Reference

Glossary

The vocabulary of the Yachtmaster scheme and of Australian coastal sailing, in one place.

AMSA: Australian Maritime Safety Authority, the national regulator for commercial vessels and seafarer certification. It issues domestic commercial certificates (such as Coxswain and Sailing Master) under Marine Order 505 and international STCW certificates (including the yacht series) under Marine Orders 70 to 74.
Australian Sailing: The national governing body for sailing in Australia (formerly Yachting Australia). It runs the Keelboat Program and partners with the RYA so that the RYA cruising scheme and Yachtmaster exams are delivered through recognised training centres in Australia.
Bar (river bar): A bank of sand or shingle across a river or harbour entrance where the ebb tide meets the ocean swell, producing steep breaking seas. Crossing a bar is planned for the flood tide and calm swell, and never on an ebb against a big sea.
Certificate of Competence (CoC): A certificate awarded after an examination of practical competence, as opposed to a course completion certificate. Yachtmaster Coastal, Offshore and Ocean are Certificates of Competence.
Coastal Skipper: The RYA five-day practical course (and its theory counterpart) that prepares a sailor to skipper coastal passages by day and night. Not to be confused with Yachtmaster Coastal, which is an exam.
COLREGs / IRPCS: The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, the rules of the road. Knowledge of lights, shapes, sound signals and conduct in every situation is examined in depth at Yachtmaster level.
Commercial endorsement: An addition to an RYA Certificate of Competence confirming that the holder has the medical, sea survival and professional-practice requirements to use the certificate for paid work. In Australia it is the route to the AMSA Sailing Master certificate.
Course to steer (CTS): The compass course to steer to reach a destination after allowing for tidal stream and leeway, worked on the chart using the tidal vector for the time of the passage.
Coxswain Grade 1 NC: An AMSA domestic certificate allowing command of a commercial vessel under 12 m in inshore waters. Relevant to Yachtmasters because it is one of the accepted engine qualifications for the Sailing Master certificate.
Dead reckoning (DR): A position calculated from course steered and distance run, before tidal stream and leeway are applied.
Dodge tide: A South Australian phenomenon in which the semi-diurnal tidal movement almost cancels out around neaps, leaving the water level nearly static for a day or more.
East Australian Current (EAC): A warm current that sets south along the New South Wales continental shelf at 1 to 3 knots. A friend to southbound passages and an obstacle to northbound ones.
EEZ: Exclusive Economic Zone: the waters out to 200 nautical miles from the Australian coast. AMSA near-coastal certificates such as Sailing Master Offshore are valid within the EEZ.
Estimated position (EP): The dead-reckoning position corrected for tidal stream and leeway; the navigator’s best estimate between fixes.
Fremantle Doctor: The strong south-westerly sea breeze that arrives on the Perth coast most summer afternoons, typically 20 to 30 knots.
GMDSS: Global Maritime Distress and Safety System. A GMDSS-compliant radio certificate (RYA SRC, Australian SROCP or LROCP) is a prerequisite for the Yachtmaster exams.
Gross tonnage (GT): A measure of a vessel’s internal volume, not weight. Yachtmaster sea time must be on yachts of up to 500 GT; superyacht certificates are defined by 500 GT and 3,000 GT thresholds.
Heaving-to: Setting the sails and helm so that the yacht lies quietly, making little way, used for reefing, waiting for tide or daylight, or riding out weather. A standard Yachtmaster exam exercise.
IALA Region A: The system of buoyage used in Australia (and most of the world outside the Americas and parts of Asia) in which red port-hand marks are left to port when entering harbour.
IYT: International Yacht Training Worldwide, a separate certification scheme whose Master of Yachts Limited certificate AMSA also accepts as a prerequisite for Sailing Master Offshore.
Leeway: The sideways drift of a sailing yacht caused by the wind, expressed as an angle and applied to the course when navigating.
LROCP / SROCP: Long Range and Short Range Operator Certificates of Proficiency, the Australian marine radio certificates administered through the Australian Maritime College. The LROCP is required for AMSA commercial certificates.
Man overboard (MOB): The recovery of a person from the water. Yachtmaster candidates demonstrate it under sail and under power, as skipper, directing the crew.
Marine Order 505: The AMSA marine order that sets out domestic commercial vessel certificates of competency, including Coxswain, Master and Sailing Master (near coastal).
MCA: The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which jointly badges the Yachtmaster certificates (they are formally RYA/MCA certificates) and whose vessel coding categories are used worldwide as a reference for how far from a safe haven each level may operate commercially.
Near coastal (NC): The AMSA operating area for domestic commercial certificates: within the Australian EEZ. Sailing Master Offshore is a near-coastal certificate.
Passage plan: The documented plan for a voyage covering route, tides, weather, hazards, ports of refuge, waypoints and contingencies. Required for the Yachtmaster exam and, in Australia, a legal obligation for commercial vessels.
Pilotage: Navigating in confined or coastal waters by reference to visible features, transits, clearing bearings and buoyage rather than by plotted positions. Night pilotage is a core exam exercise.
PPR: The RYA Professional Practices and Responsibilities online course, required for a commercial endorsement.
Qualifying passage: For Yachtmaster Offshore, a non-stop passage whose shortest navigable planned route and actual distance both exceed 60 miles. For Yachtmaster Ocean, a non-stop passage of at least 600 miles and 96 hours with at least 200 miles more than 50 miles from land.
Rhumb line: A line of constant bearing. For qualifying-passage distance, use the RYA shortest-navigable-route definition rather than assuming a direct rhumb line is navigable.
RYA: The Royal Yachting Association, the UK national body for boating, which developed and administers the Yachtmaster scheme used in Australia.
Safe haven: A harbour or anchorage in which a vessel can shelter in any weather. Commercial operating limits for Yachtmaster levels are defined as distances from a safe haven: 20 miles (Coastal), 150 miles (Offshore), unlimited (Ocean).
Sailing Master Offshore (NC): The AMSA domestic certificate allowing command of a sailing commercial vessel under 24 m with less than 100 kW propulsion within the EEZ. A commercially endorsed Yachtmaster Offshore is a prerequisite.
Secondary port: A port whose tidal times and heights are calculated by applying published differences to a nearby standard port. Secondary-port calculations are a staple of the Yachtmaster theory course and exam.
Set and drift: The direction (set) and speed (drift) of a tidal stream or current.
Sight: A measurement of the altitude of a celestial body with a sextant, reduced with almanac tables to a position line. Yachtmaster Ocean candidates must take and work sights on their qualifying passage.
Slack water: The brief period around the turn of the tide when the stream stops. Tidal gates such as Port Phillip Heads are transited at slack water.
Southerly buster: A sudden, violent southerly wind change on the New South Wales coast, most common on hot summer afternoons, that can bring 40 knots within minutes.
Springs and neaps: Spring tides, with the largest range and strongest streams, occur near full and new moon; neap tides, with the smallest range, near the quarter moons.
STCW: The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers. The STCW basic safety courses (personal survival, fire fighting, first aid, personal safety and social responsibility) are required for work on most commercial and superyacht vessels.
Tidal stream atlas: A set of charts showing the direction and rate of tidal streams for each hour relative to high water at a standard port, used in course-to-steer and passage planning.
Trade winds: The steady south-easterlies that blow across tropical Queensland, the Northern Territory and the north-west from roughly April to October, defining the northern sailing season.
Twelfths, rule of: A rule of thumb for estimating the height of tide between high and low water: the tide rises or falls by 1/12, 2/12, 3/12, 3/12, 2/12 and 1/12 of its range in successive hours.
Variation and deviation: Variation is the difference between true and magnetic north at a place; deviation is the error of a particular compass caused by the vessel. Both are applied when converting between true, magnetic and compass courses.
Veering and backing: A wind that veers changes direction clockwise; one that backs changes anticlockwise. Understanding the sequence around a front is part of the meteorology syllabus.
Watch leader: The person in charge of a watch on a passage, responsible for the safety of the vessel during that period. Serving as watch leader counts as acting in a responsible capacity for the Yachtmaster Ocean qualifying passage.