If you are looking to further your career in the superyacht industry, the RYA offers a multitude of worldwide recognised courses for all levels of crew
Ask 10 people what the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) means to them and you will get at least 10 different answers. The fact is, the RYA has been in existence for more than 140 years and in that time it has grown and evolved to fulfill many different functions both in the UK and internationally. Whether your contact was learning to sail a dinghy as child, doing an
RYA Day Skipper course or undertaking an RYA Powerboating course, your perceptions will be different to the next person.
For more than 3 decades the RYA has worked closely with the Super yachting sector to ensure we provide a world class range of courses, qualifications and training frameworks to enhance safety and to prepare crew for work afloat. With more than 100 different RYA courses available across 11 different training schemes you might be forgiven for being a little confused about what the RYA has to do with Superyachts.
CREW
RYA courses are available for crew; RYA Power Boat Level 2 and RYA Tender Operators Certificate are both courses that equip crew with the skills they will need to safely operate tenders and to transfer guests safely to and from the yacht. The RYA Tender Operators Course in particular was developed with the industry at its request and is aimed specifically at better equipping crew for night time operations in more powerful craft.
RYA shorebased courses in VHF radio operation and navigation provide crew with the underpinning knowledge they need to operate small craft and to begin to develop their navigation skills in order to progress through the ranks. RYA Yachtmaster Certificates of Competence can be commercially endorsed and can be used in their own right as command qualifications on vessels up to 200 gt or as OOW qualifications up to 500 gt. They form the under pinning qualifications for those wishing to progress through the MCA Large Yacht qualification framework.
GUESTS
Well over a decade ago the RYA, at the request of the industry, developed the RYA Personal Watercraft Safety scheme. This sees superyacht crew trained up as RYA personal watercraft instructors, who are then able to deliver RYA recognised training on personal watercraft to guests in a structured and consistent way. Most importantly, the scheme has resulted in a drastic improvement in safety for guests on personal watercraft and other water users.
More recently the RYA, again with involvement from the industry, developed a voluntary of code of practice for watersports within the superyacht sector. This code of practice is free to download and is intended as a high level guide to assist captains and crew in ensuring their watersports activities.
The RYA’s reach now is truly international with recognised training centres in 58 countries and RYA training courses delivered to more than 250,000 people each year. We value our relationship with the superyacht sector and continue to work with the industry, regulators and bodies such as the Professional Yachting Association.
For more information on RYA Training courses and qualifications visit the RYA website: www.rya.org.uk
