The questions that the RYA Training Schemes are written to answer are:

Is it safe to depart?
Is the intended trip / passage realistic?
Is the destination safe?

The syllabus for Day Sailors includes:
The Beaufort Scale
Sources of weather information

It also includes local effects:
i.e. sea breeze, lee and weather shores
and local land effects such as the
funnelling of wind in valleys and between islands.

These effects are likely to be well known by instructors teaching dinghy sailing day after day at the same venue.

For Advanced Sailors, the syllabus is expanded to:
high and low pressure areas, changes in barometric pressure, fog and introduction to the synoptic chart.

Offshore Sailors need to have a better understanding of:
weather systems and air masses, shipping forecasts, barometric changes and also fog (particularly at sea).

A common question in the Yachtmaster Offshore Examination is for the candidate to be asked to listen to a shipping forecast and then asked to decide whether across channel trip is feasible. A supplementary question is whether it will be possible to return in the next day or two.

Ocean Sailors need to know the sources of information on:
Pressure systems and prevailing winds to make long-term passage planning decisions. Tropical revolving storms and how to avoid them are an important part of the syllabus.

The hardest decision to make is whether to leave, particularly if the weather is unsettled. A strong boat with a strong crew and experienced skipper can undertake ambitious passages, which would be inappropriate for, say a family cruise.

The level of competence required by an Offshore Skipper can be summarised in the section of the syllabus that says, ‘Ability to make passage planning decisions based on forecast information’.

Summary by James Stevens