European waterways exam online

BOATERS taking their craft abroad have to sit an exam to obtain a certificate to show they are competent, usually organised through the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) but can now do it without leaving their homes!

The test is a multiple choice exam, the Code Européen des Voies de la Navigation Intérieure (CEVNI), and is the code governing navigation on Europe's inland network, and covers rules and signs that boaters are expected to follow, Alan Tilbury reveals.

Less expensive

Many narrowboaters are taking their boats abroad, where boating is dramatically less expensive than in this country, but need the International Certificate of Competence to cruise the European waterways, particularly as many are commercial.

An exam is normally sat at a RYA training centre in this country, but this month a new ruling allows it to be taken online.

The photo shows the moorings at Le Mans.

The new online alternative to the traditional paper test is designed to improve the ease of access for those not in easy reach of a  RYA training centre.

If you are taking your boat abroad, when you're ready to take the test  simply contact a RYA centre registered to offer the test, and they will guide you through the process.