner asks for it.
If you work on superyachts
For crew on large yachts the winter is often the yard period or the quieter months between seasons, and it is the best time to do the theory: in short sessions, on a laptop or a phone, around the work on board.
Your sea time on big yachts counts, but only up to a point. The RYA counts sea time on large yachts over 24 m towards the days and the miles for up to half of the minimum, with your status on board shown by a testimonial or a seaman's discharge book. The Yachtmaster Offshore page asks for the days and the miles on yachts up to 500gt, for at least half the sea time on vessels under 24 m and in tidal waters, and for the 5 days as skipper on a vessel under 24 m. However many miles you have on a large yacht, the other half has to be planned on smaller boats.
Over 24 m and over 500gt, ask first. If your sea time is on a yacht of more than 24 m and more than 500gt, the RYA's Yachtmaster Offshore page asks you to contact it at training@rya.org.uk: check with the RYA before you count on that time.
- This winter: collect the testimonials for the time you already have, while the people who can sign them are still on board, and count what it covers.
- Between contracts or at the end of the season: the sea time on a boat under 24 m, in tidal waters, with the passages as skipper.
- In the gaps: the theory, so that it is done before the small-boat miles start.
The commercial endorsement. If you need the certificate to work on board a commercial vessel, the RYA says it has to be commercially endorsed. Its commercial endorsements page lists the Professional Practices and Responsibilities course, taken before you apply; a medical certificate, the ML5 or the ENG1 (the ENG1 for skippers working in category 1 or 0 waters); the RYA Basic Sea Survival certificate or STCW Personal Survival Techniques; and the SRC or another acceptable GMDSS radio certificate. The endorsement is valid for up to 5 years. If you already hold an ENG1 and STCW training from your work, check them against that page.
What it costs
The prep week, the exam with a training centre, the SRC and the first aid course are priced by each centre, and they change from one centre and one year to the next, so we do not print anyone else's prices. Ask the centre when you book.
Offshore Theory's full course is free for everyone with an account until 13 November 2026; sign up before then and lock the founder price, £149, for good. From 14 November it is £229, one payment.Offshore Theory's full course is £229, one payment (£149 for accounts created before 14 November). Buoyage, lights and shapes, and the rules of the road are free with no account.
Where to start
Open the chart in November, and test yourself now with the practice questions: each has the answer explained and a link to the lesson behind it. If you are still deciding between Coastal and Offshore, the Coastal vs Offshore guide sets the two side by side.
Questions
What are the requirements for the Yachtmaster Offshore exam?
The RYA asks for 18 years of age at the time of the exam; documented sea time from the last 10 years of 50 days at sea, 5 days as skipper, 2,500 miles and 5 passages over 60 miles, including 2 overnight and 2 as skipper, with at least half of it in tidal waters and on vessels under 24 m; a GMDSS radio certificate such as the RYA Short Range Certificate; and a valid first aid certificate.
Will the requirements change in 2027?
This guide gives only what the RYA publishes on its public pages as of 2 November 2026, and nothing about 2027 that the RYA has not published. Before you book, check the Yachtmaster Offshore page on the RYA website for anything new.
Does sea time on a superyacht count?
Partly. The RYA counts sea time on large yachts over 24 m towards the days and the miles for up to half of the minimum, with your status on board shown by a testimonial or a seaman's discharge book. The days and miles must be on yachts up to 500gt, at least half the sea time must be on vessels under 24 m and in tidal waters, and the days as skipper on vessels under 24 m.
Do I need the theory certificate before the practical exam?
The RYA's pre-requisites for the Yachtmaster Offshore exam are the sea time, the age, a radio certificate and a first aid certificate. But the exam can cover anything in the RYA Yachtmaster Scheme Syllabus and Logbook (G158) up to and including Yachtmaster Offshore, navigation and meteorology among it, so the theory has to be there on the day.
How long does the theory take?
The RYA gives its Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore theory course as 40 hours plus exam time. Spread from November to March, that is a few hours a week, which leaves the season for the miles.
Is Offshore Theory an RYA course?
No. Offshore Theory is independent preparation for the theory, not run by the RYA. The practical exam is arranged through an RYA training centre or, in the UK, by requesting an examiner from the RYA.
Related guides
- Yachtmaster Offshore theory exam: what's in it and how to passWhat the RYA says the theory covers, subject by subject, and a study plan.
- Yachtmaster Coastal vs Offshore theorySame theory, different practical: the requirements side by side, and online vs classroom.
- Secondary port tidal heights, step by stepTimes and heights at a secondary port from the standard port and its differences, with a worked example.
- Planning a passage, step by stepFrom the question of whether to go, through the tide at each end and the stream, to the plan on one page.