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Preparing For Your RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Exam

Ben-Eshay Erez Ocean-Yachting • Oct 05, 2020

Preparing for your Yachtmaster exam

Practice on the boat you will do your exam on

Every boat handles differently so it’s essential you practice onboard the boat with which you plan to do your exam.


Some boats may have a lot of WALK when in reverse or quirks when starting the engine, different power management systems and a host of other unique “characteristics”. Whatever these oddities are it’s better that you know them going into your exam rather than working them out with your examiner breathing over your shoulder.


What is her draft, how much water does she hold, where are the seacocks, where are the fire extinguishers, what is her Air Draft? It is a good idea to go through the yacht with a fine tooth comb (as you would on any new boat) and make up a yacht specific information sheet. Generally it is a good idea to post this sheet somewhere in the Nav Station. This sheet should have all the relevant data about the yacht. If you get asked where the sea cock for the engine is, or can you parallel the house and engine start batteries in an emergency, it wont look good if you don’t know.


Go straight from practice to exam

If possible it’s advisable to do a minimum of two days to a week of Yachtmaster practice on the boat you are doing your exam on. Finish those training days by going straight to pick up your examiner. After a few days to a week of parking practice, maneuvers, man overboard, blind navigation, pretend engine failures and so on you will feel well into your rhythm when your examiner decides to throw one of these at you.


Know your crew and stick with them

During your exam your crew can really make or break your results. Get a slick crew that you know and trust and your experience is much more likely to go smoothly, in fact if you make a mistake they may just save the day for you. Nothing is worse than trying to do a maneuver with a crew you barely know only to find they don’t know your hand signals or how you like to get things done, there’s a communication breakdown and the crew starts shouting and looks a mess.


Know your crew, teach them how you like to sail, instruct them on YOUR procedures for each maneuver and you should set yourself up nicely to have a slick, quiet, professional looking crew.


Practice in the area you will take the exam

Whether you’re sailing in tidal waters or not, knowing the area is essential to making your Yachtmaster exam as stress free as possible. If you need to work out a passage plan, but have already done that route many times before, the process will be a lot easier. In addition you are more likely to be aware of local navigational hazards, local regulations (and so on) than if you were new to the area.


What will the weather and tides be doing over your exam period? With modern forecasting you should build up a picture of what the expected conditions will be like utilizing multiple sources and be able to talk about the forecast with your examiner.


savvy navvy has a built in sailing weather forecast, as well as detailed marine navigation maps that might come in handy at this point!New Paragraph

Prepare to make mistakes, they will happen

We’re sorry to say it but you are not superhuman, so don’t fool yourself into thinking you or your crew won’t make mistakes. In fact you should plan for them.


Before your exam, make a big list of every possible mistake that could go wrong. From losing a fender overboard to MOB’s and engines cutting out as you come in for a park, you need to physically and mentally prepare for every eventuality. You could even go one step further and ask your crew to invent imaginary problems and throw them at you to see how you cope!


As a competent skipper you should ALWAYS be thinking what if…. During your exam always think in the back of your mind - if THIS happens NOW I will do THIS. That way when your examiner throws a curveball at you, or you and your crew mess up for real, you can calmly react to it like a pro.


A Yachtmaster exam is NOT a sailing exam. An examiner is not going to expect grand prix levels of sail trim. Don't get us wrong you need to be able to sail in order to pass it (this is almost a given).

A Yachtmaster exam is an exam on your ability to manage a crew safely (being a skipper) and navigating safely.


Remember your examiner is not only assessing you for how you sail on a good day, to be a Yachtmaster they are assessing how you cope when things don’t go to plan. You need to show that you can keep calm and be professional and safe when problems occur and if you’ve practiced beforehand you will be more likely to come across as an authoritative and capable skipper who’s in control.




Area that Examiners like to ask about....

The Engine
Unfortunately most RNLI call outs are due to engine failure. As a result you are highly likely to get asked about the engine. You WILL need to know the engine well. Do you know your checks (IWOBBLEDU)? Make, model, horse power, fuel consumption, sail drive or shaft, fuel shut off, raw water intake/ strainer, coolant level, engine oil, gearbox oil, impeller, belts, battery isolator, emergency parallel? Do you know where all of these are and can you identify them?

If the engine does stop, what do you do? Fault find, but remember you have many options including navigating and sailing to safe water or going to anchor!

RADAR
You will be asked to show you are competent with a plotter and a RADAR, specifically the set on board. Make sure that you are. When was the last time you used a plotting sheet?

Meteorology
It is not enough to have the sailing weather forecast anymore. You need to demonstrate that you have a detailed understanding of weather principals and understand the limitations of various sources of weather information.

Know your Pilotage
This is good advice not just for the exam but for sailing in general. The truth is, surprisingly enough, that most groundings happen close to ports due to problems with pilotage. Make sure your pilotage is rock solid. Clearing bearings, minimum depths, use multiple sources to back up your position don’t just rely on a plotter or one source. You can use savvy navvy as a sailing route planner and double check marine weather, tidal information, depths and a multitude of other sailing navigation tools we’ve built into it.

If possible visit ports you are likely to encounter before the exam. Ideally in daylight and at night. If you can’t do that then there is still no harm in making a plan for entry and exit as part of your preparation.

GOOD LUCK!! 

SELECTING THE RIGHT PROP FOR YOUR BOAT (PART A)

By Ocean-Yachting • 19 Feb, 2021
Selectin a Prop and Power planet for your boat involves many considerations one of them is understanding the engine performance, A propeller must satisfy two basic requirements. It needs to match the engine's power and shaft speed, and it must match the size and operating speed of the boat. But the size of the engine affects boat speed, and the type of hull affects the choice of engine. This circular relationship, with one factor affecting another, which in turn affects the first factor, is inescapable in propeller selection. These basic requirements engender some of the most frequently asked questions about propellers: Why won't my engine reach its top rated RPM? Will more or less pitch improve my boat's performance? Why doesn't my boat reach the top speed claimed by the manufacturer? Before we can answer these and other such questions, we have to investigate power, engine performance, and speed in some detail. Obviously, the more power available the faster a boat will go. Accordingly, one of the very first decisions that must be made in selecting an engine and propeller, whether for repowering, for a new design, or simply to improve performance, is the speed of operation desired.

GPS ERROR SOURCES

By OCEAN-YACHTING • 23 Jan, 2021
GPS Common Errors GPS signals have to travel huge distances through the atmosphere from multiple satellites to reach your GPS receiver and the quality of such signal plays a major role in the position accuracy . The problem is that your device needs to receive strong signals from at least 3-4 satellites, and ideally 7-8, at a time to provide the most accurate location data. This is why it is best to be outdoors if you desire the best signal possible. This way your device won’t meet as many barriers on its way and it will have an opportunity to receive the closest and strongest signal. In addition, both urban and natural canyons (large buildings in cities, trees, mountains, ridges, waves, clouds, etc.) can affect any GPS signal. If a satellite is not directly overhead in these locations, it becomes much harder to track accurately and reduces the GPS signal accuracy. In other words, the more open sky view you can get, the likely more accurate signal you will receive. in this article we are going to cover most common GNSS system errors in a non scientific way.

מדידת מרחקים וזוויות בים ללא כלי מדידה

By Ben-Eshay Erez Ocean-Yachting • 27 Nov, 2020
המאמר הבא ינסה לספק לנו תשובות האם ניתן למדוד מידות בים ללא הצורך בציוד מדידה מדויק ויהווה פתיח לסדרה של מאמרים בנושא ניווט חירום.

HOW TO PLOT COURSE TO STEER ON A NAUTICAL CHART

By Ben-Eshay Erez Ocean-Yachting • 15 Nov, 2020
Okay so you’re getting ready to go sailing, your passage plan is done and it’s time to plot your course to steer, where do you start? Well of course these days you have GPS to provide your Course Over Ground (COG), however it’s essential to ensure you can work out where you are, and where you’re heading, should your GPS or other electronics fail. You will need: Up to date paper charts Pencils and erasers The boat log book Course plotter Almanac Dividers

Safety Equipment Required for Boats up to 28 meters

By Ben-Eshay Erez Ocean-Yachting • 11 Nov, 2020
If you love sailing then you probably know more than most that the sea can be your best friend, and at times, your greatest challenge. Safety kit for you and your boat is the most expensive kit you own that you’ll always wish you never have to use. Should an accident occur, having the right kit, and knowing how to use it, could just be the difference between a fatality and saving your life, or the lives of others. Every sailor will tell you that preparation is essential. But where do you start?

SAILING VESSEL RUDDER TYPES

By Ben-Eshay Erez Ocean-Yachting • 09 Nov, 2020
As we all know the rudder is an important part of the boat which allow us to steer\point the boat at the direction that we would like to sail and in case of a failure at the rudder system we have less maneuvering capabilities. in the next post we will cover some options of how to recover from rudder failure There are many types of boats and many rudder types that fit this boats in this post we will try to cover most of the rudder types and review each rudder advantages and disadvantages.

SAIL BOAT'S KEEL TYPE'S

By Ben Eshay Erez Ocean-Yachting • 20 Oct, 2020
All of us now that a kill influence the performance of our boat and that without a kill the boat will capsize in seconds. this post intends to cover type of kills that most sail boat uses. While it's true that deep-fin sailboat keels are the most efficient of all in terms of windward ability, many anchorages will be opened up to those who opt for a shallow-draft alternative, accepting the perceptible loss to windward sailing performance. Another benefit with shallow draught sailboats is the increased security to be had when lying alongside a wall, or laid-up ashore in a cradle. Sailboat keels serve two purposes: 1. to provide ballast low down and 2. to provide lateral resistance to the wind force exerted on the sails And like all things in the sailboat world, there are trade-offs to be made. But just what are the alternatives? Let's take a look...

WHY LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS HAVE STRONGER WINDS

By Ben Eshay Erez Ocean-Yachting • 10 Oct, 2020
Beside the fact that winds circle opposite ways around Highs and Lows, there is a much more important difference between these two pressure systems— low pressure brings bad weather and high pressure usually brings fair weather. More to the point, Lows have strong winds, Highs have weak winds. To see how this comes about requires a closer look at the forces involved—and a bit of arm waving. As wind circles a High it has two driving forces acting on it in opposite directions; the pressure gradient force pushing it out of the High and the Coriolis force bending it into the High. If the air travels in a circle around the High, these two forces must be “balanced,” but they cannot be exactly equal in strength. If they were exactly equal, the wind would have no net force on it and it would move in a straight line, not a circle. “Balanced forces” has a special meaning when things move in a circle. To move in a circle, the inward, or center-seeking, force must be sufficiently larger than the outward force to keep bending it around in a circle. In any circular motion, the net center-seeking force is called the centripetal force; it is always equal to the inward force minus the outward force. For wind circling a High: Centripetal force = Coriolis force - Pressure gradient force . This equation can be transposed to get an expression for the pressure gradient present when winds circle a High: Pressure gradient (High) = Coriolis force - Centripetal force .

מדוע הרוחות חזקות יותר בשקע מברמה

By Ben-Eshay Erez Ocean-Yachting • 07 Oct, 2020
אנו יודעים שהרוחות ברמה ובשקע נעות בכיוונים מנוגדים, אבל יש הבדלים מהותיים בין מערכות הלחצים הללו, שקע כידוע לנו מסמן מזג אויר גרוע רוחות חזקות בעוד רמה מסמנת מזג אויר נוח ורוחות חלשות יותר, והשאלה היא מדוע? במאמר זה ננסה לבחון מקרוב את הכוחות הפועלים בשקע ורמה ואת המומנטים הפועלים. ברמה קיימים שני כוחות הפועלים בכיוונים מנוגדים, שיפוע הלחצים האיזוברים (Gradient Force) שדוחף את הרוח אל מחוץ לאיזובר וכוח קוריוליס שמנסה לדחוף את הרוח לתוך האיזובר. אם הרוח מסתובבת מסביב לרמה שני הכוחות האלו חייבים להתאזן, אבל הם לא יכולים להגיע לאיזון מושלם (ביטול אחד של השני) בגלל שהם לא כוחות שווים בגודלם/ועצמתם, אם הכוחות היו שווים בדיוק בעצמתם ומנוגדים בכיוונם המערכת הייתה מגיע לאיזון ומכך תנועת הרוח הייתה בקוו ישר ולא במעגל.

CROATIA BY SEA

By OCEAN-YACHTING • 09 Sep, 2020
This time we sailed in the northern part of Croatia discovering the authentic Croatian income and the lovely virginal places that may be discovered, watch our video for more ....
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