Yachtmaster Offshore: "They want to get you through, but you have to perform"
Martin Hager
· 10.04.2026
YACHT: Timm, you have just completed the Yachtmaster Offshore in Malta. Why now of all times?
Timm Kruse: I still don't have a very high licence. I've sailed a lot in France and have close connections there. I keep coming across potential jobs there, but the French changed their laws a few years ago and only take people with semi-professional licences. So I thought I'd do the RYA Offshore - and then I found out that the French don't recognise it after all. So it was actually all for nothing. (laughs)
What kind of licences have you had so far?
Various, in the end the SBF See. But that was all over 30 years ago. At some point, I thought I needed to go higher. Actually, you don't have to. I've sailed an incredible amount - from France to Tahiti, three times across the Atlantic, lived on a boat myself for two years. I've clocked up a lot of miles. And now I have the biggest licence you can get as an amateur, but which you can also use professionally - and which is recognised all over the world, except in France of all places.
Do you want to use it commercially?
I often work as a skipper now, but for free. At Soul Sailing, for example, they always take skippers with them who do it on a voluntary basis. But it would be nice if I could get paid for it, because it's always quite stressful. And I'm a freelancer, so I need as many footholds as possible in this difficult world.
Why Malta and not England like many others?
I was basically shanghaied by Leon Schulz, who has a Hallberg-Rassy in Spain and does a lot of training cruises. Among other things, he does the theory for the RYA. He said: "A guy like you needs this licence." And then I went to Malta and did a week of theory with Leon - it was really incredibly demanding.
What was so difficult?
In terms of my brain, I'm more of a language person, not a maths person. All these vector calculations, tides, when do I pass under which bridge - absolutely borderline for me. I have to be honest, I cheated my way through this theoretical exam and would have only just passed it if I hadn't been able to copy a bit from my neighbour.
What are the requirements for the Yachtmaster Offshore?
You need 50 days at sea, 2,500 nautical miles - that's already an Atlantic crossing. Then five passages over 60 nautical miles, two of them overnight and two as skipper. Plus five days as skipper on boats under 24 metres. Plus various certificates: radio licence, first aid course. You have to submit all of this and then the RYA will authorise you to take the exam. They don't care about German licences, by the way. They just want to see that you can sail properly and that you can handle a boat day and night.
How did the preparation go?
After a three-day break in Malta, we boarded a 46-foot Bavaria. There were three of us - my mate Lukas, an oil tanker captain by the way, a Swiss man and me. We had a drill instructor, an Englishman from the army. He really put us through our paces for a week. It was tough, five really tough days with the most extreme manoeuvres. I learnt an incredible amount, but I was also really exhausted. One morning, the Swiss man came up to me and said: "I'm exhausted." And that's how I felt.
The exam is entirely in English, right?
Yes, everything - theory, practice. You need to know all the terms: Jibing, tacking, everything in the right wording. That's quite demanding. On Friday afternoon, the examiner flew in from England. A short safety briefing so that he could see how we spoke English and whether we knew the boat. Then out in the evening for a night cruise with various manoeuvres. He marked points on the map for us to find - using only echo sounder and eyes, no instruments. We sailed into the Grand Harbour of Malta, orientated ourselves along the 20-metre line and took aim at various buoys with a hand compass. We were back shortly before midnight, a few hours' sleep, and the next morning at half past eight we set off again.
Were there any new manoeuvres that you learned?
Yes, a man-overboard manoeuvre that I didn't know: Fill and spill. You throw the fender overboard, sail away with the wind half astern, make a tack, let the mainsail flap and sail back to the fender. Someone sits in the companionway, holds the mainsheet, takes it in again and again and drops it - spill and fill. You approach the fender slowly, but you have to have exactly the right angle to the wind. If you have the experience, this is a great method.
And then the "lasso" - I didn't know that either. You attach a line to the bow cleat and lay it across the ship on the winch to starboard. When mooring, you stop at the bollard, throw the line over the bollard like a lasso, pull yourself firmly over the winch - and you're safe. Then you can tie up the fore and aft lines in peace. That would have really helped me in the Mediterranean when sailing single-handed.
Did it all stress you out despite your experience?
Totally! I'm really not the exam type. I thought I'd be better at it in my mid-50s than I used to be - but no. I'm a nervous wreck when it comes to exams. Right with blackouts. Before a difficult docking manoeuvre, I was shaky and suddenly didn't know whether to turn to port or starboard. That really stressed me out. I was just happy when it was over and I had passed. Incidentally, we're only doing this podcast because I passed - otherwise I wouldn't have told anyone that I'd failed.
Were there any critical moments in the audit?
Oh yes! We had a Bavaria 46 where the furling mainsail was constantly jammed. It took us three quarters of an hour outside to get the sail out. And then: I crank the front of the mast, the red release cord of my lifejacket gets caught in the crank - and my waistcoat opens. I'd never tried that before. When a thing like that strangles your neck, it's really cool. I thought: "Shit, now I've failed." But the examiner came up and said: "Shit happens, that's exactly what I wanted to see. How do you deal with it?" We dealt with it with a smile and he said: "You're good on board, you're a good crew."
What is your most important tip for all those who still have the Yachtmaster ahead of them?
They want to get you through, not let you fail. It's a completely different approach to what I know from Germany. The examiner told us: "I want to get you through. Do man overboard manoeuvres, but have fun doing it." But you still have to perform, both personally and professionally. And: just do it! Take a relaxed approach. In my life, the question "to do or not to do" always has the answer "to do". If you want to do it, you do it. And Royal Yachtmaster sounds like something - great for your ego and you really have something in your pocket.
How much time do I need to plan and how much does the Yachtmaster Offshore cost?
With all the trimmings, the licence cost me around 5,000 euros. I completed it in just under two weeks: one week theory, three days break, five days practice plus exam. Provided, of course, that you already have the nautical miles. If you have to collect them first, you'll need at least a year and it will be more expensive. But if everything fits: two weeks, hard, but doable.
The interview is also available as a podcast, all info HERE.
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Martin Hager
Editor in Chief YACHT
