career advice

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sr04

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I am 16 and leaving school next summer. I would really like a career
sailing, maybe eventually skippering other peoples yachts.
I have looked on the net for colleges and schools, but apart from UKSA
have not really found anything else. UKSA will cost
me about £10,000 for a 17week course.
Are there any "apprenticeships" or sponsorship opportunitie for
someone such as myself?
I have sailed sveral thousand miles with my dad around the Irish Sea, I
go dinghy sailing and have done some RYA courses to date.
I love sailing and the sea, so what opportunities are open to me?
 
Hi sr04

We have currently 2 'apprentices' within our company, training for their Yachtmaster Qualification.

One of the guys came to us having only ever been a yacht once! He learned to swim only last year! It shows that as long as you have the passion to be on the water, the aptitude to learn, and drive to see it through, you will succeed.

I will say though that this is NOT a 17 week course with us. Yes you can achieve your qualification within 17 weeks, but we feel that experience and quality time on the water is paramount, as appose to squeezing it all in to a set period. If it takes you 12 months to achieve your goal it takes you 12 months.

Last year one of our 'apprentices' went and started working on a 54 ft Cat in the Caribbean.

I will be more than happy to explain how we work with you and your parents, please feel free to PM me.

kind regards

Tina.
 
Have you considered the Merchant Navy? You will be better paid and get plenty of leave; that way, you can afford to own your own boat and go where you want.
 
I'd have thought an instructor who told yachtmaster trainees they need to learn to swim was being unduly pessimistic. They'll get the hang of sailing eventually.
 
I shall heartily endorse Twisterowner's suggestion re applying for a cadetship in the Merchant Navy. Much more fun than doing A Levels and going to university! I did the latter (ie uni), and in retrospect now I wish I could have done a cadetship at sea instead. Could have gone to uni later on if I had desired....

I understand that all of the large shipping companies are taking on cadets - in fact there seems to be a scarcity of qualified deck and engineering officers, and this is one reason why the shipping lines are keen on sponsoring cadets.

In a nutshell, you will spend time at college ashore, as well as time at sea, and once you have had sufficient experience (and beaned up on all the theory, including basic naval architecture) then you can take your 3rd Mate's exam.

If you find that the sea faring life is for you, then you can always aim to get your Master's ticket..... but if not, then you at least will have an OOW qualification, and you will have completed all the necessary STCW courses, which will stand you in good stead for working on large (ie those over 24 m in length) yachts.

It would cost a small fortune to pay your own way (eg at the UKSA) to get these qualifications.

And then you can always do RYA courses, aiming to become a Yachtmaster with a commercial endorsement - once you get this, the world will be your proverbial oyster for sure!
 
[ QUOTE ]
I shall heartily endorse Twisterowner's suggestion re applying for a cadetship in the Merchant Navy. Much more fun than doing A Levels and going to university! I did the latter (ie uni), and in retrospect now I wish I could have done a cadetship at sea instead. Could have gone to uni later on if I had desired....



[/ QUOTE ]

I did a cadetship combined with a nautical Studies Degree, got my 2nd Officer (Foreign Going), did one trip as 3rd Officer, then got my P45! The business was contracting in 1984.

Anyway... I then worked as a salesman for U.S. Lines and C.A.S.T. before leaving to become an estate agent!

Great life for 6 years... saw the world and got paid to do it, as well as navigation becoming second nature.

I guess if I had added a Yachtmaster Offshore commercial to the 2nd mates certificate, it would have been quite a powerful combination.
 
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Sorry, see what you mean when I re-read it.

The point I was trying to make was the fact that a 34 year old man, decided to get up and learn to swim, and now has decided to learn to sail.

It's a real pleasure to instruct a person who is soooooooooooo eager to learn. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I am sure you'll agree that its commendable that sr04, a young guy, is so passionate about wanting to earn a living from a great way of life.

Kind regards

Tina /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I was just kidding. I'm sure he's a pleasure to teach. I'm also sure the young man who's at the head of this thread would have a great time if he took the advice to try the MN cadetships though.
 
The reason so many companies are putting cadets through is because of the tax breaks. It used to be that British ship owners put there ships out to flags of conveniance but now we are one. My son is an engineer cadet witha british ship management company who are owned by an Italian group. They have two ships of Brazilian ownership reistered in the UK and crewed by Sri Lankens except for the cadets and sometimes the Masters.
 
Why not have a look at the RYA magazine or website? There are details of sailing schools etc there that need and will train instructors, though mostly dinghy or windsurfing. Maybe a foot in the door and a great way to spend a year or so while you get experience teaching.

One tip from one who has been a sailing instructor and also had a motorcycle school for 10 years; When I interviewed potential instructors I told them straight up front that I already assumed that they could ride a bike, what I was looking for was teaching ability. May be worth thinking on it.
 
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