Offshore / Ocean Master

ISPA Offshore/Ocean Master Certificates of Competence are awarded to candidates who have demonstrated skills, training, experience and competence to safely venture on the high seas as the skipper of a sail or power vessel of more than 12 meters (39 ft) overall length.

ISPA Offshore/Ocean Master Certification is as much about leadership, situational awareness, decision making, resourcefulness, passage planning and vessel preparedness as it is about sailing. Your in-depth understanding of meteorology, electronic navigation, first aid and vessel systems and maintenance is presumed.

Offshore/Ocean Master certificates are generally sought by seasoned sailors who have held ISPA Coastal Skipper Bareboat and ISPA Coastal Navigator Certificates of Competence for several years and have accumulated hundreds of days of day and night sailing experience in all weather conditions, in tidal waters well out of sight of land. 

Offshore/Ocean Master candidates must feel confident that they are ready physically and mentally for the ultimate recreational boating challenge.Offshore/Ocean Master courses have a shore-based component with a written exam and a practical, on-the-water component. The shore-based component can be taken year-round but the practical component is only offered in the spring, summer and fall.

ISPA Offshore/Ocean Master Certificates of Competence are of two types:

1) Offshore Master Sail or Power
Prerequisites:

• ISPA Coastal Skipper Bareboat, ISPA Coastal Navigator Certificates of Competence
• Current first-aid certificate
• VHF or GMDSS radio operator’s licence
• List logged experience, roles and vessels type

Syllabus as described in the workbook for ISPA Offshore Master, Sail or Power, Certificate of Competence

2) Ocean Master Sail or Power
Prerequisites:

• ISPA Offshore Master Certificate of Competence
• Current first-aid certificate
• VHF or GMDSS radio operator’s licence
• List logged experience, roles and vessel types here