Hot Liquid stripped of RYA recognition

Tidewaiter2

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Blimey, VO5, where do they sail?

.......A few months ago a group from my club participated in a race off the coast of Sardinia. They put the boat (a Swan) on an uncharted rock and did huge damage to the vessel.

In cross questioning the navigator over lunch it turned out that the colour of the water was changing rapidly, yet no one on board understood the significance of this and they all ploughed on and crunch !

Had he been properly taught in detail as I was, he would have learnt that colour change off the coast signifies the proximity of shallows ahead and furthermore, since the coastline was rocky, the risk of a rocky bottom as well.

Further prodded as to why they did not immediately turn around and go to deeper water and safety, the reply was that it was a race, and in any event it would have taken time to work out a reciprocal course, just imagine !

I then shocked him by challenging him to quote any heading to which I was able INSTANTANEOUSLY and WITHOUT HESITATION give the reciprocal, not just once but at least a dozen times together with the equivalent in points and quadrantal notation for good measure.

Had he known these two facts and taken the proper action the wrecking would have been avoisded, never mind the race.

Now some of you are going to answer back, for sure.

This is just an examople of what happens in an environment of throwaway traininhg described as proper learning as a consequence of syllabuses being shrunk, I respectfully submit.[/QUOTE]

... surely they'd seen some shallows before, even in Greece,Croatia,Montenegro, Norway and Sweden which can be pretty steep to, and lump hammer and rock pin country for mooring.
I've found 'em :D

Well, I did my 'makee learning' on the Docks,Thames, Estuary, and East Coast-
One saying of many thumped into me was;
"When water turns brown, me trousers turn brown, you turn roun'"
"When water turns light, you'll get a fright, and a right clump, my lad"

Unless you were going up the lee side of a mud/sandbank going cockling, etc, of course, when you slow and look for the run off rills to creep up til next tide. Ah happy days.
 
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alant

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No, not Horlicks, let's be serious here....

When I studied for my ticket at the School of Navigation in Tower Hill in London under the tutelage of two Extra Masters ans a retired Commander RN I thought some of the detail candidates were expected to master seemed arcane. This was in 1974.

I will give you one example:

We were expected to learn by rote, Points, Quadrantal Notation and Circular (360 degree) Notation and to be able to convert from one to the other MENTALLY and INSTANTLY. What is more, we were expected to master the RECIPROCALS mentally without having to calculate on a chart or with a pencil and notebook.

You may think this is learning to box the compass a step too far. Not so.

A few months ago a group from my club participated in a race off the coast of Sardinia. They put the boat (a Swan) on an uncharted rock and did huge damage to the vessel.

In cross questioning the navigator over lunch it turned out that the colour of the water was changing rapidly, yet no one on board understood the significance of this and they all ploughed on and crunch !

Had he been properly taught in detail as I was, he would have learnt that colour change off the coast signifies the proximity of shallows ahead and furthermore, since the coastline was rocky, the risk of a rocky bottom as well.

Further prodded as to why they did not immediately turn around and go to deeper water and safety, the reply was that it was a race, and in any event it would have taken time to work out a reciprocal course, just imagine !

I then shocked him by challenging him to quote any heading to which I was able INSTANTANEOUSLY and WITHOUT HESITATION give the reciprocal, not just once but at least a dozen times together with the equivalent in points and quadrantal notation for good measure.

Had he known these two facts and taken the proper action the wrecking would have been avoisded, never mind the race.

Now some of you are going to answer back, for sure.

This is just an examople of what happens in an environment of throwaway traininhg described as proper learning as a consequence of syllabuses being shrunk, I respectfully submit.

Not sure how knowing reciprocals, can ever replace the common sense manouvre of simply reversing your course & sailing back along your immediate wake.

How difficult is it to turn around?

Don't need a compass course for that, until the potential calamity has been sorted.
 

toad_oftoadhall

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Not sure how knowing reciprocals, can ever replace the common sense manouvre of simply reversing your course & sailing back along your immediate wake.

How difficult is it to turn around?

Don't need a compass course for that, until the potential calamity has been sorted.

His point is that standards have declined to a point where the quals have less value. Picking holes in one specific example doesn't really change his overall point.
 

DaveS

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There have been a lot of posts on this topic maintaining vehemently that either the skipper or the employing company is solely responsible. It might not be quite so simple. I can remember hearing as a case study in H&S training the following tale. (I'm working from memory, but others better than me at finding things on t'internet can no doubt see if I've missed anything.)

A local authority, (Derby, or possibly Derbyshire, Council) wanted a hole dug in a road. They employed a contractor to carry out the work. The contractor installed temporary traffic lights, barricaded off one half of the road and instructed a digger driver to start work within the barricaded area. During the work the back of the cab swung over the barrier and a car collided with it, killing the driver.

The digger driver, the contractor, and the local authority were each charged under H&S legislation, each was found guilty and each was fined, the digger driver receiving the smallest fine and the largest going to the local authority. No representative of the local authority were present at the scene of the accident.
 

jn2107

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HL in Gib relies financially on the southampton one so that will be closing shortly so says Mr manning. and while you're all speculating why not spare a thought for at least 5 students that are facing the possibility of losing a lot of money after finding out a week into their course that actually no its not going ahead and they won't be getting the money back from HL as they've gone into liquidation
 

photodog

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There have been a lot of posts on this topic maintaining vehemently that either the skipper or the employing company is solely responsible. It might not be quite so simple. I can remember hearing as a case study in H&S training the following tale. (I'm working from memory, but others better than me at finding things on t'internet can no doubt see if I've missed anything.)

A local authority, (Derby, or possibly Derbyshire, Council) wanted a hole dug in a road. They employed a contractor to carry out the work. The contractor installed temporary traffic lights, barricaded off one half of the road and instructed a digger driver to start work within the barricaded area. During the work the back of the cab swung over the barrier and a car collided with it, killing the driver.

The digger driver, the contractor, and the local authority were each charged under H&S legislation, each was found guilty and each was fined, the digger driver receiving the smallest fine and the largest going to the local authority. No representative of the local authority were present at the scene of the accident.

The Jones Act (which is part of the Merchant Marine act of 1920) in the US also lays out the basic Joint liability of ship owners and employers for the actions of the skipper or other staff of a merchant vessel...its a pretty well established principle both in the marine industry and of course in normal business.. so I dont see what the problem is with understanding that HL has a responsibility to its clients beyond and in addition to the responsiblity of the skipper...

Its all very bizarre that folks hear about dont seem to be able to grasp that.
 

Tranona

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I think its just folk in the singular

Yes - that "folk" exists solely to confirm that everybody else on here (even those one does not always agree with) is fairly normal.

If he did not exist (and never entirely sure that he does) you would have to invent him.
 

Tidewaiter2

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I, Robot

Yes - that "folk" exists solely to confirm that everybody else on here (even those one does not always agree with) is fairly normal.

If he did not exist (and never entirely sure that he does) you would have to invent him.

I suspect he to whom you refer may just enjoy being Devils Advocate whilst balancing on Occams Razor "and contrarywise"-

or his wife has taken over his computer handle and he is tied to a chair in a full Gimp kit in the corner, hoping an irate forumite will break in and rescue him:eek:
 

photodog

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If this is related to the last incident, what the hell did Hot Liquid do wrong?

Hot Liquid entrusted one of their charter boats to a delivery crew made up entirely of qualified RYA skippers and crew.

If anything shouldn't Hot Liquid are the victims in this and should be suing the RYA for giving these guys qualifications which Hot Liquid presumably took at face value.

Sounds to me like this is pretty close... Sounds to me like you are saying the skipper is soley at fault... Or maybe the RYA.... :rolleyes:
 

Moonshining

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Can you point to one single post by *anyone* maintaining vehemently that either the skipper or the employing company is solely responsible?

I suspect you can't.

In the millions of posts in this thread, I've rather lost what your position actually is on this.

Are you saying that HL didn't have a duty of care? That the skipper of the boat didn't? That the crew had the responsibility of refusing to go? That the RYA shouldn't have revoked HL's accreditation?

Could you give a precis, because I have no idea what you're arguing apart from the apparent reciprocal of what everyone else is.
 

rotrax

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I am not crticising the sea schools per se. My view is that the syllabuses are insufficient with the result that qualified sailors and sailorettes who rely on the RYA for learning and guidance end up with very grave gaps in their knowledge bases.

The consequence of not having the knowledge is the inability to recognise the risks presented by oncoming heavy weather and the savvy not to put out to sea in such conditions in advance of the event.

I will add; the gaps do not just relate to meteorology and weather forecasting but they impinge on nearly all the topics of seafaring as a consequence of progressive "pruning" of syllabuses through the years.
In a way you are correct. BUT experience gained sailing must be very benificial to improving ones knowledge and skill. Surely after a certain point in ones training you have to go it alone and get on with it. Dont confuse leisure day sailing with blue water passage making. Many of the points you make are not relevant for a new Day Skipper taking his boat from Yarmouth to Poole. The weather info. is avalable from many scources. Armed with a reasonable forecast and a suitable passage plan and a sound craft you would go and continue the learning process while so doing. Information technology has changed almost beond the expectations of Sci-Fi writers in the 64 years I have been alive. We must adapt to it and use it to our advantage as a modern learning tool. The RYA are constantly looking at training and ways to improve it. In doing this they must strike a balance that gives the right training in the right timescale and at a cost that potential trainees are prepared to pay. As I have stated before, for the would be leisure sailor I believe they have it about right.
 

rotrax

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In the millions of posts in this thread, I've rather lost what your position actually is on this.

Are you saying that HL didn't have a duty of care? That the skipper of the boat didn't? That the crew had the responsibility of refusing to go? That the RYA shouldn't have revoked HL's accreditation?

Could you give a precis, because I have no idea what you're arguing apart from the apparent reciprocal of what everyone else is.

Yup-'Ol toady always takes the opposite view..........
 
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