Give me a clue?

[BarryD]

In an effort to make the seas safer for you lot Barfin' Barry and MVII are going to be trained to Royal Yachting Association Powerboat Level II this weekend. Impressed? Ahh OK, maybe not I understand.

I can't find any web sites that give me a breakdown of what to expect. Launching and control of the trailer seem to be the first part of the course. Not a lot of point for me as MVII is tied to a pontoon and I haven't got a trailer. Some stuff on navigation useful, MOB ok useful too, and basic mechanics. Ahh yes and general handling - OK it's an insurance requirement and I hope to be a lot safer following it. But what am I going to be doing for 14 to 16 hours?

I will ask specifically the value of going onto the plane as you enter a lock - I'm sure that is not the correct approach method, and we will be spending three hours running up and down to Sparks boatyard as there is still no petrol in Chichester. But otherwise what can I expect?

Barry D

 

[Guest]

Man over board will as well as other safety stuff be the order of the day.
I did this stuff years ago and the chap was from the London Met boat section ,all good handy stuff to do.
When my sons come out on the tug the first thing to done is man over board trials to make sure they can get me out !! when I hook that huge massive fish that pulls me in . I will of course not let go of the rod and reel it in before changing into dry cloths .
RUFTY TUFTY.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Cold and wet!!

Did my ICC last year in local sailing school RIB which I am told is equivalent to level 2, consisted of MOB practice, you being the chap who jumps in to experience what it's like to be recovered. They consider this to be essential so that you'll take extra care if it happens to someone else. Take spare clothes and lots of towels.

Assuming the recovery is successful you then go off and find a boat that you can use to practice stand off manouevres, also high speed emergency stops, practice coming alongside against pontoons from both sides and leaving said pontoon.

Lots of theory, buoyage etc, weather conditions, collision rules and the rest I can't remember.

Have you seen the forecast for this weekend???!!

Should make for an interesting experience, no doubt you'll let us all know how you got on. Only kidding re MOB - you'll be recovering a fender!! Already getting withdrawal symptoms and the boats only been out for 1 week! In a strange perverted way I actually envy you!!!!

 

[BarryH]

Sounds like you had the same chap as me, Nice chap very knowlegable and some good yarns/past experiences. Just one other point regarding the ICC. Mines run out a couple of years ago, the RYA said they can renew it but if I want to keep the inland bit on it, I will have to take the CEVNI exam. Ive booked up another ICC course with the same establishment, cost will be £125, including the boat bit as well, just to give me a day of work and mess about in somebody elses boat.

Powerboat level 2 aint that hard, mainly commonsence stuff, but enjoyadle all the same. Good luck BarryD

Regards BarryH

 

[cngarrod]

Good luck with the course and the weather! let us know what bits are covered in the course. Am doing my Day Skipper (Shorebased) at the moment... would be interested to see if your course is much different to the Day Skipper practical which i am doing later this year.

Have fun,

C

 

[peterg]

course details...

You will be told about tides and how they affect passage making and how to predict them using an almanac. You will be shown how to tie the simplest knots (bowline etc..). You will be shown how to pick up a mooring buoy (as opposed to a lady-boy!) and how to approach a pontoon.

You should try to practice coming into difficult berths as much as possible in all types of wind and tide as you will almost certainly have your most embarassing moments at low speed in front of all the gawping public/other boaters....

BTW - it is a well known fact that every time you berth perfectly no-one will see it BUT if you cock it up there will be hundreds of people wathcing and nobody will offer assistance until afterwards when they will sidle up to you and say 'you want to come in backwards to that berth' or 'come in on the ebb instead of the flood' or 'use more power and less steering' (that's a good one for you, Barry)

Good luck

 

[tcm]

Re: knots

When they/we were little, the telly was crap so everyone went to cubs or scouts and did knots. These days, tell much better so scouting for boys has a different meaning er well maybe ...

...the point is that I feel instrcutors sometimes have a mental block about the knots. if you can turn up and do a bowline, a round-turn-and-two-half-hitches, and a clove hitch, then they almost feel that they can't fail you! Cos your a boating type see? Whereas he probably doesn't anyone who can't do a bowline and a rt+thh. Oh and a round-turn and two half hitches is good for taking off whilst its under tension. But a bowline is fine for nearly everything else. I wd ASK the instructor bout which he feels for what, cos they *all* think diffrently, saily types hate "locking" turns on figure of eight round cleats and so on. Under no circumstance start showing off with triple turkish sheet bends on the bight.

Also your mooring lines are a bit shit, get some more, especially a long long one for a tow, cos otherwise if someone tows you with their line then they can get pissy bout salvage. Or if there's no time, say that that's what you plan to do - and does he think its a good idea, then he'll say "yes" and then you'll also pass cos grovelling asking advice, all very good, progress etc.

Actually, he should be okay and help you along, not be a git with Aha trick questions at this level. Cos the idea is see that praps you hire them again to help you out, praps? Oh and you have to buy him a sandwich and a pint, drive round a bit.

oh and as reagrds rules of the road "give way till five" means you have to give wy from 12 to 5 on clock face. But yerv bin on the blue thing a lot so, bound to be fine.

Under no circumstances say " well my mate dave/matt just got on and drove off" if he goes on bout checking things first, or suchlike.

Good luck.

 

[hlb]

Re Bits of paper.

Whilst your all on the subject, and no meaning to hijack the thread. I've been sailing around for years and been most places there is. Well I supose thats a bit of an exageration but.
I've got a shore based day skipper thingy. Hated it awfull time and learned nothing usefull.
I dont need to know how to hit a pontoon cos I've hit hundreds.
I've been trying to teach Tut how to tie knots for about ten years and failed, so cant see that improving.
Dont want to know about tidal curves. Cos I have'nt needed them in the last twenty years and cant see the tides altering much.
But I would like one of those Icc what ever ,pieces of paper for going up French rivers, oh and err a nice cheapy Radio licence paper would be handy cos Tut did the test many years ago, and err just occasionaly I take the boat away without her. Now shes never used the radio, hardly much.

So can anyone suggest a wink, wink sort of person. for the bits of paper. If not just quick simple way.

Haydn

 

[jfm]

Re: no short cuts allowed

No way Haydn, not possible. You gotta sit the exams and learn all that secondary port interpolation, running fix stuff. You know, the stuff that computers can do in 2 micro seconds, and better.

You have to sit in class and use the RYA practice charts, that show Jersey as 60miles due South of Salcombe, and the eddystone lighthouse near Lulworth Cove. My instructor/teacher, an exp sailor, lectured us in class a dipping distance example using eddystone, a light near Cherbourg, and some other famous light. It turned out that at one point on the chart if you were 3m above sealevel at high tide you could just see all three lights, they were just in dipping distance range. He then arrogantly said that he always cherished this spot, he had sailed the Channel since a boy, he always used to use this spot as a waypoint when sailing at night to give him comfort about his position. I kept quiet as long as I could, a full 5 seconds, then I had to ask from the back of the class what other tips he had about making real passages on the RYA chart where the planet earth had been a bit rearranged. He went a bit red and shut up after that, and gave me a D for my homework.

If send me a hundred quid in used Euros you can have my bits of paper, just pritt-stick a new photo on them

 

[Col]

Re: Re Bits of paper.

Haydn,
Look in the back of mby/mbm find a seaschool near you that will do the ICC course on your own boat, then just book the test. Takes 3-4 hrs (depending on instructor)
Basically he will be looking for your control of boat, safety equipment carried, knowledge of coll regs-shapes-lights and sounds, Navigation ability and general seamanship.

CEVNI ( French inshore) test done at same time is 14 questions to answer.
I can recommend a book for CEVNI as there are different regs and rules on the canals.
Euroregs for inland waterways by Marion Martin available from chandlers or RYA.

It's not as daunting as it sounds.

 

[Col]

Re: no short cuts allowed

When I did my evening classes they were taken by a V.experianced sailor, used to have lots of fun wth the E.P questions, as it was always- yacht position**** heading*** degrees at such + such a time on such + such a date, But it always seemed to be doing between 3-6knts. Add nought on the end, now your talking

 

[hlb]

Re: no short cuts allowed

My teacher used to drone on for hour about some sea trip or other he'd made. And then just as I was falling asleep, would switch to some important course work thingy. Now by the time I'd woke up, I'd lost the plot, and it's very hard to grasp what the plot is from half way through.

Still cant forget. Tuts answer to. "On a trip from X to Y. What are the dangers to look out for". Tuts answer, and of course in the real world quite corect. Keep in the blue bits and not in the white bits. Then should be OK!!

Haydn

 

[Guest]

There\'s no substitute for experience!

Some of you may recall an embarrassing time last year when I had to agree with more or less everything Haydn, sorry HLB said. Well here we are again!

I am a tad over fifty (53 actually) and started boating with rowing boats on the Clyde at age 6. At 11, I was taking sole charge of fishing parties of circa 40 people out of Millport on a converted ships lifeboat with a enormous (size not power)Kelvin Diesel. No wimpish batteries on this vessel - a proper starting handle and compression on/off lever. Nowadays the board of trade would faint - in fact they would have probably fainted in the fifties if they knew.

I have conned a Clyde Puffer from Bowling to Millport

I have conned Calmac ferries whilst the crew were, ehm otherwise engaged (albeit very small ferries on the Largs Millport run)

I have had umpteen boats, including an unbroken run of ownership of over 20 years until last October (temporary)

I have cruised Ireland extensively
I have cruised the West of Scotland more than extensively, especially the Clyde estuary where I know every nook and cranny
I have chartered boats in various places around the world.

I have never had a serious accident

I have no formal qualifications!

Are they needed? Well nowadays, I tend to think that there are so many complete newcomers to the sea, they are. There are far more boats and affluence is such that any lottery winner of five numbers or more wants a boat. Going to sea with out knowing what to do is crazy and I do not think it's an option any more to learn as I, or indeed Haydn did.

Nick

 

[tcm]

Re: personal standards

pleased to see that the boatlessness is (temporary).

I have harped on bout this a lot. I have some day skipper and icc things. I *could* get french qualifications, and so on ..but the tests are in french!

Spose the main thing is that the loonies with no quals AND no brains AND big boats (and there are a few) beleive that it will be "okay".