RYA Ocean Yachtmaster Theory Course in Anglesey

This course is for anyone who has completed RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Theory, or holds equivalent knowledge, and wants the celestial navigation and ocean passage planning needed for the Yachtmaster Ocean practical exam or for longer offshore passages.

It is shore-based theory, so it suits both sailors and powerboaters who want to plan a passage when there is no land in sight, not only those who already have ocean miles.

No previous ocean miles are required. The course is shore-based and concentrates on celestial navigation, passage planning, worldwide meteorology and the use of navigational instruments.

You do need Yachtmaster Offshore Theory, or the same knowledge, so the week can stay on sextant sights and ocean weather rather than revisiting coastal chartwork.

You will take meridian altitudes and other celestial sights using a sextant, work the sights to a position, and plan ocean passages with tides, currents, fuel, provisions and worldwide weather in mind.

Meteorology covers global weather systems, synoptic charts and forecast data. You also cover the use and care of navigational instruments and the risk assessment that sits with a long-distance voyage.

The course is shore-based. You can take it in the classroom at 40 High Street, Menai Bridge, typically over five days, or study the same syllabus online.

Classroom days combine chart-table exercises, sight reduction and weather plots. Online study uses the same RYA Ocean theory, with the assessment at the end.

Yes. The course ends with an assessment of celestial navigation, passage planning and meteorology. Passing gives you the RYA Ocean Yachtmaster Theory certificate.

That certificate is the shore-based standard the Ocean practical exam expects. It does not itself make you a Yachtmaster Ocean.

The minimum age on this listing is 17. That sits with the maturity needed for celestial calculations and for planning a passage that may last many days.

You also need Yachtmaster Offshore Theory, or equivalent knowledge, before you start, so the age is only part of the picture.

Course materials, charts and plotting sheets are provided for the classroom and for the exercises. You do not need to bring your own sextant, though you may if you already own one and want to use it.

A notebook and pen are enough for classroom days. Online learners work through the same publications in digital or posted form.

Classroom days are at our training centre in Menai Bridge on the Isle of Anglesey. The classroom is in the town itself at 40 High Street, LL59 5EF, with Pay and Display parking across the road.

Take junction 8A onto the A5 off the A55 at Britannia Bridge. The same classroom is used for Day Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore Theory.

Yachtmaster Offshore Theory takes your navigation and meteorology to Coastal and Offshore exam standard. Ocean Theory is the next shore-based step, adding celestial navigation and worldwide weather for passages out of sight of land.

If you do not yet have Offshore Theory, start there. This course assumes that base so the hours can stay on the sextant and the ocean plot.

No. The theory is the same whether the boat has a keel or an engine. Seawake is a powerboat school, and the classroom examples often sit on the North Wales coast, but the RYA paper is Ocean Yachtmaster Theory for sail or power.

If you skipper a motor yacht or a RIB on longer passages, the celestial work and the weather plots are still the tools you need when GPS is not the only answer you want.