CHAPTER 04 · HOW TO JOIN YACHTING
Get certified
STCW and ENG1. What they are, what they cost by region in 2026, and the courses to skip for now.
Two certificates get you onto a dock. Most of what else you have been told to buy can wait, and some of it you should never buy. Do them in the right order and you will not throw money away before you have earned any.
Your ENG1 comes first
The ENG1 is the seafarer medical. A doctor checks that you are fit to work at sea: eyesight, hearing, blood pressure, general physical, sometimes a urine test. Pass it and you get the certificate every boat asks for.
Book it before you pay a school a cent. If you fail the medical, no course you have bought means anything, and schools do not refund you for a body that did not pass.
As of 2026 the UK statutory fee is GBP 115, set on 13 November 2025, with extra tests charged on top. In Antibes the exam runs roughly EUR 100 to 150. In Cape Town it is roughly R2,800, and local providers warn of increases of about 10 percent a year. In Fort Lauderdale expect a similar figure in dollars; the approved clinics publish their own prices, so phone first.
Three things people get wrong. The certificate is valid for two years, or one year if you are 16 to 18. Your family doctor cannot issue it: it has to be an MCA approved doctor, and the MCA publishes country by country lists of approved doctors outside the UK, including France, the USA, South Africa and Spain. And colour vision is tested with Ishihara plates. If you want deck and you fail, you can retest at an MCA nominated CAD centre, but a confirmed fail can restrict or permanently bar you from deck duties. Interior, galley and engineering stay open. Better to learn that in a clinic than after paying for a deck course.
From the bridge: the CVs I put down fastest are the ones with six certificates listed and no ENG1 date.
STCW Basic Safety Training
This is the course every crew member holds. Five modules, taught at an approved school, five days in most places, and some schools run a blended version in two days with online work first.
Personal Survival Techniques teaches you how to get off a sinking vessel and stay alive in a liferaft, and most of it happens in a pool. The hottest room you will ever volunteer to stand in is Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting: real smoke, real breathing apparatus. Elementary First Aid covers CPR, bleeding and moving a casualty until proper help arrives. Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities explains how a ship works, your rights and your duties. Security Awareness covers the basics of ship security.
One 2026 change worth knowing. From 1 January 2026, Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities includes mandatory training on preventing and responding to sexual assault, sexual harassment and bullying on board, added by IMO Resolution MSC.560(108) in May 2024. Certificates issued before that date do not have to be renewed early.
| Where you train | Full course, 2026 | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Cape Town, South Africa | R6,500 to R15,000 | One school quotes R8,750 with PDSD included, another R15,000 for four modules with PDSD left out. Compare module lists, not headline prices. |
| Fort Lauderdale, USA | USD 1,095 to 1,375 | The low figure is a two day blended course. Five day classroom courses sit at USD 1,149 to 1,375. |
| Antibes and Palma | EUR 1,295 | Five day full course at one of the large schools. The two day refresher is EUR 590. |
| United Kingdom | GBP 850 to 1,050 | From February 2026 one academy charges GBP 850 non residential and GBP 1,050 residential. Another quotes GBP 850 including VAT. |
Two modules, Personal Survival and Fire Fighting, must be revalidated every five years. A certificate that runs to a given year lets you join a boat right up to that expiry, so there is no reason to renew early.
Now the Cape Town line, plainly. It is the same certificate. South African schools run MCA recognised courses at a fraction of the European price, which is why a lot of crew train there. Two caveats. Check the school appears on the recognised list before you pay, because a certificate from an unapproved provider is worth nothing on a dock. And if you are flying in from Europe, put the flight and the visa into the sum before you call it cheaper. Prices move and schools change what sits in the bundle, so confirm the module list and the total before you book.
What not to buy yet
Schools sell courses to green crew because green crew buy them. Hold your money.
Powerboat Level 2 is a two day RYA course at roughly GBP 199 to 325. It helps on deck, but buy it once you know deck is your department, not before your ENG1. Personal watercraft licences, silver service, barista and wine courses and hospitality diplomas do not get a green CV picked up. Efficient Deckhand is a five day MCA course at around GBP 750 residential, and you must hold it 18 months before it counts toward an Officer of the Watch ticket, so it belongs to your second year. Yachtmaster is further off still: the RYA exam fee alone is GBP 266 from 1 January 2026, and prep courses run from roughly EUR 990 to over USD 4,125.
From the bridge: I have never hired anyone because of a barista certificate. I have had to stand someone down mid season because their ENG1 ran out.
Do this now
- Find an MCA approved doctor near you and book the ENG1 this week.
- Once you have passed, get three written STCW quotes and compare module lists, including whether PDSD is in the price.
- Check your chosen school appears on the recognised list before you transfer anything.
- Scan both certificates the day you receive them and file them where the expiry dates stay in view. SeaPapers (seapapers.com) has a document folio for exactly this: every certificate, medical, passport and visa in one place, dated and checked, one link to send a boat when they ask for your papers. They will ask.