Day Skipper Correspondence course

W

waldp

New Member
Joined
14 Jan 2005
Messages
5
Visit site
Hi,

Just wondered if anyone had any good/bad experiences with day skipper correspondence courses.

I want to do my theory. and looked at evening courses, but its hard to commit an evening every week without work getting in the way.

So, I was looking at correspondence courses. There seem to be quite a few, and they range from the very cheap, cd based courses to more expensive assisted courses with telephone and email support.

So, if anyone has good experiences, and particularly any companies they thought were particularly good, then can you let me know.

Thanks

Perry
 
Perry,

I had the same problem - and ended up forking out for the evening classes - and did not regret it.

(It is TOTALLY dependant on 'How Good is the Tutor?)

My tutor was excellent, but I know that other people have not had the same experience (In fact - I have tutored them because the lecturer - however well qualified - was unable to express his/her knowledge -to a class -in a format that was understandable) - they simply could not teach!

I would tend to be very wary of any 'correspondence' courses because they do not offer a 'Head-to-Head' when you have any questions.

If you want to - check the tick box - and get a certificate - OK

If you want to learn about the syllabus - you will have to take the time and effort - as did we all
 
I did a home study day skipper with NMCS. I really enjoyed it and the course content went beyond dayskipper stuff too. I later did a dayskipper practical and found it all marrried up very well /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
they advertise in MBY
 
Agree! just finished and passed mine with Pete Barnard 'ere in sunny Lincoln and loved every minute the peps met on the course made it even better.
We are all of on a refersher in salty stuff to Hull in May

cheers Joe
 
Can definitely recommend NMCS. I've done both Day Skipper and Coastal/Yachtmaster courses with them. Course content is excellent and it is possible to get a good exchange going with the tutors.
 
Another vote for a correspondence course. We skipped DS and went straight to CS/YM theory. The tutor was really helpful, and we could do it at our own pace. I took about two and a half months, my partner took 18 months (because of work committments). There were a lot more exercises than you could do in evening classes. I've used the theory a lot since and can confirm that the course taught me all the theory I've needed to know. I cannot recommend the place we did it, though, because he's gone out of business.

I suspect you may find it tough on your own if your memory of maths is a bit ropey. Some of my friends who did the DS and then YM in a night school found the navigation bit hard. We, with a solid maths background, found that part easy, though.

Enjoy it - it can be fascinating.

Ali
 
I am currently doing the NMCS course - so far so good. The material is well presented, and they seem to have the back up in place to support you.

However, I would also add from my experince doing an OU degree, that before doing any correspondence course, you are sure that you have the discipline to learn on your own. No matter how much support you get from the tutoring staff, it can be unbelievably hard to set yourself a schedule and work to it (particularly if you have family wanting their slice of you as well).

That said, the flip side is that being able to set your own schedule, fly through the easy bits, and linger a while on the hard bits, can make for a richer learning experience (IMHO).
 
A friend of mine did the correspondence course. The result for me was giving him a 30-min tutorial on the train to London once a week. No complaints - he gave me a bottle of malt when he passed.
 
I did the NMCS course a few years ago and was extremely satisfied with their product. It is true that it depends on how much you put in it, but they do their job very well. The tutor(s) was very proficient and helpful. I recommend them.
 
Guys,

Thats great help. I wondered if you can help another couple of questions about this.

First, has anyone ever done the course with Ocean training. I looked at it, and the example looked excellent.

Also, I have done a couple of the correspondence guide tests to decide which course to do, as I have a fair bit of experience.

They all end up marking me as I should do the coastal skipper course, but I am worried its going to miss out on basics that I should have covered.

Its always hard to know what you dont know, if you know what I mean!

Thanks

Perry
 
Can't answer your first question, but as for the second, I had a similar decision to make when chosing to do my course.

In the end the actual level of qualification I get is not that important to me, and although I have quite a bit of experience, it is some years since I used it. Therefore in my own situation I decided to work on the assumption that I know less than I think I do and start with the DS.

Based on my experience of the course so far, I have been surprised by how much theory I had forgotten, and although I still suspect I would have been OK to go straight into CS, I am not regretting my choice.

Of course if you decide to go CS, doing it at home you would be able to take time to plug any gaps in your knowledge.
 
Thanks all for that.

So, decision is to do day skipper, and I just have to decide who with. It seems that Chichester is a popular choice. NMCS looks very swish, but to be honest, its the most expensive, and I can't believe its that much better.

So, unless anyone can suggest anyone else, then chichester it is!

Thanks a lot

Perry
 
SWMBO and I did our Day Skipper theory through the Longitude School of Navigation. They were very good - materials similar to NMCS but worked out cheaper, assessments and tests which had to be sent off for marking, text books provided along with notes etc etc. After we had passed our exam, I asked about the gps/ chartplotter material, which the RYA had recently added to the syllabus. They sent us the additional course notes and a training copy of the Admiralty/RYA plotter software as a goodwill gesture.

It was definitely more convenient for us to do correspondance, as I travel a lot for work and so would struggle to make a weekly class.

I would recommend Longitude to anyone.
 
I would recommend the Tiller School (www.tiller.co.uk). I am doing the Day Skipper correspondence with them now. Their materials are crystal clear and easy to understand, and they are always very helpful should you need something clarified.

When I looked at who to do it with, I wanted to go with someone who was genuinely interested in teaching people, rather than interested in making money. In this respect, Tiller are excellent. I paid (I think) about £250 for my course but it has been well-worth it: I've enjoyed studying in the evenings and they ensure that topics outside the confines are included in the course to make sure you emerge from it as competent as possible.

Would definitely recommend.
 
All,

Thanks for all the help. Now, one last question. CD, Paper manual, which is better? I reckoned that CD is good cos I can take it with me anywhere, but isn't it better to have paper based, so you can make notes and carry on using it long after you've finished the course and passed.

It seems some are CD, or web based only, some paper only, and some a mix.

Your thoughts are well appreciated, and then I'll stop prevaracating, and just get on with it!

Thanks

Perry
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top