I’m now a day skipper

[Parabolica]

So here i sit in my hotel room in Palma, my 18yr old son and I having today completed our very enjoyable Day Skipper course with Tony Stanton / Deep Blue Training, excited at the fact i can now start to use the boat i bought on Nov 1st.

Tony very thoroughly and comprehensively delivered the course over four very full days but it still has all been fun and enjoyable. We did this on our boat (Predator 60), so over the time, with 21hrs running we’ve also got s good feel for it and how good it is.

I’m looking forward to coming back asap now to continue my learning experience and also use up some of the tankful of diesel i have put in it too this week.

I will do some more training in due course with Tony also and can wholeheartedly recommend him to any of you who might be wanting to do this.

Oh and loved the nighttime passage. What an experience under a clear starlit sky !

 

[Parabolica]

Sorry, pics are apparently all too big to attach !!

 

[Daydream believer]

Sorry, pics are apparently all too big to attach !!

Download a programme called pixresizer - it is free
Then reduce the size of the pictures to 600 * 450
it really is very easy to do & they can be loaded on to the forum.
pixresizer

 

[QBhoy]

Excellent start to your boating venture…but I’d think some guys might advise that a 4 day training course with all ideal and rosey…will do no harm…but perhaps also won’t help too much in the real world. Certainly no replacement for experience or having experienced fellow boaters onboard or around about, you at least.
Anyway…great stuff and I hope things go well…no doubt lessons will also be learned from the things that go wrong or not so well…those are almost certainly guaranteed! The fella who claims he knows all there is to know on a boat, is a dangerous fella to be on a boat with. Every day is a school day…from day one to day done. Best of luck…

 

[Parabolica]

I’ve managed to sort some images now.

 

[Clancy Moped]

Well done, hope you enjoyed Palma as well.

 

[jrudge]

I have a PB2 and a Day Skipper. I did the Day Skipper in horrid weather in the channel that I am unlikely even with more experience and a much bigger boat to ever voluntarily go out in again.

I thought it was a good course and I have never felt the need for any more training.

I am now based in Cala Dor Mallorca which is usually ( not always) pretty benign.

Enjoy your new boat. The is not much to hit in Mallorca other than the reef down the middle of Santa Ponca bay and the beach to the left of Portals ( dont go in one end any other the other - your boat usually sinks !

Going round the island is lovely. If you find yourself in Cala Dor send me a message.

 

[Parabolica]

I have a PB2 and a Day Skipper. I did the Day Skipper in horrid weather in the channel that I am unlikely even with more experience and a much bigger boat to ever voluntarily go out in again.

I thought it was a good course and I have never felt the need for any more training.

I am now based in Cala Dor Mallorca which is usually ( not always) pretty benign.

Enjoy your new boat. The is not much to hit in Mallorca other than the reef down the middle of Santa Ponca bay and the beach to the left of Portals ( dont go in one end any other the other - your boat usually sinks !

Going round the island is lovely. If you find yourself in Cala Dor send me a message.

Thank you.
We toured the island a bit in October (by car) to see what's about and Cala Dor was a lovely spot. As is all of Majorca and it was busy too.

Re Santa Ponca bay, we dropped anchor there during last week as Tony wanted to explain the cardinals and of course their meaning with reference to the reef you mention. Re Portals, Thank you for the heads up. I did actually see a boat up on the rocks there in Dec. I wasn't sure if it was freshly damaged or a landmark. But I'll be sure to take heed of your advice.

I hope, all being well, going round the island won't be too far into the distance although unlikely this year.

 

[jrudge]

Anchor up and watch the (often quite big) boats cross it having no idea that they have missed a reef by inches!

Portals people enter on the side away from the marina ( I won't it is too shallow). I assume it then fills up so no problem we will exit by the other entrance. Which is a problem as there are rocks all across it!

Cala Dor is nice and some lovely Calas are just round the corner , plenty of restaurants etc. The downside is it is expensive to moor and is closed between end Oct and April ( but there is always something open and if it is a nice day the Calas are deserted.

 

[WoodyP]

Please teach your son which way round the hat goes if he wants to be taken seriously ?

 

[Sunny265]

I’ve managed to sort some images now.

Well done and fab boat, enjoy?

 

[Parabolica]

Please teach your son which way round the hat goes if he wants to be taken seriously ?

It kept blowing off so i showed him a trick. He said, don't take a picture of me like this

 

[Parabolica]

Well done and fab boat, enjoy?

Thank you. I’m quite smitten with it i have to say.

 

[Hooligan]

Well done and great pictures. Like @jrudge I did mine in UK waters which was good training. With no tide to speak of in the Med it is one thing you will not need to worry about. I then did three days on the boat to familiarize myself - we were in Cala D’Or at the time - with a really great guy. Like you I had my son with me and then the family arrived. I totally agree with @QBhoy. Great start but at the end of the day the best learning is on the seas and accept that you will make mistakes. I found anchoring to be the toughest thing to learn and only time really helps with this so don’t stress and never ever do anything quickly or be afraid to raise the anchor and start again. Other boats may be amused but they were all there at one time. The last piece of advice I was given was specific to CD. That was if you are leaving down the channel and a Spanish flagged boat is coming the other way, no matter what or who has right of way, reverse and let them through! So on day one of the fam arriving, I am at the helm in sole charge for the first time and Sod’s law halfway around the bend there is a Spanish flagged 60ft Sunseeker coming down towards me. What did I do? Forget all advice and decide we can pass side by side if only the other boat eases over. Does it? Not a chance. This forces me so far over that I am now in danger of slicing through a few mooring lines but worse still there is an old wooden boat with a long sprit that I cannot avoid. Fortunately it passes between the flybridge and cockpit missing SWMBO’s head by inches. So, moral of story - advice from wiser more experienced people is given for a reason and when you grab the helm for the first time, take a few deep breaths and remember what you learned!!

 

[Parabolica]

Well done and great pictures. Like @jrudge I did mine in UK waters which was good training. With no tide to speak of in the Med it is one thing you will not need to worry about. I then did three days on the boat to familiarize myself - we were in Cala D’Or at the time - with a really great guy. Like you I had my son with me and then the family arrived. I totally agree with @QBhoy. Great start but at the end of the day the best learning is on the seas and accept that you will make mistakes. I found anchoring to be the toughest thing to learn and only time really helps with this so don’t stress and never ever do anything quickly or be afraid to raise the anchor and start again. Other boats may be amused but they were all there at one time. The last piece of advice I was given was specific to CD. That was if you are leaving down the channel and a Spanish flagged boat is coming the other way, no matter what or who has right of way, reverse and let them through! So on day one of the fam arriving, I am at the helm in sole charge for the first time and Sod’s law halfway around the bend there is a Spanish flagged 60ft Sunseeker coming down towards me. What did I do? Forget all advice and decide we can pass side by side if only the other boat eases over. Does it? Not a chance. This forces me so far over that I am now in danger of slicing through a few mooring lines but worse still there is an old wooden boat with a long sprit that I cannot avoid. Fortunately it passes between the flybridge and cockpit missing SWMBO’s head by inches. So, moral of story - advice from wiser more experienced people is given for a reason and when you grab the helm for the first time, take a few deep breaths and remember what you learned!!

Thank you.

I wonder if carrying a Spanish flag on board would make sense for the odd occasion I might just come to Cala D'or..........?