NavList:

Hi Frank

Sorry to be a little late with this, been way from the desk.

Firstly, look up the RYA website, ring the general switchboard operator and ask to be put through to someone who can answer your question. They are used to fielding enquiries from very specific through to sweepingly general.

I'm out of date but I believe general purpose calculators are ok, but programmable or celestial specific calculators not so.  My knowledge and experience of the Ocean Yachtmaster course is from 20 years ago. The shorebased course was, and I believe remains, 50/50 celestial and ocean passage making content. The celestial syllabus required 1 session of an alternative method of sight reduction. Most times the Nautical Almanac method was taught, I believe, as the second method.

When I did my theory ticket the instructor let me use my own home brew Excel sight reduction forms, but wouldn''t allow other such forms copied directly from published material.

The general style of UK yachtie qualifications remains a shore based techniques written course ( often over winter ) followed by one or another form of practical exam. There's a fair amount of bull about among yachties who call themselves yachtmasters although they haven't been practically examined on board a yacht, or in the case of Yachtmaster Ocean, an oral. The oral apes the merchant marine professional masters/mates/engineers scheme. My oral Yachmaster Ocean examiner was ex RN and said he had only done his celestial on 55 ft military training yachts. The oral began by inviting me to lift his sextant out of its case and do a quick and dirty IE and side error check out of the office windoow. You may not approve, but the examiner needs to assess if the written work submitted appears to be the candidate's own. He also asked me to train him up on a method of celestial type compass checking on a vessel with a bulkhead steering compass. What no binnacle mounted compass? How can such a bulkhead compass be checked using the sun? An essential tool to have with you as you sally forth. It's a decent question for a candidate, don't you think? I haven't yet seen the problem put, or a solution offered,  in any books I've read. Probably because the solution is very boat specific. Not many bulkhead compasses about at the time of the WW 2 air reduction tables etc. And yet yachts do go radically off course crossing oceans because of compass problems. 

 The IMO resides in London, and in effect if they don't agree with it, it's a no no. The RYA chooses to keep open the route for hobby mariners to progress through to the professional ranks. Which policy I'm very content with. Yachties who want to train others or assess them afloat need a separate practical course and assessment to turn themselves into 'Yachtmaster Instructors',  and also need a 'Commercial Endorsement'  on their RYA Yachmaster Certificate which provides the other professional knowledge and skills for skippering any craft to a professional standard.

There are tensions, but it is helpful if you realise the system operates stepwise up to IMO approved standards from hobbyist initial steps. And you'll possibly have  a miltary or merchant marine experienced examiner for your oral.

MB ( long retired ... )