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100+ Free Yachtmaster Ocean Practice Questions

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RYA Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased Theory

Practice Questions
2026 Statistics

Key Facts: Yachtmaster Ocean Exam

600 NM / 96 hrs

Qualifying Passage Minimum

RYA Yachtmaster Ocean requirements

GBP 199

2026 Exam Fee

RYA exam fees 2026

4 seconds = 1 NM

Time-to-Longitude Error

Earth rotates 15 degrees per hour

June-November

North Atlantic Hurricane Season

Worldwide meteorology syllabus

Epoch 2025.0

AP3270/NP303 Vol 1 Stars Edition

UKHO Rapid Sight Reduction Tables

Yachtmaster Offshore

Required Prerequisite

RYA entry requirements

The RYA Yachtmaster Ocean is the top certificate in the RYA scheme and is taken by experienced skippers who already hold Yachtmaster Offshore and have completed a qualifying ocean passage of at least 600 NM and 96 hours (200 NM of it over 50 miles from land, within 10 years) using astro navigation. Assessment is a written paper plus an oral of about 1.5 to 2 hours. The written paper covers celestial navigation (sextant use, index error, dip and refraction corrections, sun/star/planet/moon sights), sight reduction via the PZX triangle and the intercept method using AP3270/NP303 tables, meridian altitude and Polaris for latitude, time (UT, zone time, the chronometer) and worldwide meteorology including the ITCZ, trade winds, and tropical revolving storms with dangerous-semicircle avoidance. The oral also explores great circle and composite sailing, ocean passage planning, routeing charts, yacht preparation and communications. The 2026 RYA exam fee is GBP 199. The written paper is waived for holders of the Ocean shorebased certificate or an MCA deck officer CoC.

Sample Yachtmaster Ocean Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your Yachtmaster Ocean exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1When taking a sun sight with a marine sextant, what does the term 'index error' describe?
A.The residual error remaining when the horizon and reflected horizon are aligned but the reading is not exactly zero
B.The difference between the observed altitude and the calculated altitude
C.The correction applied for the observer's height of eye above the sea
D.The error caused by abnormal atmospheric refraction near the horizon
Explanation: Index error is the instrument error found by setting the sextant to zero and noting the reading when the true and reflected horizons coincide; if it is not exactly zero, the residual is the index error, applied 'off the arc' or 'on the arc'.
2An observer with a height of eye of 4 metres takes a sextant altitude of the sun. In which sense is the dip correction always applied to the sextant altitude?
A.Always subtracted, because dip depresses the visible horizon below the horizontal
B.Always added, because dip raises the apparent horizon
C.Added in the morning and subtracted in the afternoon
D.It is only applied to star sights, not sun sights
Explanation: Dip arises because the observer's eye is above sea level, so the visible horizon lies below the true horizontal; the dip correction is therefore always subtracted from the sextant altitude. For 4 m, dip is about 3.5'.
3When reducing a lower-limb sun sight, the main correction from the Nautical Almanac altitude correction tables principally combines which effects?
A.Index error and dip only
B.Dip and the equation of time
C.Refraction, semi-diameter and parallax in altitude
D.Variation and deviation of the compass
Explanation: After applying index error and dip to obtain apparent altitude, the main 'altitude correction' for the sun combines refraction, the sun's semi-diameter (lower limb) and parallax in altitude into a single tabulated figure.
4Refraction correction in the altitude correction tables is greatest for a body observed at which altitude?
A.Near the zenith (about 90 degrees)
B.About 45 degrees
C.Low altitudes near the horizon (a few degrees)
D.Refraction is constant at all altitudes
Explanation: Atmospheric refraction is greatest for low-altitude bodies because the light passes obliquely through a long path of atmosphere; it is near zero at the zenith. Sights below about 15 degrees are generally avoided for this reason.
5In the Marcq St Hilaire (intercept) method, if the observed altitude Ho is greater than the calculated altitude Hc, the intercept (terminal point) is plotted:
A.Towards the geographical position of the body, along the azimuth
B.Away from the geographical position of the body, along the reciprocal of the azimuth
C.Perpendicular to the azimuth in either direction
D.Along the observer's meridian towards the pole
Explanation: The mnemonic is 'Ho-Mo-To': if Ho is More than Hc, the intercept is Towards the body. A greater observed altitude means the observer is closer to the body's geographical position, so the position line is laid off towards the azimuth.
6In sight reduction, the position line obtained from a single sight is drawn:
A.Along the azimuth of the body
B.At right angles to the azimuth (bearing) of the body
C.Parallel to the body's geographical position
D.Along the local hour angle circle
Explanation: A celestial position line is a small segment of a circle of equal altitude; over a short distance it is drawn as a straight line at right angles to the azimuth of the observed body, passing through the intercept terminal point.
7The PZX (navigational) triangle used in sight reduction has its three vertices at:
A.The geographical position, the assumed position and the dead-reckoning position
B.The celestial equator, the ecliptic and the First Point of Aries
C.Greenwich, the observer's meridian and the Sun
D.The elevated pole P, the observer's zenith Z, and the position of the body X
Explanation: The PZX triangle is formed on the celestial sphere by the elevated pole (P), the observer's zenith (Z) and the geographical position of the body (X). Its sides are co-latitude, polar distance (co-declination) and zenith distance (co-altitude).
8In the PZX triangle, the side PX (from the elevated pole to the body) is equal to:
A.The co-latitude of the observer
B.The polar distance, equal to 90 degrees minus declination when the body is on the same side as the pole
C.The zenith distance of the body
D.The local hour angle
Explanation: PX is the polar distance (co-declination). For a body whose declination is the same name as the elevated pole, PX = 90 degrees minus declination; for contrary name it is 90 degrees plus declination.
9Using NP303 / AP3270 Rapid Sight Reduction Tables Volumes 2 and 3, the navigator must enter the tables with whole-number values. This is achieved by choosing an assumed position whose:
A.Latitude is a whole degree and longitude gives a whole-degree local hour angle
B.Latitude and longitude are both the nearest whole degree
C.Longitude equals the DR longitude and latitude is rounded to 0.5 degree
D.Latitude and longitude both equal the geographical position of the body
Explanation: AP3270/NP303 Vols 2 and 3 are entered with whole-degree latitude and whole-degree LHA. The assumed latitude is the nearest whole degree, and the assumed longitude is chosen so that LHA (GHA combined with longitude) is a whole number of degrees.
10AP3270 / NP303 Volume 1 'Selected Stars' is published for a specific epoch (currently Epoch 2025.0). Why is a new edition issued every few years?
A.To account for precession of the equinoxes, which slowly changes the stars' positions relative to Aries
B.Because the stars physically change brightness over time
C.Because the Earth's rotation rate changes measurably each year
D.To update the sun's declination tables
Explanation: Volume 1 tabulates seven selected stars against LHA Aries; precession of the equinoxes gradually shifts star positions relative to the First Point of Aries, so a fresh epoch edition (e.g. 2025.0) is issued roughly every five years to keep accuracy.

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