Yachtmaster Ocean Qualifying Passage Documentation Requirements

Prerequisites

This lesson prepares you for the Yachtmaster Ocean examination. You need:

• The RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence or the MCA OOW Yachts <3000 gt certificate. One of these must be held before you can take the Ocean exam.
• Competence in astro navigation to the level of the Yachtmaster Ocean Theory course: sextant corrections, Nautical Almanac, sight reduction with AP 3270/HO 249 or NP 401, sun-run-meridian altitude, and compass checks by celestial bearings (see the celestial navigation lessons in this course).
• Planning and execution of a qualifying ocean passage, or a plan to make one.

The examination is an oral of about 1.5–2 hours plus a written paper on sights and worldwide meteorology. The written paper is waived if you hold the Yachtmaster Ocean shorebased course completion certificate (taken at an RYA Training Centre) or an MCA STCW deck officer (unlimited) CoC. There is no fixed minimum total mileage beyond the qualifying passage, but you will be questioned on your experience, and many schools recommend around 2,500 miles of ocean and offshore experience.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• State the RYA criteria for a qualifying ocean passage and check whether a planned or completed passage meets them.
• Explain the role you must hold during the passage.
• Keep a deck log to the standard examiners expect.
• Document the celestial navigation evidence required: sun-run-meridian (or sun-run-sun) and a compass check.
• Write a narrative account of the passage that demonstrates planning and command.
• Assemble and submit an evidence package and prepare for the oral exam.
• Build evidence of command, and keep honest records when equipment fails or conditions prevent sights.
• Work a sun-run-meridian running fix through with numbers and compare it with GPS.

RYA Yachtmaster Ocean exam items covered: the qualifying passage requirements (600 miles by log, 96 hours continuous, 200 miles more than 50 miles from land, skipper or mate of a watch, within 10 years); the passage planning narrative submitted 48 hours before the oral (rationale, weather, crew selection, navigational strategy, victualling and bunkering, log copies); evidence of preparation (material condition, spare gear, fuel, water, victuals); celestial evidence (sun-run-meridian or sun-run-sun and a compass check by celestial bearing, done on board out of sight of land); the oral examination format.

The Qualifying Passage Criteria

The diagram below summarises the RYA requirements.

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In detail:

Always check the current RYA requirements before planning, as details can change.

Distance by log, not GPS

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The 600 miles is distance sailed as recorded in the log. Plan the route so that the planned distance is over 600 miles, and make sure the logged distance also exceeds it. If you have a favourable current, the GPS distance over the ground may exceed 600 miles while the distance through the water does not; if the log has failed, record how you estimated distance, and plan with a margin. A passage planned at exactly 610 miles leaves little room.

Far from land

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The point of the 50-mile rule is genuine ocean navigation: being out of sight of land and charted marks, where you must navigate by celestial and dead reckoning. Draw a 50-mile line on the passage chart around all land and charted objects, then measure the planned track beyond it. A passage that coasts down a continental shelf in sight of oil rigs may be 600 miles long but still fail this test.

Continuous, non-stop

The 96 hours must be one continuous passage. Going alongside, anchoring or touching land during the passage interrupts it. Heaving-to or lying ahull at sea does not, because you are still at sea and navigating. If in doubt about any stop, consult the RYA before the passage, not afterwards. Typical qualifying passages from the UK include Falmouth to the Azores (about 1,200 miles), the Canaries to the Cape Verdes, or a transatlantic leg.

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Your role

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You must have been skipper, or mate of a watch in sole charge of that watch, for the whole passage. Being a crew member, even a very useful one, does not count. Examiners probe this at length: they will ask what decisions you made, how you ran your watch, how you navigated, and what you did when things went wrong. Your log entries, signatures and narrative should show genuine responsibility.

Within ten years

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The qualifying passage must have been completed in the ten years before the exam. If your passage is several years old, plan the exam before it expires.

Building Your Evidence From Day One

The documents you submit are not written after the passage; they are the by-product of running the passage properly. Decide before you sail what evidence you will collect, who will keep it and where it will be stored.

A daily routine for evidence

A passage that is run to a routine produces good records without extra effort. A typical routine on a crewed ocean passage:

If you do the work as a routine, you will have more than enough evidence and you will be able to explain every sheet in the oral, because you did it yourself.

Evidence of Command

Distance and time are easy to prove; command is harder. Examiners need to be satisfied that you were in charge of the passage or in sole charge of a watch, so build that evidence deliberately.

• A watch bill. Write down the watch system, who stands which watch and who is in charge of each, and attach it to the narrative. Note any changes at sea with the reason.
• Standing orders. If you were skipper, the night orders you wrote (when to call the skipper, course limits, sail change triggers, collision avoidance rules) are strong evidence of how you ran the yacht.
• Handover notes. If you were mate of a watch, your log entries and handovers show how you ran it. Have the skipper countersign the log for your watches where appropriate.
• Decisions in the log. Record the decision and the reason in the remarks column, such as "0430: reefed to second reef, wind rising 25 to 30 knots, forecast 35 by dawn."
• A statement from the skipper. If you were mate of watch under another skipper, a short signed statement from the skipper confirming your role and the dates is a sensible addition. Ask the RYA or your examiner what they prefer when you request the exam.

Remember that the RYA requires the same skipper or mate throughout the passage. A change of command part-way through invalidates the claim.

The Deck Log

Why it matters

The deck log is your primary evidence. It must be a real working document kept at sea, not a tidied-up version written afterwards. Examiners will compare it with your narrative and your sight forms.

Format

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Columns for a typical ocean log:

Rules:

• Write in permanent ink, legibly.
• Make an entry at every watch change at least, and whenever something significant happens (sail change, course change, fix, sighting, gear failure).
• Never obliterate an entry. Correct with a single line through it so the original stays readable, then write the correct entry and initial it.
• Positions in the log must agree with the narrative and the sight forms.

GPS and traditional navigation

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Using GPS for safety during the passage is entirely sensible. However, the RYA requires evidence that you navigated by astro out of sight of land, without electronic aids, and recorded it on board. A log showing only GPS positions every hour proves nothing about your ocean navigation and will not satisfy the examiner. Plot DR and EP positions, take sights, plot celestial fixes and compare them with GPS afterwards: the comparison is good evidence of competence. Typical celestial fix accuracy is a few miles; claiming a sextant fix to a tenth of a mile suggests fabrication.

Celestial Navigation Evidence

The minimum evidence the RYA requires is:

1. The planning, reduction and plotting of a sun-run-meridian altitude (or a sun-run-sun) to produce a position, and
2. A compass check by the bearing of the sun, moon, a star or a planet.

These must be done on board, out of sight of land. If cloud or conditions prevent sights on the qualifying passage itself, sights may be taken on another passage out of sight of land, with the examiner judging competence. Supplementary star, planet or moon sights strengthen your evidence.

The diagram below shows the full sequence the examiner expects to see on your sight forms.

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The morning sun sight

For each sight record: date; UTC to the second (with chronometer or watch error); sextant altitude (Hs); index error; height of eye; DR position. Then show:

1. Hs ± index error = Hd; minus dip = apparent altitude (Ha).
2. Ha + total correction (refraction, semi-diameter, parallax for the sun, from the almanac) = observed altitude (Ho).
3. From the Nautical Almanac: GHA and declination for the hour, plus increments for minutes and seconds, and the d correction for declination.
4. Chosen assumed position (AP) so that LHA is a whole degree and latitude a whole degree; LHA = GHA ± assumed longitude.
5. From AP 3270 Vol 3 (or NP 401): tabulated altitude Hc, d and Z, with the d correction.
6. Intercept = Ho ~ Hc, Towards (if Ho is greater) or Away.
7. Convert Z to true azimuth Zn using the rules for your hemisphere.
8. Plot on the plotting sheet: AP, azimuth, intercept, and the position line at right angles.

The run and the noon sight

1. Record the log reading and course steered between the morning sight and noon. Transfer the morning position line by the run (allowing for any estimated current).
2. Calculate the time of meridian passage at your DR longitude from the almanac.
3. Take the noon altitude when the sun reaches its highest point. Correct to Ho.
4. Latitude = 90° − Ho ± declination (zenith distance and declination named and combined by the rule for same or contrary names).
5. Plot the latitude line; where it crosses the transferred morning position line is the running fix. Record it in the log with the time and "Fix (sun-run-mer)".

The compass check

Record: date, UTC, DR position, the body used, its calculated true bearing (from tables, by azimuth calculation, or the amplitude method at sunrise or sunset), and the compass bearing observed. Then:

Error = difference between true bearing and compass bearing; Deviation = Error − Variation (from the chart), with names (E/W) shown.

Worked example. Sun observed bearing 101°C. Calculated true azimuth Zn = 097°T. Total compass error = 4°W (compass reads higher than true). Variation from the chart 9°W. Deviation = 4°W − 9°W = 5°E on this heading. Record the heading at the time of the observation, since deviation depends on heading.

Authenticity

Real sight forms done at sea show it: salt stains, pencil corrections, consistent handwriting, and times that run in sequence with the log. Examiners have seen a great many forms and quickly recognise worksheets reconstructed ashore from GPS positions. Do your workings on board, keep the original sheets, and do not "tidy" them.

Sextant Practice on a Moving Yacht

Examiners know that taking sights from a small yacht in a seaway is difficult, and they look for good technique and honest records rather than perfect answers.

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Image: U.S. Navy photo by Photographers Mate 3rd Class Kevin S. O'Brien, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.jpg)

• Take a group of five or six sights in quick succession, noting the time of each to the second (a crew member with a watch and notebook is invaluable). Plot altitude against time or average the group, discarding any obvious outliers.
• Check the index error before every session and record it, with the sign (on the arc or off the arc).
• Take sights from a sheltered, low position with a firm brace, and choose the horizon directly below the body.
• Record the height of eye honestly (measured from the water, not the deck).
• Note the sea state and cloud. If the horizon was poor, write that down; it explains a scattered result.

A good set of sights from a yacht will have a standard deviation of a mile or two. Expect an intercept of a few miles from the GPS position and write down the GPS comparison on the sheet: the difference is not a failure but evidence of your skill.

Worked Example: Sun-Run-Meridian With Numbers

This example shows the arithmetic and the plotting; the almanac extraction and sight reduction themselves are covered in the celestial navigation lessons.

Morning sight. At 0936 UTC the sun is observed. Your DR is 27 degrees 00 minutes N, 024 degrees 00 minutes W. After correcting and reducing from an assumed position of 27 00 N 024 00 W, you find Zn = 105 degrees T and an intercept of 8.0 minutes Away. The sun is away, so the position line passes 8.0 miles from the assumed position in the direction opposite to the azimuth, towards 285 degrees T.

1. Departure: 8.0 multiplied by sin 285 degrees gives about 7.7 miles west; difference of latitude: 8.0 multiplied by cos 285 degrees gives about 2.1 miles north. The point on the line is therefore about 27 02.1 N, 024 08.7 W (7.7 miles of departure at 27 degrees north is 8.7 minutes of longitude).
2. The position line is drawn through this point at right angles to the azimuth, along 015 and 195 degrees T. Label it 0936.

The run. The yacht sails 250 degrees T for 4 hours at 6.0 knots by log, so 24.0 miles. There is no measured current, so none is applied; note that in the record.

1. Difference of latitude: 24.0 multiplied by cos 250 degrees gives 8.2 miles south.
2. Departure: 24.0 multiplied by sin 250 degrees gives 22.6 miles west, which is 25.3 minutes of longitude at 27 degrees north.
3. The transferred point is therefore 26 53.9 N, 024 34.0 W. The position line through it, parallel to the original, is labelled 0936 transferred to 1336.

Meridian altitude. At local noon, the sun is at its highest. You observe a maximum altitude and correct it to an observed altitude Ho = 73 degrees 30 minutes (sun to the south). The almanac gives declination 11 degrees 05 minutes N.

1. Zenith distance = 90 degrees minus 73 degrees 30 minutes = 16 degrees 30 minutes.
2. The sun bears south of you, so the zenith distance is named north; the declination is also north, so the two have the same name and are added: Latitude = ZD + declination = 16 30 + 11 05 = 27 degrees 35 minutes N.

The fix. Plot the latitude line at 27 35.0 N. From the transferred point at 26 53.9 N the position line rises north-eastwards along 015 degrees T. To reach 27 35.0 N it must climb 41.1 miles, which takes it 11.0 miles east, or 12.4 minutes of longitude. The fix is therefore 27 35.0 N, 024 21.6 W at 1336 UTC. Write "Fix (sun-run-mer)" in the log with the time and the latitude and longitude.

Comparison. The GPS position is 27 36.1 N, 024 20.2 W, which is 1.1 miles north and 1.4 minutes of longitude (about 1.2 miles) east: a difference of about 1.7 miles. This is a very good result for sights from a small yacht and is exactly the sort of comparison the examiner likes to see on the sheet.

The Narrative Account

The RYA requires a written narrative of the planning and execution of the qualifying passage, submitted to the examiner at least 48 hours before the oral exam, together with copies of the relevant log pages and your navigational records. The diagram below shows a recommended structure.

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Cover at least:

1. Passage rationale: why this route and this time of year; climatology (pilot charts, routeing guides), vessel suitability, crew experience; alternatives considered.
2. Weather strategy: forecasts and sources used before departure and en route (GRIB, fax, SafetyNET, routing), the departure window, and tactical decisions made during the passage.
3. Crew selection and management: who, why, watch system, how it worked, problems and how they were resolved.
4. Navigational strategy: route, waypoints, great circle or rhumb line, astro plan, equipment, backup.
5. Victualling: calculations for food and water, storage, what was actually consumed versus planned.
6. Bunkering: fuel and water budgets, power budget, consumption rates and reserves at arrival.
7. Yacht preparation: material condition checks, maintenance, spares and safety equipment, and your part in preparing them.
8. Execution: a summary of the passage with dates, positions, significant events, failures, and decisions.

The diagram below sets out what makes a convincing narrative.

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Be specific. Compare:

• Vague: "We took plenty of water and the weather was mostly good."
• Specific: "Tankage 380 L plus 40 L in cans for 4 crew over a planned 12 days (3.5 L/person/day plus 25% margin = 210 L minimum). The watermaker made 60 L/day; we arrived in Horta with 290 L remaining. On day 4 a low at 45°N 25°W deepened to 996 hPa; on the 1200 UTC GRIB I chose to head south to 38°N to stay in 15–20 knots rather than meet 35 knots on the rhumb line, adding 40 miles."

Write it in clear prose, type it, sign it, and make sure every date and position matches the log and sight forms. A thin, vague or inconsistent narrative makes it very hard for the examiner to accept that you genuinely planned and commanded the passage, and leads to searching questions.

When Things Go Wrong: Honest Records

Real passages rarely go exactly to plan, and examiners are far more impressed by an honest account of a problem and a sound response than by a perfect-looking record. Common situations and the correct handling:

A concealed or invented record is far worse than a failure. An examiner who finds an invented sight or an altered log has grounds to fail you on the spot, regardless of your actual ability.

Assembling the Evidence

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Put your evidence in an indexed folder with numbered tab dividers matching a contents list:

1. Completed application form and photo ID.
2. Copy of the Yachtmaster Offshore (or OOW) certificate.
3. Qualifying passage log (originals at the exam; copies of relevant pages submitted in advance).
4. Narrative account, typed and signed.
5. Celestial worksheets in date order.
6. Plotting sheets with fixes marked.
7. Compass check records.
8. Almanac and table extracts used.
9. Weather information received (fax, GRIB, forecasts).
10. Photographs (optional).
11. Digital copies.

Arrange the exam through the RYA, which allocates an Ocean examiner (allow at least 10 working days and possibly travel). Agree with the examiner how the narrative and records should reach them, and make sure they arrive at least 48 hours before the exam. Allow for postal delays, and keep your own copies.

Preparing for the Oral

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Expect the examiner to work through your documents and ask you to explain and justify everything:

• Why this route and timing? What did the pilot charts show? What would you do differently?
• What weather information did you use, and how did it change your decisions?
• Take me through this sight reduction step by step. Why this assumed position? Where does this d correction come from?
• How did you calculate the compass error and deviation?
• How did your watch system work? What did you do about a seasick or difficult crew member?
• How did you calculate water, food and fuel, and how did the reality compare?
• What went wrong, and how did you deal with it?

The oral also covers ocean passage planning, worldwide meteorology, yacht preparation, maintenance and repairs more generally. Inconsistencies between the log, narrative and sight forms prompt detailed questioning: make sure they agree before you submit.

Exam Tips for the Documents and the Oral

• Read your own narrative the night before. Examiners often open with a question taken directly from it.
• Be ready to re-reduce a sight from scratch with the almanac and tables in front of you. Have the same publications you used on board available, or know which ones.
• Know your numbers: fuel burned per hour and per mile, water per person per day, daily run, average speed, watch pattern, positions of the major turning points.
• Talk about the decisions that did not go to plan and what you learned. This shows judgement.
• If you do not know an answer, say how you would find it. A candidate who bluffs is quickly found out.
• Bring the originals, in order, and know where each document is in the folder.

Worked Example: Checking a Proposed Passage

Proposal: Falmouth to Horta (Azores), great circle about 1,190 miles. Candidate as skipper, 4 crew.

• Distance: 1,190 miles planned. Even with good current the log will exceed 600 miles. Pass.
• Duration: at 6 knots average, about 8 days. Pass (well over 96 hours), provided no stop.
• Offshore: after leaving the Scilly Isles and the continental shelf, almost the whole route is more than 50 miles from land; about 1,000 miles qualify. Pass.
• Role: skipper throughout, no change. Pass.
• Recency: exam planned within 10 years. Pass.
• Astro plan: sun-run-meridian on at least two days, with a compass check by sun azimuth and one at sunset by amplitude; stars at twilight if clear. Spare plotting sheets, Nautical Almanac for the year, AP 3270 Vol 3 for the latitude band, two sextants (one plastic backup), watch checked against a radio time signal daily.
• Records: deck log every watch; sight forms in a dedicated folder; daily consumption records; communications and weather log.

Common Mistakes

• Planned distance too close to 600 miles, with the logged distance falling short.
• Insufficient time more than 50 miles from land.
• Stopping or anchoring during the passage.
• Not being in sole charge of a watch, or a change of skipper part way through.
• GPS-only logs, with no evidence of astro navigation done on board.
• Sight forms rewritten neatly ashore, or positions that do not match the log.
• No compass check, or no record of heading, variation and deviation.
• Vague narratives without numbers, decisions or reasons.
• Late submission of the narrative and records.
• Overstated accuracy of celestial fixes.

Summary

• Qualifying passage: at least 600 miles (planned and logged), 96 hours continuous non-stop, at least 200 miles more than 50 miles from land, as skipper or mate of a watch throughout, within 10 years of the exam.
• The deck log is a real working record: UTC, course, heading, log, wind, sea, barometer, sails, position with fix type and remarks, every watch at least; correct with a single line.
• Astro evidence: sun-run-meridian (or sun-run-sun) planned, reduced and plotted on board, plus a compass check by a celestial bearing.
• Narrative: specific, signed, consistent with the log and sight forms; covers route, weather, crew, navigation, victualling, bunkering, preparation and execution.
• Submit at least 48 hours before the exam, organised in an indexed folder, and be ready to explain every page.

Check Your Understanding

1. State the five main criteria for a Yachtmaster Ocean qualifying passage.

Answer: At least 600 miles planned and logged; at least 96 hours continuous non-stop at sea; at least 200 miles more than 50 miles from land or charted objects; skipper or mate of a watch throughout; completed within 10 years of the exam.

1. Your GPS shows 615 miles over the ground; your log shows 588 miles. Does the passage qualify on distance? Why?

Answer: No. The logged distance must exceed 600 miles; the GPS figure includes a favourable current.

1. You anchor for six hours halfway through a 700-mile passage to repair a halyard. What effect does that have?

Answer: The passage is no longer one continuous non-stop passage, so it would not meet the 96-hour continuous requirement unless one of the separate legs meets all the criteria on its own. Heaving-to at sea to make the repair would not have interrupted it.

1. What is the minimum astro navigation evidence required?

Answer: The planning, reduction and plotting of a sun-run-meridian altitude (or sun-run-sun) and a compass check by the bearing of a celestial body, done on board out of sight of land without electronic aids.

1. How should you correct a mistake in the deck log?

Answer: Draw a single line through the incorrect entry so that it remains readable, write the correct entry and initial it. Never obliterate or tear out entries.

1. The sun's true azimuth is 236°T and its compass bearing is 231°C. Variation is 7°W. What is the deviation?

Answer: The compass reads less than true, so the total error is 5°E. Deviation = error − variation = 5°E − 7°W = 12°E.

1. When must the narrative account be submitted, and what should accompany it?

Answer: At least 48 hours before the oral exam, together with copies of the relevant log pages and the navigational records (sight forms, plotting and compass check).

1. Why do examiners compare positions in the narrative, the log and the sight forms?

Answer: Consistency across all three is evidence that the passage, and the navigation, were genuinely done on board. Discrepancies suggest records were reconstructed or that the candidate was not truly responsible, and lead to detailed questioning.

1. Give two examples of specific content that makes a narrative convincing.

Answer: Any two of: actual quantities of water, food and fuel planned and used; dates and positions of key events; the forecast data used and the decision taken (e.g. routing south to avoid a low); crew watch system and how problems were resolved; the reasoning for the route and departure date.

1. What role must you hold, and how will the examiner test it?

Answer: Skipper, or mate of a watch in sole charge of it, for the entire passage. The examiner asks detailed questions about decisions, navigation, watch management and how problems were handled, and checks signatures and entries in the log.

1. Why should you choose a sun sight when the sun is neither very low nor close to the meridian, and what can you record to explain a poor result?

Answer: Sights at very low altitude are affected by refraction and an unclear horizon; near the meridian the azimuth changes rapidly and the position line is hard to plot. Record the sea state, horizon quality, cloud and index error so the examiner can see the reason for any scatter.

1. The log fails 200 miles into a planned 640-mile passage. How do you protect your claim for the 600-mile requirement?

Answer: Record the time of failure, estimate the remaining distance from engine hours, GPS speed and sailing speeds, and say clearly in the log and narrative how the figure was derived. Keep a margin well above 600 miles so the claim still holds, and discuss the situation with the RYA if there is doubt.