Professional Yachtmaster graduate stories

Professional Yachtmaster Graduate Experiences

Our graduates share their experiences before, during and after taking the professional yachtmaster courses with advice on crewing on yachts.

A young male taking a selfie onboard a yacht

Sjoerd Rensink

I attended the open day at UKSA and quickly took the decision to sign up for the Professional Yachtmaster Offshore. The key reason I joined UKSA is to get my yachting ticket from an organisation which is well respected in the yachting industry.

  • Before the course: Royal Marine Mountain Leader
  • After the course: I plan to come back to UKSA in the future to train to work on superyachts (over 24m)
My advice

“I benefited from the careers support from the careers and industry guidance team to be able to break into a career in professional yachting. I like it here at UKSA, it has a good feeling to the campus and being here is helping me change my life.”

A yachtmaster graduate at the helm of a yacht

Mark Pomeroy

I found out about the course when searching online. Training here is very appealing as it offers a fast, end-to-end solution and UKSA has a good reputation. The course here provides an excellent opportunity to relearn many of the skills I have used previously and gives me an update on new thinking and the latest equipment.

  • Before the course: Royal Navy
  • After the course: I want to train further so this is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for me
My advice

“My first impressions of UKSA are; so far, so good. The instructors are professional and dedicated and very willing and motivated to help in any way they can.”

A young male onboard a superyacht

Nicola Belardo

UKSA’s Professional Yachtmaster Offshore course can be a real game changer; it provided Nicola Belardo with the qualifications to transition from being a professional rugby player to becoming a full-time deckhand.

  • Before the course: Deckhand on board an 80m superyacht
  • After the course: After a busy season on board a 80m motor yacht, Nicola is beginning his Officer of the Watch 3000gt training at UKSA
My advice

“Enjoy every single moment. Sometimes it can be tough but try and enjoy it. Ask as many questions as you can because the people working there can teach you a lot. So, ENJOY!!!”