About YachtSync
YachtSync is a free certificate app and training directory for superyacht crew. It was built by a serving superyacht officer who has spent the last eight years at sea, starting as a green deckhand walking the docks in Antibes and working up to the bridge. Every feature in this app exists because it solves a real problem at sea.
Free for crew. Always.
Built by a serving superyacht officer
I started in the industry in 2018. I'd left school not really knowing what I wanted to do, and it was hearing about the industry while working at a local harbour that got me looking into it properly. I went straight from school into a deckhand course, then arrived in Antibes with my STCW and no contacts and walked the docks. I dockwalked for four weeks after the course, picked up a good amount of daywork, and then landed a permanent job that lasted two years.
From there I went on to complete an OOW Unlimited cadetship with MSC Cruises and Glasgow College, picking up yacht temp contracts during college holidays along the way. That got me my OOW Unlimited in 2023 and Chief Mate 3000 in 2024, and I've been working as officer and chief officer on yachts from 50m to 140m since. I'm still at sea today.
Why I built it
Nobody handed me a map. I had to piece together the certificates, the costs and the hubs from scattered forums and word of mouth. Then, on board, I got tired of digging through email threads for an old ENG1 scan, tired of watching brilliant crew lose seasons because of paperwork, and tired of seeing yacht after yacht where no one was tracking certificates properly: files scattered across inboxes, WhatsApp chats and three different laptops. YachtSync is the thing I wish had existed on my first day.
Where a guide on this site draws on my own experience, it says so. Where I haven't done something myself, such as an interior or engineering course, the page says so plainly rather than pretending.
Where the money comes from
YachtSync does not charge crew and does not sell your data. Here is exactly where the money comes from.
- The app is free.
Every feature is free for every crew member. If you want to chip in towards the running costs, there is an optional supporter subscription inside the app. It raises your monthly AI scan allowance and adds a badge to your profile. It unlocks nothing else, and nobody needs it.
- The training directory is free.
It is free to search, and free for schools to be listed in. No school can pay to be listed or to rank higher.
- Some links earn us a commission.
When you book with some schools through links on this site, the school pays us a commission, at no extra cost to you. Those links are marked “Ad” wherever they appear. Some accommodation links to Booking.com also earn us a commission.
- Commission never moves a listing.
The directory is ordered by relevance to your search, upcoming course dates and, if you choose to share it, distance. Our “Best course” pages are editorial picks, and any commission relationship is disclosed on those pages. The full method is on How we rank providers.
A directory is only useful if it is true
This is what happens behind it.
- Regular course checks.
We regularly check what the directory says about courses against the schools' own pages: calendars where every listed date has passed, calendars about to run out, and booking links that no longer work. A link only counts as broken once a second check confirms it. Any date we change is taken from the school's own published page, never estimated.
- Past dates come down.
Every time the site is rebuilt, course dates that have already passed are removed, so you are not shown a session you cannot book.
- The MCA's own list, mirrored.
Our ENG1 approved doctors page reproduces the MCA's published register of doctors approved to issue the ENG1, UK and overseas, with the date the MCA last updated each list and the date we took our copy. ENG1 examiners in the directory are cross-checked against the same list. The MCA updates its lists from time to time, so always confirm with the doctor before booking.
- Schools can verify their listings.
Any school can confirm its own listing details, for free. Confirmed listings carry a ✓ Verified badge. Verification means the details came from the school. It is not an endorsement, and it is never paid for.
- Tell us when we're wrong.
If something looks off, email admin@yachtsync.uk and we will check it against the source and fix it.
Get in touch
- Crew and app supportsupport@yachtsync.uk
- Schools, listings and correctionsadmin@yachtsync.uk
- Legal, privacy and data requestslegal@yachtsync.uk
YachtSync Ltd
YachtSync Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 17152913.
Data hosted in the EU. GDPR compliant.
Privacy policy · Terms · How we use AI