James StevensRYA Yachtmaster Handbook

Just what I wanted

Useful, but not comprehensive

This is an easy to read depiction of the mindset and standard required to become a Yachmaster. As a Cruising Instructor, it has been very helpful using the anecdotes to identify common pitfalls.

I had expected a comprehensive review that would enable a reader to pass the yachtmaster exam but it was patchy -altough interesting.

Anyone buying this in preparation for the yachtmaster test is likely to be somewhat disappointed. It is a superficial overview of the key topics with numerous anecdotes outlining what you can expect and illustrating how you can win yourself a fail, written by someone who knows better than most. It is a mildly entertaining read but is by no means a textbook. I didn't find it of any significant use in theory revision and considered it (at RYA price) to be seriously poor value. By contrast, Reeds Skippers Handbook packs a vast amount of useful info into a compact handbook and the Alison Noice book is excellent.If you want to sample the mind of the senior RYA examiner then go for it. Otherwise give it a miss, and get the RYA course notes plus a good textbook.