GMDSS General Operators Certificate

[G12]

Hi guys,

Can anyone recommend anywhere to do the GMDSS GOC in the uk?

I'd rather have a recommendation than just find the cheapest.

Thanks,

G.

 

[jerrytug]

Hi guys,

Can anyone recommend anywhere to do the GMDSS GOC in the uk?

I'd rather have a recommendation than just find the cheapest.

Thanks,

G.

Ask yacht_fisher, he has one and is a very helpful guy, Jerry

 

[ProMariner]

There is only one - Warsash Maritime Academy. The company I work for sends people to the best centre (best pass rate, best feedback) for each ticket, and Warsash is the best for GOC by a country mile. I did mine there a couple of months ago, we had probably the 3 best instructors (all assessors too) in this field, tag teaming us until all the important points were nailed in. (one of them is Denise, who literally wrote the book)

Not a difficult course or exam, but a lot of memory work, and some opportunities to fail the whole exam by saying or writing just one wrong word, even if everything else is perfect, hence it is worth doing this course right, doing it once, even if the sticker price is a little higher.

Good luck.

 

[Ceirwan]

Hi guys,

Can anyone recommend anywhere to do the GMDSS GOC in the uk?

I'd rather have a recommendation than just find the cheapest.

Thanks,

G.

Lowestoft Maritime college and the UKSA are two other options.

I sat my HELM course at Lowestoft and found the teaching pretty good, and I'm doing my GOC with the UKSA at the start of February. The main reason I chose them was I'm booking the course at short notice, our company is requiring us to sit the exam for the MCA master 200, as our yachtmasters will soon no longer cut it.

 

[jerrytug]

There is only one - Warsash Maritime Academy. The company I work for sends people to the best centre (best pass rate, best feedback) for each ticket, and Warsash is the best for GOC by a country mile. I did mine there a couple of months ago, we had probably the 3 best instructors (all assessors too) in this field, tag teaming us until all the important points were nailed in. (one of them is Denise, who literally wrote the book)

Not a difficult course or exam, but a lot of memory work, and some opportunities to fail the whole exam by saying or writing just one wrong word, even if everything else is perfect, hence it is worth doing this course right, doing it once, even if the sticker price is a little higher.

Good luck.

What is the deadly "wrong word" which can fail you on the entire exam?

 

[ProMariner]

Well, the exam is in 3 sections, in the speaking exam, failing to log accurately the position of a distress call is a fail.

In the written exam, failure to correctly designate a message (safety/urgency/distress) for any one of the 3 scenarios is an instant fail.

In the one on one exam, there are about half a dozen grey box questions, i.e. get it right first time, no faffing, questions.

Aside from the critical answers, the pass rate for each section is quite high, so lose enough points, for silly little things, you lose the bully bonus.

On the plus side, they give you so many practice hits at the exam, they have time to coach everybody past their blind spots. The questions for the one on one are fixed in stone, and cannot be changed, and the other sections follow a narrow template, it will all be very familiar on day 8.

 

[jerrytug]

That's very interesting thanks

 

[G12]

Thanks guys, very helpful. Warsash was on the list, they're not much more than anyone else so I'll take that route.

 

[NorthUp]

I did my LRC with Kim Holt - www.marineradio.co.uk
No connection, just a satisfied customer.

 

[Uricanejack]

8 days, Ahhhhh!.
I did the R.O.C a number of years ago. By the end I felt like a fox in a leg hold trap, wanting to chew it off to get away.