I need an ICC practical test to apply for a small sailing craft Sailing ICC as I will be sailing my yacht overseas soon

[AntarcticPilot]

I had a similar situation. I did the ICC assessment and theory examination with these guys on their boat in Cardiff. All done in one day and a good experience. Private Tuition

I found the RYA schools I talked to pretty inflexible. They wanted to sell their set courses and did not recognise experience and Merchant Navy Navigating Officer qualifications meant that sitting through hours of theory tuition and a multi day assesment was not necessary.

East Anglia Sea School at Suffolk Yacht Haven were well able to accommodate my previous experience in a day's own boat tuition to get an ICC. I was in a similar position to you - I was a professional geographic information specialist, so my understanding of navigation is probably well above average! And I was pleased to see a) that the instructor proved my understanding by questioning and b) was willing to learn when I used a different technique to the one he knew. My main problem is things that require rote learning; lights and signals are my bugbear!

Perhaps most embarrassing was demonstrating my ability to turn the boat in her own length under power - it was only necessary because she failed to turn the right way as I reversed out of the berth!

One thing that's a bit unrealistic in own boat tuition is that because there's a knowledgeable, capable crew member on board you can do things that you wouldn't try with just husband and wife

 

[Dutch01527]

I found the competence level needed for the ICC to be pretty basic. Probably the same as or lower than Day Skipper. However, the point was getting the qualification to enable chartering abroad .

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I found the competence level needed for the ICC to be pretty basic. Probably the same as or lower than Day Skipper. However, the point was getting the qualification to enable chartering abroad .

My instructor regarded the two as equivalent. But ICC can be assessed independently of a course; Day Skipper requires the course.

 

[Never Grumble]

I had a similar situation. I did the ICC assessment and theory examination with these guys on their boat in Cardiff. All done in one day and a good experience. https://www.cardiffyacht.co.uk/private-tuition-sail/

I found the RYA schools I talked to pretty inflexible. They wanted to sell their set courses and did not recognise experience and Merchant Navy Navigating Officer qualifications meant that sitting through hours of theory tuition and a multi day assesment was not necessary.

Ditto re the inflexibility. We've thought about a flotilla holiday but need minimum of Sailing ICC. Ex RN navigator, Yachtmaster (power), own yacht and done round the island race last two years so that proves I can skipper a yacht! No one wants to sell me a conversion to YM (sail) just a full suite of courses. I might have to go down the route of a trip out to Wales for an ICC. We will probably get to there stage where my sons dinghy sailing gets in the way of a flotilla holiday, he will get too old, and we won't bother.

 

[ylop]

I found the RYA schools I talked to pretty inflexible. They wanted to sell their set courses and did not recognise experience and Merchant Navy Navigating Officer qualifications meant that sitting through hours of theory tuition and a multi day assesment was not necessary.

completely different to my experience with schools in the Clyde - they were all happy to consider my previous experience (no theory quals) to meet their DSP entry requirements. The school I went with did say its not unusual for people to oversell their theory skills to avoid doing DST and then they won't manage to do the course. Whilst I'm sure MN Nav Off quals cover a lot of what you need perhaps they've had bad experience with people who think they know more than they do?

I was a professional geographic information specialist, so my understanding of navigation is probably well above average!

I have no doubts that your knowledge is above average. I know a couple of GIS people I wouldn't trust to navigate out a car park!

One thing that's a bit unrealistic in own boat tuition is that because there's a knowledgeable, capable crew member on board you can do things that you wouldn't try with just husband and wife

Did that not provide you the motivation to increase the quality of your crew (I'd suggest helping your wife get the skills rather than swapping her is probably more cost effective!)? A "wife" who is capable makes for a much more relaxed boat.

No one wants to sell me a conversion to YM (sail) just a full suite of courses.

You should be able to find someone doing a conversion course - I see them advertised in the other direction quite a lot. Some schools make their money on churning out as many of the same courses as possible and some do it through tailoring to your needs - of course that might mean their costs per day are not the cheapest.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I have no doubts that your knowledge is above average. I know a couple of GIS people I wouldn't trust to navigate out a car park!

Did that not provide you the motivation to increase the quality of your crew (I'd suggest helping your wife get the skills rather than swapping her is probably more cost effective!)? A "wife" who is capable makes for a much more relaxed boat.

As when I started, GIS wasn't a thing and I had to devise programs to plot maps and do post-fix navigation for aircraft surveys using a variety of techniques, I perhaps should have emphasized the "geographic" part of my expertise! My degree is Geology; I got involved with what is now called GIS in the late 70s.. Of course, I was navigating my Dad's boat long before then.

I partly agree with your second point, but when your wife (sadly, late wife since 2021), is tiny and has had major heart surgery, it severely limits her ability to do some tasks. Even winding the jib sheets in was hard work for her. So, having a person on board who was physically more able made a big difference.

 

[MontyMariner]

I've always considered an ICC is a nice to have rather than a must have. What led you to the conclusion that it's a must have?
PS I do have an expired ICC (Motorboat only) which was a must have when I did the French canals, though now you also need a CEVNI.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

@ritchyp - If you're a U.K. citizen, Sunsail will do an ICC assessment in one day for £199 at Port Solent. Don't know what you feel about the cost, but that will cover you for all EU countries. Course and contents are in this link ....

International Certificate of Competence | ICC for boating abroad - Prometheus Sailing

I know you said you want to do it on your own boat, but this will usually cost more as it's one-on-one tuition, and in a group on a school boat you should sail through - it's just about getting the ticket after all.

The Article 40 stuff is about who can issue an ICC to whom ... UK can't issue one to a German for example, and France can't issue one to a Brit ... so do it in the U.K. before you leave.

PS: This is not a recommendation, just a reasonably cheap and easy way to get an ICC if you have no other qualifications. I'm sure there are other sailing schools around the U.K. that will offer similar.

I know of people who have obtained an ICC from an instructor that sails with them regularly, so defacto the assessment has been done, and they just sign off the assessment, but I guess you don't know anyone who can do this.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

@ritchyp - If you're a U.K. citizen, Sunsail will do an ICC assessment in one day for £199 at Port Solent. Don't know what you feel about the cost, but that will cover you for all EU countries. Course and contents are in this link ....

International Certificate of Competence | ICC for boating abroad - Prometheus Sailing

I know you said you want to do it on your own boat, but this will usually cost more as it's one-on-one tuition, and in a group on a school boat you should sail through - it's just about getting the ticket after all.

The Article 40 stuff is about who can issue an ICC to whom ... UK can't issue one to a German for example, and France can't issue one to a Brit ... so do it in the U.K. before you leave.

PS: This is not a recommendation, just a reasonably cheap and easy way to get an ICC if you have no other qualifications. I'm sure there are other sailing schools around the U.K. that will offer similar.

I know of people who have obtained an ICC from an instructor that sails with them regularly, so defacto the assessment has been done, and they just sign off the assessment, but I guess you don't know anyone who can do this.

In 2018, East Anglia Sea School charged £295 for a day's own boat tuition. I thought that good value.

 

[LittleSister]

. . . With my experience, It seemed pontless doing the practical and 5 days on a training boat....

I am not at all suggesting you ought necessarily do it for your current purposes, but I think you are very mistaken to think that because you're experienced at sailing a yacht doing a 5 day practical course will be pointless.

I did a Coastal Skipper practical course decades ago (I already had the CS Theory cert.). I had long sailed my own small boats far and wide, and occasionally crewed for friends on bigger but unusual craft (I'd never sailed anything like an AWB or racing yacht!). I learnt so much that week from both the instructor and my fellow course attendees (all very experienced but in different ways - two doing a weeks prep for the Yachmaster exam, one of whom had done a world circumnavigation, another who regularly skippered big company yachts with large crews; plus another like me doing Coastal Skipper who'd done IIRC a lot of family sailing on the south Coast. We all learnt so much from each other (including how not to do things!), compared our different personal techniques, and had a whale of time (despite it being the depths of winter).

The instructor expertly challenged, encouraged and guided us, rather than doing a lot of explicit 'teaching' as such. I especially remember him (among many other things still bright in my memory) coaching us into tricky close-quarters manoeuvring that most would avoid attempting in their own boat. In just that narrow section of the syllabus alone, by the end we all could handle a boat much better than we could at the beginning the week, and in ways I'd never imagined possible. It taught me in particular the importance and value of crew care and management, something I'd rather under-appreciated, as I'd done lots of 'skippering' but almost all single-handed or with just one crew who was a partner or good friend. Overall, I gained vastly in confidence (but also a better understanding of my weaknesses), learnt a huge variety of new techniques I could deploy depending on circumstances/taste, and came away with a huge smile on my face. I still use what I learnt that week, and still appreciate my instructor and fellow attendees from that week, all these decades later.

I really struggled to find the money to do that course (even at mid-winter rates), but with the benefit of hindsight it was probably the best value expenditure I've ever made in boating.

p.s.
Interestingly, the person who most struggled on that course/prep week was the person who started it the most confident (and that wasn't the world girdler!). Not that he was not very competent - he was much more competent than me in many respects - but he just couldn't handle it when things went wrong, which they, of course, often do (and that week sometimes by the hand of the instructor deliberately throwing a spanner in the works at a crucial moment! )

 

[Andrew_Trayfoot]

Rob @ Poole Sailing did my assessment in a couple of hours (own boat).
Our Skippers – PooleSailing

 

[Ian_Rob]

Rob @ Poole Sailing did my assessment in a couple of hours (own boat).
Our Skippers – PooleSailing

I did a course with Rob on boat handling a dozen years ago. Good bloke. He is the author of the RYA’s book on boat handling.