PREREQUISITES
There are some prerequisites that must be met before a sailor can apply for a skippers' ticket. They are as follows:
AGE
The candidate must be at least 16 years of age.
RADIO OPERATORS LICENCE
Candidates for day skipper and above require a Restricted Radiotelephone Operator's Certificate (Marine)
VISUAL ACUITY AND ISHIHARA COLOUR TEST
All candidates require a basic eye test, which many opticians will do for free.
Download the eye test form
If you are colour blind you cannot go further than Day Skipper
FIRST AID CERTIFICATE
Candidates for Coastal Skipper and above must hold a Level 1 First Aid Certificate.
EXPERIENCE
For Day Skipper to Yachtmaster, the minimum experience required is laid out in the table below. Only experience as a skipper or an active member of crew on a sailboat at sea is considered to be qualifying experience. Powerboat experience does not qualify.
| DAY SKIPPER | LOCAL WATERS SKIPPER |
COASTAL SKIPPER | YACHTMASTER OFFSHORE | |
| Miles | 200 |
400 |
800 |
2500 |
| Night Hours on watch | 2 |
8 |
24 |
48 |
| Voyages | One night entry into the candidate's home port |
Three night entries into the candidate's home port |
Three trips of at least 60 nautical miles each |
Three overnight trips of at least 100 nautical miles each as skipper |
LOG BOOK
A logbook is required as proof of experience. The logbook records the details of each voyage, and should be signed off by the skipper. If you are the skipper for a particular voyage you will sign for that voyage yourself. Log books for this purpose can be purchased from SAS.
Where the candidate has not kept a logbook, the examiner may accept retrospective logging of experience at his or her discretion.
