Elite Sailing is an RYA Approved ICC Examination Centre

Most other European Countries require by law a formal certificate of competence to be in charge of a small vessel at sea. These countries have national arrangements for examinations and certificates. For British nationals to sail in these countries' coastal waters, it is necessary to possess either:

A. RYA/DOT Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence

Or

An International Certificate of Competence. (ICC) issued by the RYA.

The RYA can issue an ICC to an individual when he or she has demonstrated basic competence in boat handling (power or sail as appropriate) and knowledge of basic coastal navigation and rules of the road.

If you have completed a Day Skipper Practical Course or intend to do one anyway, your course completion certificate is sufficient proof of competence and it is only a matter of completing an ICC application form (available from Elite Sailing) and sending it to the RYA with either a £28 fee or your RYA membership number (in which case the certificate is free).

If you consider you already have the competence but have not done a Day Skipper Course, you can arrange for an ICC examination. This exam comprises a short written test and a practical assessment conducted by a yachtmaster instructor aboard a yacht. The test takes about half a day for two candidates which allows for a small amount of coaching where necessary. If you have your own yacht we can provide an instructor to do the test. The cost will be the same as our own boat instruction rate. Alternatively you can book a sailing weekend and complete the ICC test on our yacht during the course of the weekend. It is rarely cost-effective for us to run ICC exam-only sessions but we sometimes do - especially if 3 or 4 people request a test at the same time. Please enquire for availability.

We are authorised to examine for ICC (sail) and the subsequent certificates are valid for both power and sail.

The basic certificate is valid for coastal waters. For inland waterways (canals and rivers), you need to have an endorsement to the effect that you understand the European regulations governing navigation on these waterways. The exam is a short written test (the CEVNI test) based on multiple choice answers and conducted in our classroom or onboard a yacht. You are given the result immediately. The test may be retaken until a pass is achieved. We make a small charge for administering the test and when you pass we sign your ICC application form to that effect.