Yachtmaster Exam Preparation
Intensive preparation for RYA Yachtmaster Coastal and OffshoreThe Boat School 5-day Yactmaster Preparation course (Sail) is an intensive course to hone your practical skills before you take the the RYA Yachtmaster Coastal or Offshore exam. Depending on your skill level and experience, you can elect to take the Yachtmaster exam at the Coastal or Offshore level.
Quick facts
Here’s a summary of what you need to know.
Read the requirements carefully
The RYA is very strict about required experience
5-day intensive practical course
Hone your skills before the Yachtmaster exam
Optional 2-day theory refresher
Theory refresher course before the 5-day practical
Taught by our Chief Instructor · Sail
Taught by a qualified RYA Yachtmaster Instructor and examiner
Allow 9 days for the course & exam
2-day theory + 5-day practical + 2-day exam
Our boats
The boats we use for training are all commercially coded and inspected by the RYA. Yachtmaster candidates can rent the vessel we’ll use for the course and exam to get some extra practice before the start of the course.

The details
Click on the tabs for more detailed information.
The Boat School 5-day Yactmaster Preparation course (Sail) is an intensive course to hone your practical skills before you take the the RYA Yachtmaster Coastal or Offshore exam.
Depending on your skill level and experience, you can elect to take the Yachtmaster exam at the Coastal or Offshore level. The preparation is exactly the same; however, the requirements are different (see the tab “requirements”) and the examiner will be looking for a higher level of ability at the Offshore level. You can choose which level to apply for anytime before the actual exam date and, if you’re uncertain, your instructor can help you decide during the course.
Although the Yachtmaster exam is essentially practical, candidates are expected to demonstrate a sound knowledge of navigation (including tidal streams and heights), weather and forecasts, collision avoidance, pilotage and passage planning. For this reason, at The Boat School, we always run a 2-day theory refresher immediately before the 5-day practical course. You can opt out of this refresher, but we highly recommend doing the course even if you think your theory is up to scratch!
We will book your RYA Yachtmaster exam for dates immediately following the Prep course. In most cases, the exam will last two full days. In arranging travel, you should therefore plan to spend 7 full days with us, or 9 full days if you elect to do the theory refresher.
The Boat School course to obtain the RYA Coastal Skipper (Sail) certificate is taught in small groups with a maximum of four Yachtmaster candidates.
Is this course for me?
The Yachtmaster Certificate of Competence is the “gold standard” in sailing qualifications and, for many, the key to a career in yachting; however, you do need to check very carefully that you meet the requirements.
You can choose to complete the course either as part of an open group or you can rent a boat for the day and complete the course with family and friends.
Open groups
With an open group booking, you book a place on a course and we’ll admit up to a maximum of four students onto that same course. This is the most economical option; however, it’s also the least flexible option if your availability is limited. The price of a seat on an open course includes fuel and mooring fees away from our base.
Price per person in open group (5-day practical): €850.00
Price per person in open group (5-day practical & 2-day theory refresher): €1050.00
We schedule courses in accordance with the availability of students interested in the course. Please contact us for details of the next course.
Rental & course pack
With this option, you charter a sailing yacht and we provide the instructor and teaching materials. This option gives you maximum flexibility in terms of dates and the option to choose the boat on which you’ll be learning (subject to availability). As with any charter, you’re responsible for paying the fuel for the boat as well as mooring fees away from our home port.
Rental with tuition: please ask us for a personalised quotation
Own boat tuition
If you already own a yacht, or if you have a friend who owns a sailboat, we’re more than happy to run this course on your own boat. This option is significantly cheaper than open groups and charters; however, you do need to make sure that your boat is up to the standard required by the RYA for training.
Rental with tuition: please ask us for a personalised quotation
What’s included?
Your RYA Yachtmaster Prep course with The Boat School includes:
- Use of a coded sailboat during the course and exam
- Use of light-weight inflatable life jackets
- Cold water on the boat
- Fuel and mooring fees (open groups only)
This course includes accommodation aboard for the complete duration of the course; however, we cannot guarantee that you will have your own cabin (this depends on the type of yacht used for your course). We do guarantee:
- Couples (or friends) will have their own cabin
- Female participants will only share a cabin with other female students
- Please contact us if you have any questions about accommodation
What’s not included?
RYA examiners fee and travel expenses.
The content of the Prep course will depend on the needs of the candidates but you should expect to spend a lot of time cruising at night and carrying out various challenging boat handling exercises. The course will based around the exam syllabus in the RYA Yachtmaster Scheme Syllabus and Logbook (G158) and is intended for fine tuning existing skills rather than teaching new ones.
The exam can require you to demonstrate knowledge and competence across a very wide ranging syllabus (see Logbook G158 pages 74-76.) so the Yachtmaster preparation programme will be demanding and hard work. You can expect to be working long days and into the evening. During the Yachtmaster Prep course your instructor will frequently update you on your progress and ability and recommend which exam you should aim for – Coastal or Offshore.
Below is a list of the prerequisites you need before you can take the exam together with the documentary evidence you will need to present. This documentary evidence will be reviewed by the examiner at the start of exam. If it is not complete, the exam cannot continue. To be absolutely clear, you will not be permitted to take the exam if any of the following does not meet the required standard. However, you will still be charged for the use of the vessel, and may also be liable to cover the costs of the examiner’s time and travel.
All the information below is also available in the RYA Yachtmaster Scheme Syllabus and Logbook, (G158) available from the RYA (www.rya.org.uk).
Coastal Yachtmaster Exam
- Minimum 17 years old
- A valid radio operator’s licence (SRC -or equivalent- or higher)
- A valid current First Aid Certificate (see RYA website for acceptable certificates)
- Minimum of 800 sea miles logged within the last 10 years (half the miles logged MUST HAVE BEEN in tidal waters)
- 50% of sea time must be in vessels of 7-24m LOA
- 30 days at sea (20 days if you have completed the RYA Coastal Skipper certificate)
- 2 days as skipper
- 12 night hours
Offshore Yachtmaster Exam
- Minimum 18 years old
- A valid radio operator’s licence (SRC -or equivalent- or higher)
- A valid current First Aid Certificate (see RYA website for acceptable certificates)
- Minimum of 2500 sea miles logged within the last 10 years, of which at least 1,250 MUST HAVE BEEN in tidal waters.
- 50% of sea time must be in vessels of 7-24m LOA
- 50 days living on board
- 5 days as skipper
- 5 passages of over 60 miles . Of these you must have been skipper for a minimum of 2 passages.
- A minimum of 2 qualifying passages must have been overnight.
- Qualifying passages must have been in vessels of 7-24m LOA
Please contact us for a more detailed description of the requirements.
Book your Yachtmaster Preparation course
From 850€ per person in an open groupYou can choose to complete this course either as part of an open group or you can rent a boat for the day and complete the course with family and friends.
Book a place in an open group
If you choose to book a place on an open group, we’ll put a maximum of four people on your course. Click on the “Book Now” link to get course dates. We run Yachtmaster Preparation courses at least once a month, except in the months of July and August.
Rental with Course Pack or Own Boat tuition
The option of chartering one of our sailing yachts or running the course on your own boat gives you maximum flexibility whether you’re looking for a small group (up to 5 students) or you want one-to-one training. You can choose between:
Renting a sailing yacht and doing the course on this boat
Running a course on your own boat
Yachtmaster Preparation
Coastal & Offshore
Ready to book? Got any questions?
If you’re interested in a course with The Boat School, please complete the form below and we’ll get back to you.
Or give us a call on 00 34 639 20 22 97
We’ll talk you through the options in English or Spanish.
The Boat School
Recognized by the Royal Yachting Association to conduct Powerboat Training, Sail Cruising courses in the Yachtmaster (sail) scheme and Shorebased (theory) courses.
Recognized by the Spanish Directorate General for Merchant Shipping, the Comunidad Valenciana and the Region of Murcia to conduct sail, motor, powerboat and VHF training.

Operational Base Denia
Marina de Dénia (Sail courses)
Darsena de babor s/n
03700 · Denía
Alicante · Spain
Marina El Portet (Powerboat courses)
Moll de la pansa, s/n
3700 · Dénia
Alicante · Spain
Classrooms & pick up for certificates
Carrer de Fora Mur, 12
03700 · Dénia
Alicante · Spain
Madrid Office
Greenwich Náutica
C/ Marqués de Lema 7, Local 6
28003 · Madrid · Spain