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Frank
I think the salesperson got a bit carried away.  What they should have written is:  “This handbook is the official course book for the Celestial Element of the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory Course”.  The Theory course is much fuller than just Celestial.  The full Theory Course also includes: Worldwide Meteorology, Ocean Passage Planning, Electronic Navigation Aids: and Crew Management and watchkeeping.

As far as publications, use of computers and Apps are concerned, you must remember that the RYA is not a Government Department where the Examiners get paid whether you pass or fail.  It’s an organisation run for water enthusiasts by water enthusiasts, many of whom are volunteers.  The Examiners generally want you to pass, so long as you’re sufficiently competent.  Therefore, except for exams like Radio Procedures where the RYA are acting on behalf of a Government or International Agency, they can be much less dogmatic over exactly which methods candidates use.  Turning up with a giant globe and a measuring tape and still producing perfect results is probably OK.  Sitting with a smartphone and asking Co-pilot probably isn’t.

However, by using the most recognised materials it’s easier for instructors to put kits together for students and it’s easier for students to obtain the materials they need to work with.  Moreover, Instructors would feel professionally bound to warn students turning up with a free set of tables no one else has ever heard of that they’ve found hidden deep in the www that just because they’re ‘off the internet’ doesn’t necessarily mean they’re error free.

As far as apps are concerned, few apps provide printouts of what your fingers have entered, so a wrong final answer must be given 0%.  With old fashioned paper working, the examiner can easily spot a tiny math error and only knock off one mark.  Similarly, on your Ocean passage, doubt over your position can be checked later by going back and checking what you wrote last night heeled at 45 degrees with seaboot footprints on your chart.  DaveP