Once you have completed your Yachtmaster Ocean Shorebased course and before you go for your Oral exam, you must have completed a qualifying passage within the past 10 years as skipper or mate in sole charge of a watch on a suitable vessel, which meets the following criteria:

1. The candidate was fully involved in the planning of the passage, including the selection of the route, the navigational plan, checking the material condition of the vessel and her equipment, storing with spare gear, water, and victuals, and organizing the watch-keeping routine.
2. During the passage a minimum non-stop distance of 600 miles must have been run by the log, the yacht must have been at sea continuously for at least 96 hours and the yacht must have been more than 50 miles from land or charted objects capable of being used for navigation/position fixing while sailing a distance of at least 200 miles.
3. To be eligible as an ocean qualifying passage the distance between departure and arrival points by the shortest navigable route must be more than 600 miles.
   See Information on Qualifying passages.

You must provide the independent examiner with the following information 48 hours prior to the exam:

1. A narrative account of the planning and execution of the qualifying passage providing all relevant details.
2. Navigational records, completed on board a yacht on a passage, out of sight of land showing that the candidate has navigated the yacht without the use of electronic navigational aids. The records must include as a minimum, planning, reduction, and plotting of a sun run meridian altitude sight and a compass check carried out using the bearing of the sun, moon, a star, or planet.

There is no time limit between taking the Shorebased course and the final Oral exam, though we do recommend doing it as soon as you can so the knowledge is fresh in your memory.

During the Yachtmaster Ocean oral test, the candidate will be required to answer questions on all aspects of ocean passage making in a yacht, including passage planning, navigation, worldwide meteorology, crew management, and yacht preparation, maintenance, and repairs.

Completion of the Shorebased course exempts you from the written exam within the final Oral.

‘Sights’ for an assessment must be taken independently by the exam candidate.

Additional expenses:

• You’ll need to pay the RYA Exam fee directly on your exam application form. For 2020 the Ocean exam fee is £166 (Click here to visit the relevant page).