FREE on-line Training Resource for yachtspeople

[King Penguin]

I have recently launched a FREE on-line training resource for RYA students and interested yachtspeople.

Each presentation deals with a particular topic and they are written in an easy to understand style.

So far there are 17 PDF files that can be viewed or downloaded for free.

More subjects will be added over the coming weeks.

The link is www.penguinsailing.com and then click on the Training Resources page.

Any feedback or comments will be most appreciated

Thank you
David Whitehead
Principal - Penguin Sailing

 

[Salty John]

Am I going nuts or did I see this same post yesterday with several replies?

 

[King Penguin]

Am I going nuts or did I see this same post yesterday with several replies?

You may have done on a diferent forum, old chap.......so no you are not losing your marbles......

 

[Iain C]

David

First, thanks for sharing and posting, and good luck with your venture.

In terms of feedback, I've just quickly opened up the course to steer topic, and my thoughts are this...

1-Telling a student that they will look like a fool if they get it wrong automatically puts barriers up. The student will therefore think they are a fool if they don't grasp it straightaway. Personally I would have worded it "Course to steer is one of the most common pieces of chart work you will need to do.(note..not basic!) Getting it right is highly rewarding, getting it wrong can add many hours or miles to your passage and put you in totally the wrong place"

2-You need to really emphasise the common mistakes "it's very important that you draw this initial line so it goes well past your intended destination..." or "don't draw on the third line simply joining the end of this tidal vector to your destination etc etc ...."

3-The diagram won't enlarge, you cannot read the text or even see where Nimble Rock is

4-Diagrams need to be step by step

5-Dont confuse the bejesus out of students by telling them about trigonometry when you've not explained how many arrows sit on each vector line and what they mean.

Sorry if that seems a but harsh, I think your site looks good and conveys genuine enthusiasm for your topic, however it just needs a bit or rewording here and there.

Hope this helps!

PS Just looked at MOB prevention too. It's toe-rail, not tow-rail, but is it relevant? Is it better to talk about redesigning your boat to include a toe-rail to prevent MOB, or perhaps mention that more people drown in the dinghy, and if you feel unwell tell the skipper, get an LJ and line on regardless of conditions?

 

[King Penguin]

David

First, thanks for sharing and posting, and good luck with your venture.

In terms of feedback, I've just quickly opened up the course to steer topic, and my thoughts are this...

1-Telling a student that they will look like a fool if they get it wrong automatically puts barriers up. The student will therefore think they are a fool if they don't grasp it straightaway. Personally I would have worded it "Course to steer is one of the most common pieces of chart work you will need to do.(note..not basic!) Getting it right is highly rewarding, getting it wrong can add many hours or miles to your passage and put you in totally the wrong place"

2-You need to really emphasise the common mistakes "it's very important that you draw this initial line so it goes well past your intended destination..." or "don't draw on the third line simply joining the end of this tidal vector to your destination etc etc ...."

3-The diagram won't enlarge, you cannot read the text or even see where Nimble Rock is

4-Diagrams need to be step by step

5-Dont confuse the bejesus out of students by telling them about trigonometry when you've not explained how many arrows sit on each vector line and what they mean.

Sorry if that seems a but harsh, I think your site looks good and conveys genuine enthusiasm for your topic, however it just needs a bit or rewording here and there.

Hope this helps!

PS Just looked at MOB prevention too. It's toe-rail, not tow-rail, but is it relevant? Is it better to talk about redesigning your boat to include a toe-rail to prevent MOB, or perhaps mention that more people drown in the dinghy, and if you feel unwell tell the skipper, get an LJ and line on regardless of conditions?

Hi there many thanks for your comments, in answer to your queries :

1. Course to Steer - that particular presentation was actually written by RYA not by me so I'll pass your feedback to them about it.

2. Toe-rail / tow-rail you are right of course, a typo, amendment will be made shortly

3. The MOB Prevention presentation is specifically about helping skippers ensure people don't fall off their yachts and is not about dinghy / tender safety (that will be in another presentaion).

It outlines what you should look out for on a boat and what basic equipment you should have and give broad hints on when you should use them.

4. Each presentation is designed to be short and simple and support the RYA courses I run, so they don't cover every possible situation and never will.

All trainers know that by keeping information in 'easy bite sized chunks' it is more likely to be remembered by the student.

They are designed to make people think, inform them of the latest 'best practice' so when they are on the water they can make their own responsible assessments of situations and risks.

It is my belief that this is a better approach than having legislation forced apon us.

I hope this answers your queries and if you see any other typos, please let me know.

With best regards
David

 

[WilliamUK]

1-Telling a student that they will look like a fool if they get it wrong automatically puts barriers up.

I'd say it does more than put up barriers - having known and taught (not sailing) some people with confidence issues saying something like that could turn them off entirely. Not just make them think they are a fool if they get it wrong - but put them ff trying in the first place.

The fear of looking a fool is something to avoid at all costs for some as the moment they think looking a fool is even a remote possibility (real or imagined) they want nothing to do with it.


The only input I feel qualified to give so far on the materials themselves is on the Vessel Light Recognition. I get the impression you've produced the PDF from a slideshow. If you want them to be a more standalone document for people who don't have the pleasure of being taught by you in person, re-working them so they have an introduction that better explains the importance of lights and how each different pattern means something specific.
Under each image you might add some of the detail you'd otherwise have communicated verbally in a classroom. Pointing out key features that mean something in particular or might carry through to other vessel lights.



When I taught I always appreciated critical input (no matter how it was delivered) and as a result became better and better at what I did until I stopped doing it. I believe the kind of style and tone edits mentioned so far can be the difference between a half way decent set of materials and something really very good. (Not to say they are only half way decent now... just that it's an important element.)

Thanks for making your teaching materials available, David.

 

[WilliamUK]

All trainers know that by keeping information in 'easy bite sized chunks' it is more likely to be remembered by the student.

They are designed to make people think, inform them of the latest 'best practice' so when they are on the water they can make their own responsible assessments of situations and risks.

It is my belief that this is a better approach than having legislation forced apon us.

Completely agree. The less legislation the better in my book.

Provoking a person to think is one of the most important lessons to get across.
Keeping it short and stimulating is far, far better than causing them to glaze over with a torrent of information.

 

[WilliamUK]

With apologies for the flood of replies... one more comment on the Light Recognition.

Again this is something I imagine you'd cover verbally in your classes, but perhaps a hint about appropriate action to take on more of the examples would be useful.
You've included it on some, like the dredger not making way (pass on green side with detail about what the double green and double read mean) and to go around fishing fleets... but newbies like me may not know what "vessel on pilot duties" means in real terms. Does that mean I must give way to it? Does it mean it might do something erratic I should anticipate?

Not expecting you to write a book on the topic, but as you seem to want this to be a resource for those not in your classes, a little something to answer the "so what?" question would make it much more useful. Again, the stuff I'm sure you explain in the class but doesn't come through in the material.

 

[King Penguin]

I'd say it does more than put up barriers - having known and taught (not sailing) some people with confidence issues saying something like that could turn them off entirely. Not just make them think they are a fool if they get it wrong - but put them ff trying in the first place.

The fear of looking a fool is something to avoid at all costs for some as the moment they think looking a fool is even a remote possibility (real or imagined) they want nothing to do with it.


The only input I feel qualified to give so far on the materials themselves is on the Vessel Light Recognition. I get the impression you've produced the PDF from a slideshow. If you want them to be a more standalone document for people who don't have the pleasure of being taught by you in person, re-working them so they have an introduction that better explains the importance of lights and how each different pattern means something specific.
Under each image you might add some of the detail you'd otherwise have communicated verbally in a classroom. Pointing out key features that mean something in particular or might carry through to other vessel lights.



When I taught I always appreciated critical input (no matter how it was delivered) and as a result became better and better at what I did until I stopped doing it. I believe the kind of style and tone edits mentioned so far can be the difference between a half way decent set of materials and something really very good. (Not to say they are only half way decent now... just that it's an important element.)

Thanks for making your teaching materials available, David.

Hi there, many thanks for your input and constructive comments.

As I said the to the previous commenter the CTS presentation was lifted from the RYA, I didn't write it so I'll pass your feedback to them.

With regard to the Lights Recognition presentation, I could have included more information but as an ex-trainer yourself you know how important it is to keep information in simple bite sized chunks and they have been written to support the RYA courses I run not replace them or any of the other books or training materials students or yachtspeole may have. It's an additional resource not a comprehensive.

But many thanks for your comments and constructive remarks.
With best regards
David

 

[WilliamUK]

Hi there, many thanks for your input and constructive comments.

As I said the to the previous commenter the CTS presentation was lifted from the RYA, I didn't write it so I'll pass your feedback to them.

Potential copyright issue there? Or are you free to redistribute?
Either way for your own presentation purposes the "fool" bit may well be worth correcting for the reasons already mentioned.

With regard to the Lights Recognition presentation, I could have included more information but as an ex-trainer yourself you know how important it is to keep information in simple bite sized chunks and they have been written to support the RYA courses I run not replace them or any of the other books or training materials students or yachtspeole may have. It's an additional resource not a comprehensive.

Understood.

Simple and bite sized, yes, but that doesn't mean "bare minimum". There's a happy medium.

Even if you don't intend them for public use and it's only to support your own courses I think the extra information on the light recognition would serve as a very useful reminder of the verbal instruction given along with the slide. As I said, not expecting War And Peace but that tiny bit of extra information could turn it from good to great.

I'm not talking about any more information than you've included already on other slides:
"Three fishing boats - Starboard side
Go round, rather than through, especially if it is a large fishing fleet"

"Working dredger not making way – pass on green side
Two red lights on obstructed side – Two green lights on clear side
Also shows lights for vessel restricted in manoeuvrability"

That's more than enough information for a document like this, but some that could probably do with that level of information (like the pilot vessel) don't have it. They'd still be bite sized if they did, but they'd be far more informative too.

Anyway, I'll leave it to you and others now. Thanks again for sharing them.

 

[King Penguin]

Completely agree. The less legislation the better in my book.

Provoking a person to think is one of the most important lessons to get across.
Keeping it short and stimulating is far, far better than causing them to glaze over with a torrent of information.

Many thanks for your positive comments, most appreciated.

We are all the same, most people when they know what's sensible and what's silly, will generally do the sensible thing.

In my view is 'you can't legislate against stupidity but you can help awareness'......and being an RYA trainer, it's my job to help with the awareness bit.