Two systems, one qualification
Commercial sailing in Australia sits at the meeting point of two systems. The RYA system issues the Yachtmaster and, through a commercial endorsement, makes it usable for paid work on vessels coded under the UK's scheme and on many other flags. The AMSA system issues the certificates that Australian law requires for Australian domestic commercial vessels (under Marine Order 505) and for international ships and superyachts (under Marine Orders 70 to 74). Since July 2014 AMSA has directly recognised RYA Yachtmaster certificates, which means the two systems connect cleanly: a commercially endorsed Yachtmaster is the prerequisite for the AMSA Sailing Master certificate.
The key point to absorb is that the endorsement alone does not let you work on an Australian-flagged commercial vessel. The RYA says so explicitly. You need the AMSA certificate for that. The endorsement is the bridge.
The RYA commercial endorsement
A commercial endorsement is a note added to your Yachtmaster certificate confirming that you hold the medical, sea survival, first aid and professional-practice requirements to use it for work. It is valid for five years and renewed with a current medical and first aid. To apply you need:
- Your original Yachtmaster Certificate of Competence (Coastal, Offshore or Ocean)
- A sea survival certificate: RYA Basic Sea Survival or STCW Personal Survival Techniques
- A valid first-aid certificate
- The RYA Professional Practices and Responsibilities (PPR) online course certificate
- A seafarer medical
- A passport photo and the fee
The medical determines which flavour of endorsement you get, and for Australians there are three:
| Endorsement | Medical | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Full commercial endorsement | UK ENG1 or AMSA 303 seafarer medical | Work on UK-coded vessels and on other flags that accept the RYA scheme; the international standard. |
| Australia: validated as a prerequisite for the AMSA Sailing Master certificate | AMSA 1850 domestic medical | Exactly what it says: it satisfies AMSA's "commercially endorsed" prerequisite so you can apply for Sailing Master. It does not itself allow work on UK or Australian commercial vessels. |
| Australia: instructor-only endorsement | AMSA 1850 domestic medical | Validates your certificate for instructing in Australian waters. Again, not a licence to work on commercial vessels. |
If you are certain your career is in Australia, the AMSA 1850 route is simpler and cheaper. If there is any chance of the Mediterranean, the Caribbean or a superyacht, get the AMSA 303 (or an ENG1 if you are in the UK) and the full endorsement, because it is what the world asks for.
AMSA Sailing Master Offshore (near coastal)
This is the Australian commercial certificate for sailing-vessel skippers, issued under Marine Order 505. It allows you to be master of a sailing vessel less than 24 m in length with propulsion power under 100 kW, operating within the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone (beyond inshore waters the vessel may carry at most 12 passengers). It also allows you to act as chief mate or deck watchkeeper on sailing vessels under 45 m in the EEZ, to perform General Purpose Hand duties, and to operate a sailing vessel's tender under 100 kW. In practice it covers day-charter and live-aboard charter yachts, sail training vessels, adventure tourism, and delivery work on commercially operated yachts.
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Hold the prerequisite certificate
A commercially endorsed RYA Yachtmaster Offshore, an RYA Yachtmaster Ocean, or an IYT Master of Yachts Limited certificate.
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Hold an engine qualification
Coxswain Grade 1 NC, Marine Engine Driver Grade 3 NC, the AMSA-approved marine engineering unit, or an accepted combination of the RYA Diesel Engine course with RYA powerboat qualifications. See below.
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Hold the supporting certificates
HLTAID011 Provide First Aid, the LROCP marine radio certificate, and an AMSA 1850 Certificate of Medical Fitness.
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Meet the general requirements
Be at least 16, demonstrate English language proficiency, and be a fit and proper person.
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Apply
Through the myAMSA online portal with scans of every document, or on AMSA form 426 at an Australia Post outlet. The certificate is valid for five years.
| Legal basis | Marine Order 505 (Certificates of competency, national law) 2022 |
|---|---|
| Vessel | Sailing vessel less than 24 m, propulsion power under 100 kW |
| Area | Within the Australian EEZ; maximum 12 passengers beyond inshore waters |
| Prerequisite | Commercially endorsed RYA Yachtmaster Offshore, RYA Yachtmaster Ocean, or IYT Master of Yachts Limited |
| Engine | Coxswain Grade 1 NC, MED3 NC, the AMSA-approved unit, or RYA Diesel Engine plus accepted powerboat certificates |
| Other | Age 16+, English proficiency, AMSA 1850 medical, HLTAID011 first aid, LROCP radio |
| Validity | 5 years, then revalidation |
The engine qualification
The one requirement that surprises most Yachtmasters is the engine. AMSA reasons that the master of a commercial sailing vessel must be able to operate and maintain its engine, so the Sailing Master certificate requires one of:
- Coxswain Grade 1 NC: the AMSA domestic certificate for commanding a vessel under 12 m in inshore waters, obtained through the Certificate II in Maritime Operations (Coxswain Grade 1 Near Coastal) plus sea service. Many Yachtmasters do this anyway because it lets them run tenders, RIBs and small charter boats.
- Marine Engine Driver Grade 3 NC: the entry-level AMSA engineering certificate.
- The AMSA-approved marine engineering unit of competency on its own, from a registered training organisation.
- The RYA Diesel Engine course combined with specified RYA powerboat qualifications, as listed by AMSA.
Which is fastest depends on what you hold. If you have no AMSA certificates, Coxswain Grade 1 is often the most useful because of what else it allows. If you already hold RYA powerboat certificates, the Diesel course may be a single day.
Other AMSA certificates a Yachtmaster meets
| Certificate | Allows | Why a Yachtmaster might want it |
|---|---|---|
| General Purpose Hand NC | Deck crew on domestic commercial vessels | The entry deckhand ticket; the Sailing Master certificate includes its functions. |
| Coxswain Grade 1 NC | Master of vessels under 12 m in inshore waters, tenders within 3 nm of a parent vessel in the EEZ | Tenders, RIBs, small charter boats, and it satisfies the Sailing Master engine requirement. |
| Master less than 24 m NC | Master of any domestic commercial vessel under 24 m in the EEZ | The motor-vessel equivalent of Sailing Master, needed if the vessel's propulsion exceeds 100 kW or she is not a sailing vessel. |
| Master less than 45 m NC | Master of vessels under 45 m in the EEZ | Larger charter and expedition vessels. |
| Marine Engine Driver Grade 3 / 2 / 1 NC | Engineering responsibility for increasing propulsion power | Satisfies the engine requirement and opens engineer roles. |
The superyacht route
The international superyacht industry runs on STCW and on the yacht-specific officer certificates. The route for an Australian Yachtmaster looks like this:
- Entry: the four STCW basic safety courses (Personal Survival Techniques, Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting, Elementary First Aid, Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities), a seafarer medical (ENG1 or AMSA 303), a commercially endorsed Yachtmaster Offshore, and the radio certificate. This is the standard package for a deckhand or a skipper of a small charter yacht in the Mediterranean or Caribbean.
- Officer of the Watch (Yachts) less than 3,000 GT: the first bridge-officer certificate, requiring sea service, a set of ancillary courses and an oral exam. AMSA issues the Australian version as Watchkeeper Deck less than 3,000 GT (Yachts) under Marine Order 74.
- Chief Mate (Yachts) less than 3,000 GT and then Master less than 500 GT (Yachts) and Master less than 3,000 GT (Yachts), each with more sea service, more courses and an oral examination.
AMSA defines a yacht for these purposes as a vessel under 3,000 GT used commercially for sport or pleasure, carrying no cargo and no more than 12 passengers; sail training vessels and short-range yachts are included. Sea service for these certificates must be genuine time at sea (AMSA states that service on vessels that spend considerable time in port will not be accepted), and an oral examination is mandatory. The Yachtmaster Offshore is not formally a prerequisite for the AMSA yacht certificates, but it is the qualification almost every candidate arrives with, and the RYA's own Yachtmaster Ocean can be sat by holders of the OOW (Yachts) certificate.
Instructing
RYA Cruising Instructors teach the practical courses from Competent Crew to Coastal Skipper. The prerequisite is a Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence (with a commercial endorsement, which for Australia-only instructing can be the instructor-only endorsement with an AMSA 1850 medical), followed by a pre-entry assessment and a five-day Cruising Instructor course. Yachtmaster Instructors, who run preparation courses, need further experience and training. Instructing on a commercial training vessel in Australian waters also requires the appropriate AMSA certificate for the vessel and operation.
What the work looks like
- Charter skippering. Skippered day charters on Sydney Harbour, Port Phillip and the Swan; live-aboard charters in the Whitsundays; corporate sailing. Sailing Master Offshore is the ticket.
- Sail training and adventure tourism. Youth sail training vessels, expedition yachts to Tasmania's south-west or the Kimberley, school programmes.
- Deliveries. Moving yachts up and down the coast and across the Tasman or the Pacific. Recreational deliveries need no certificate; commercial delivery operations increasingly want an endorsed Yachtmaster and, for Australian vessels, the AMSA certificate.
- Racing. Professional crew and sailing masters on race yachts; the Yachtmaster is the standard proof of competence.
- Superyachts. Deck crew, mates and captains worldwide, via the STCW route above.
- Instructing. Teaching the scheme in Australia or anywhere the RYA operates.