If the RYA finds a better man overboard technique, it will teach it.
Dave DeWolfe, RYA Instructor
The Royal Yachting Association is the British organization responsible for administering keelboat sailing instruction programs. These programs differ from those of Sail Canada because of their worldwide reputation and because it leads to a commercial endorsement. It is also an organization that is adapting to the sailing needs of sailors. Its YachtMaster program, comprising three levels (Coastal, Offshore and Ocean), is often referred to as the “gold standard” in terms of sailing skills.
I recently completed the YachtMaster Offshore preparation week, took the theory and practical exams and was awarded the certificate. Below, I discuss the eleven most striking differences with Sail Canada’s keelboat sailing program.
1- In Canada, the RYA is in English
In Canada, the few schools offering the RYA program are in British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia. Training is therefore given in English. (There are, however, training centers in France and the Caribbean. It may be possible to take the course in French). Whether or not taking the course in English is a good idea depends largely on your command of the language of Shakespeare, but I will stress here that anyone with the ambition of sailing with a crew outside Quebec should master the basic vocabulary for manoeuvering a sailboat. We all know how special sailing vocabulary is, and this is just as true in English!
2- The Targets are Cruisers and Professionals
The YachtMaster program does not aim to train candidates for regattas. Instructors and Examiners are professional captains who must demonstrate five to eight years’ experience before they can teach. The preparation week is therefore rich in experience and geared to the needs of both yachtsmen and professionals. Notable differences are detailed below, but much more emphasis is placed on planning and executing sailing plans.
3- The Approach is Comprehensive
At Sail Canada, the course sequence alternates between theory and practice. You can take a basic sailing course without having to do any dead reckoning, for example. As a general rule, you must then take your theory course (navigation) to access the next level (intermediate, advanced).
At the RYA, the distinction between levels – Coastal, Offshore and Ocean – is based on experience: the theory for Coastal and Offshore is the same. It is also comprehensive: you have to learn chart navigation, electronic navigation, radar navigation, collision rules, weather and, above all, passage planning. (RYA also offers practical courses withouth theory (e.g. competent crew), but it is not within the YachMaster program.)
The level of difficulty of the theory courses is similar to that of Sail Canada’s intermediate and advanced navigation courses. The emphasis, however, is on rigorous mastery of the international rules of collision avoidance at sea. An obvious lack of understanding of light signals, collision avoidance rules and sound signals is a recipe for failure before you even get to the practical course.
For the Ocean level, things are slightly different: a mastery of celestial navigation and the demonstration of a successful offshore passage are required. At this level, exams last two hours and are designed to check that sextant handling is adequate, as are position calculations.
For the Offshore and Coastal courses, candidates must first take four theory exams. Two of these focus on passage planning, and one on collision avoidance rules. The last is general, ranging from tidal calculations to wind/current drift. Before candidates can take the practical preparation week, they must pass all four theory exams.
4- Electronic Navigation Skills Are Developed
I do not understand why Sail Canada’s program does not emphasize electronic navigation prior to the advanced course. “Tablet navigation” is the de facto way most professionals and boaters navigate. Why not teach them to use it intelligently?
The RYA teaches modern navigation techniques using modern instruments, including radar and common navigation software (OpenCPN, Navionics, etc.). They teach how to use waypoints to obtain fixes, how to use cross track error for difficult passage segments, and how to use the differences between course vector over ground and heading to navigate. This is extremely useful, especially when navigating in reduced visibility.
But a fair warning to all those who dislike navigation with paper charts: the preparation week for the exam (well, at least mine) is done without electronics, perhaps because dead reckoning is less well mastered by candidates. The RYA approach is aimed at modern use in navigation, but also at ensuring that candidates have an overall mastery of each of the navigation tools at hand.
5- The Emphasis is on Planning
Theoretical courses focus on two general skills: 1) how to plan passages quickly and 2) how to assess whether they should be executed. The aim is to assess risks, passage windows in areas with strong currents (or tides) and so on. Of course, the design of every dimension of a passage plan is covered: calculations of currents and tides, and calculations of courses to steer accounting for wind/current drifts. That said, they are only taught once and then taken for granted. It is when building passage plans that they come back to assess the conditions through which the plan should be executed.
6- The Tidal Calculations Are Based on the UK Graphs
The least useful part of the course is the section on tides. The “graphical” method of calculating tides, taken from UK tables (image below), is taught. When applicable, this is better than either the “rule of sixths” (or rule of twelfths) or the generic tables from tides.gc.ca (a “rule of eighths”), as it incorporates average historical deviations from a sine curve. These deviations are quite significant at the beginning and end of the tidal cycle. The example below shows a significant deviation between six hours before high tide and two and a half hours before low tide, particularly at high tide. By way of contrast, the tidal calculation approach recommended by Transport Canada is a conversion of a sine curve into a table and adapted to the tidal range of the cycle. It therefore neglects average historical deviations.
That said, the graphical representation is better suited to locations where there is only one type of tide. As this is not the case in most parts of Canada and the US, the graphical approach is ill-suited. However, for the sake of succeding the theory evaluation, this approach must be mastered.
7- The Preparation Week Is Tailored to Students
The Exam Preparationtake place over the course of a week, aboard an “A class” sailing yacht. The prerequisites for admission to the YachtMaster program are a minimum of 50 days at sea, a minimum of 3 days as captain, a minimum of 2500 MN sailed, a minimum of five passages of more than 60 MN, including at least one at night and one as captain. In other words, people arrive at the preparation week with a certain amount of experience… but also with defects accumulated over time.
It’s really in these prerequisites that the program sets itself apart, as the instructors and Examiners will evaluate your previous experience and determine what your preparation week should look like. It is thus important to understand that my preparation week was different from that of other candidates. The approach certainly differs from that advocated by Sail Canada, with a pre-established course syllabus, where everyone has to go through a list of course outline elements.
The general idea of the week is to identify and strengthen the candidates’ weak points. Overall, the weaknesses of the three people on board during my week were a lack of radar experience, a lack of dead reckoning experience, little or no sailing and night landings. As a result, we sailed the whole week without electronic navigation, and made multiple landings at night and under sail.
Other general techniques are also shown throughout the week, including crew overboard maneuvers. The techniques of the YachtMaster program differ from those taught by Sailing Canada.
8- Crew Overboard Techniques Are More Reliable
The RYA teaches the industry best practice. Based on our week’s preparation, the Crew overboard method can recover a crew in less than two minutes. The method requires less maneuvering than the figure 8 Sail Canada technique and is therefore less likely to lead to errors or confusion. When it comes to safety, a simpler approach means greater chances of success.
But above all, the technique make use of the engine! The techniques covered also has a non-motorized scenario, but the one mainly advocated is motorized.
By way of contrast, the Sail Canada method (beam, broadside tack, windward) takes time, requires more manoeuvers and does not use the maneuverability provided by the engine.
On this point, the YachtMaster program is very convincing: I see no good reason to use the technique taught by Sail Canada.
9 – The Practical Emphasis is on Attitude and on Boat Control
Instructors and Examiners will purposely put you in emergency or unplanned situations. The approach is often scenario-based, and we will be told on purpose that the engine is not working, or that there is an electrical problem on board. As an example, we were asked to navigate by dead reckoning, from the saloon (and without looking out of the portholes) to a given point on the chart, giving only instructions to the crew (who actually maneuver the yacht).
The central idea of these exercises is to assess whether candidates are still in control of themselves, the crew and the boat. Instructors and Examiners are more interested in assessing resilience and competence than first-time success. A guaranteed recipe for failure is to declare oneself unable to do a task, either immediately or after a few tries. The YachtMaster program seeks a demonstration of competence and mastery of the boat in all circumstances.
The difference with Sail Canada is conceptual and more nuanced. The RYA focuses on the ability to perform scenario-based tasks (“you take divers to point X, you only have charts, and you have to do it in under 30 minutes”) rather than teaching procedures (gybes, tacking, etc.).
10 – You Can Be Recommended to Wait Before Doing the Exam
Of course, if you do not have the prerequisites, you will not be able to register for either the course or the exam. The same goes for Sail Canada. That said, the RYA can also recommend that you do not take the exam after you have registered. If the instructor thinks you won’t pass the exam, he or she can tell you so.
This means that, although the exam does not begin on day one, you are being assesed from the first day of the preparation week. The instructors will assess whether or not you should take the exam, and if so, at what level (Coastal or Offshore). It is possible that at the end of the week, you will be recommended not to take the exam, or not to do the Offshore level. I suspect that this is where the drop-out rate is highest, meaning that the success rate of candidates who are recommended to take the exam is probably high.
11- Your Examiner Will Not Be Your Instructor
At Sail Canada, exams are standardized and corrected by your instructor. In the YachtMaster program, exams last 12 hours, are customized and done by an Examiner from another sailing school. The person who gives you the exam has not seen your syllabus for the week, and does not know you. He or she will make you do things that you have not necessarily seen during the week. The aim is to assess general skills. The approach seems to be to spend quickly on the elements for which you have a clear understanding/mastery and to put more time on the elements you understand/master less. This is evidenced by my exam, but as the video below suggests, it seems to be a general practice.
One candidate in my group had to take a longer quiz on collision avoidance rules at sea because he showed gaps in his knowledge of the rules. Another had to perform manoeuvers in confined spaces because he was considered less skilled at piloting. Another was not required to navigate at night. In short, the Examiner is trying to assess how critical are your weak points and spends less time on your strenghts.
Conclusion
The YachtMaster program can be commercially endorsed, which means that the certificate of competence is considered reliable enough to sail as a professional. It also has a solid international reputation. In doing so, the requirements are higher and different from those of Sailing Canada. The approach is one of quality control and development, rather than learning the basics. At the start of the YachtMaster program, it is assumed that you have the skills to handle a sailboat (“competent crew” or “elementary keelboat”). You will not learn these skills in this course.
The course costs around 4,000 CAD, i.e. around 3,500 CAD for the preparation week itself and 500 CAD for the exam. Given this price and the prerequisites, there are little younger candidates.
Personally, I found the additional difficulties required for this course very useful. If you take your sailboat out of Quebec, or if you sail internationally, I think it is crucial to manoeuver in English. I have also learned techniques I did not know before. That said, the thing that convinced me most about taking this course was its international credibility.
Given the scope of the course and the theoretical prerequisites, I do not think the course is for the faint-hearted. I started my study a month early, with a good knowledge of marine weather, collision avoidance and dead reckoning. I do not see how someone with a superficial grasp of these concepts could pass the theory and therefore the course. On the practical side, a greater plurality of approaches is tolerated. The main aim is to assess whether you are constantly in control of yourself, the crew and the boat.