This is the certificate that changes what you are. Everything below it makes you crew. This makes you the person in command.

The IYT Master of Yachts 200gt Limited is a Certificate of Competency permitting command of commercial yachts up to 200 gross tons, operating up to 150 nautical miles from the coast, day or night. It is MCA approved, and under MCA's MSN 1858 section 2.6 it requires no further endorsements to be used commercially in the yachting sector. That last point matters more than it sounds. Some qualifications get you most of the way and then need topping up. This one does not.

The course runs as two distinct weeks and you can take them separately or together.

Theory week is intensive and examined. Each subject carries its own written paper and each has to be passed. Collision regulations, meteorology, tides and currents, navigation and chartwork, and business and law.

Practical week follows, on the water, in powerboats. The course assumes you already have the experience and handling ability to manage a twin-screw power vessel at this level. It is not where you learn to drive a boat. It ends with a practical examination conducted by an external examiner, independent of the school, assessing your ability to take command of a power-driven vessel up to 200 gross tons.

That external examination is worth dwelling on. Nobody at the training centre decides whether you pass. Someone from outside does, which is what gives the certificate its standing with employers.

Split pricing. Theory and practical are each US$1,900, or US$3,800 for both. Candidates who already hold relevant theory, or who need to re-sit only one component, can book a single week.

Keeping this one, because the requirements are substantial and someone will book without meeting them otherwise.

• 3,000 miles logged. Not achievable on a single crossing. Must include at least five passages of 60 miles or more, on two of which you served as watchkeeper or captain
• 50 days aboard, counted as 24-hour periods
• 30 hours on watch at night while underway, of which 6 hours as watchkeeper or captain
• VHF radio operator's licence
• Valid seaman's medical
• Basic STCW certificates

The 200gt Limited is the first command qualification, and for a great many yacht captains it is the only one they ever need. Boats in that size bracket, working within 150 miles of the coast, make up a large share of the commercial charter fleet.

From here the route runs to 200gt Unlimited, which removes the distance restriction and opens ocean passages, then to Master 500gt/3000gt for larger vessels. Each step needs more sea time and more examination, and each is a genuine step up rather than a formality.

Holding a command ticket also changes how you are read on paper. A CV listing deck qualifications says you can do the work. A CoC says someone independent has assessed you as fit to be responsible for a vessel, its crew and its guests.

Worth noting on availability: every 2026 intake at both venues is currently full. The 2027 calendar has substantially more capacity, but this course books out further ahead than anything else we run. If a specific month matters to you, book early rather than assuming space.