fastrack YM

[tcm]

I am follwoing this with interest. Our game gal has enrolled on a fastrack course to become YM in a few months. It seems to be going fairly well, although it was interesting to see that you can be dayskipper after once around the solent and less than two weks after seeing a chart.

Anyway, now it's on to boathandling, at which our bunty whateverername is a bit narked that some yachtsmen in the Hamble seem nervous as she approaches and remarks that "some stereotypes never change". Not sure if she means people who own boats being wary of novices practising manoevres in a training boat - or perhaps that she's following the stereotype - rubbish at driving and her main aim during the diesel maintenance course is to keep her hands clean with nice plastic gloves...

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[BlueSkyNick]

Umm, will be interesting to hear how she gets on. A week ago, I concluded that you can't tar all YM Fastrackers with the same brush. We met a very nice young lady who had recently completed the programme, even though she has sailed 30000 miles in the past 20 years. This has been mainly racing but also includes the ARC and back.

She had two good reasons for doing the Fast track:

- something to do on a 6month career break, ie a sabbatical, and then back to the same company.
- to become qualified, to make it easier to charter, etc

I am sure are plenty of sound fast trackers around, but I would still have concerns about the approach, myself.

<hr width=100% size=1>It's frustrating when you know all the answers, but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.

 

[Peppermint]

Re: Intensive

There's a lot to be said for intensive training. The problem for a lot of part-time trainees is relearning. You can loose 40% of what was learnt from one week to another. As you only learn about half of what your shown when afloat because your getting used to a strange environment and weird goings on, the benefits of joined up training are quite real.

I think that quite a lot of the objection to this form of training ignores the fact that if you get good people as candidates you'll get a decent result.

It's obvious that many people mis-understand the YM qualifications purpose and over value experience. The quality of experience is often over stated in these arguments.

If you find a confident, curious and motivated student it should be possible to teach them the required knowledge in six months. If they come out of their training with their confidence and curiosity un-dimmed they should develop into good sailors. Regardless of age. If they then get a job in sailing with a decent company they'll become good skippers, and why not.

It's just that they got qualified at the begining instead of waiting around.



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[StephenSails]

I wish I could afford the 9K her course is costing and also take 6 months of work to do it!

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.yachtinguniverse.com>http://www.yachtinguniverse.com</A>

 

[StugeronSteve]

There can't be many of us that don't make a few preparations for action when a school boat starts to lurk nearby. Having been bumped by one in the past I certainly get a slight twitch.

Does the "stereotypes" comment suggest a little over enthusiasm at her own newly aquired experience, rather than a sense of comfort that help is at hand should a touch of fending off be required.

<hr width=100% size=1>Think I might draw some little rabbits on my head, from a distance they might be mistaken for hairs.

 

[kimhollamby]

YW is not paying for the course, in case you were wondering. And as Sarah's plan is to report freely, warts and all, I doubt she has a deal either, or at least nothing you couldn't get if booking it yourself. She's off the IPC staff roll and genuinely doing it as a career move, pretty much in keeping with many others on the course I suspect.

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[kimhollamby]

Stereotypes

A little misintepretation here I suspect.

i think it was an attempt at humour on the female driver theme, not an indication that Sarah thinks fenders not now necessary -- her reporting elsewhere about the mistakes as well as the triumphs point to a certain realism about things.

That said, four weeks in its interesting to detect a certain level of confidence creeping in -- certainly shows what can happen if you can set aside enough time to devote to the task of learning.

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[BrendanS]

Re: Stereotypes

I've been reading her posts with fascination. I'm not sure why people think these fast track courses are so bad.

Surely it's good for people to learn, and the learning experience, sailing day in day out, gives these people a level of actual sailing experience far beyond the average weekend sailor who thinks that several years of pootling round the same ports and harbours in the same conditions 10 or 20 times a year makes them experienced sailors.

I suspect that being tutored is making them think hard the entire time, as opposed to weekend sailors who once they've worked out how to get from a to b aren't learning a great deal.

The forumites here are a different matter of course, as everyone here learns something everytime they read a thread <g>

<hr width=100% size=1>Me transmitte sursum, caledoni

 

[StugeronSteve]

Re: Stereotypes

To be honest I was being charitable in suggesting that it was all down to a case of over confidence.

The alternative brings a totally needless allegation of sexism in to the article. Unless, of course, she is suggesting that there is a stereotypical fear of practising school boats, in which case I think she has hit it the nail right on the head. There are a few macho dinosaurs out there, but I am pleased to say that most of us are reaching a higher state of enlightenment.

We (m+f) have considerable chunks of our worldly wealth floating around in marinas and rivers, and many of us find another little ding or scrape each time we go to our boats (sometimes to the extent that we wonder at the sense of boat ownership). So we do have good cause to behave in a slightly protective manner.

ps. Can't remember mentioning anything about fenders, or lack of.

<hr width=100% size=1>Think I might draw some little rabbits on my head, from a distance they might be mistaken for hairs.

 

[tcm]

ah, Stereotypes

um, well, possibly stereotypical of me to have a pop, and perhaps of kim to see read the best meaning into some writing. Stereotype : dangerous word.

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