Yachtmaster Offshore Standard: Passage Release and Change Control

The RYA describes a Yachtmaster Offshore as competent to skipper a cruising vessel by day or night, in a wide range of weather conditions, while no more than 150 miles from harbour. Its practical examination assesses skippering, boat handling, seamanship, navigation and safety awareness. Written revision can rehearse a defensible decision structure, but it cannot demonstrate live command, crew leadership, vessel handling or examination competence.

Run a passage-release gate before departure and again before each demanding leg. Check current route and warning evidence, tide and time, weather, vessel condition and systems, usable fuel and stores, crew competence and rest, communications and legal requirements, plus a genuinely usable refuge. Mark each critical item pass, hold or unresolved. A loaded route and a favourable ETA do not release the passage when another controlling item has failed.

Separate facts, estimates and assumptions. A charted distance or observed time can be a fact for the exercise; speed over ground, forecast timing and harbour access remain estimates or time-bounded evidence. For each critical assumption, state the accepted margin, the observable trigger that closes the plan and the alternative that remains usable at that trigger.

IMO guidance says the voyage should be executed in accordance with the plan or changes made to it, and that progress should be closely and continuously monitored. When a critical assumption fails, stop defending the original destination: reappraise the remaining route, recalculate time and resources, compare the fallback, brief the crew, record the change and set the next review. The amended plan becomes the working plan.

Close the loop with a short command brief: facts, uncertainty, decision, immediate action, roles, fallback, next review and the evidence required before a closed option can reopen. All figures below are fictional revision data; use current official, local, vessel and crew information for a real passage.