Mission creep

[zoidberg]

Interested to note that the RYA Training Empire now has 22 staffers. 'Back in the day', there was just one - grumpy ol' futtock Lt Cdr Bill Anderson RN, bless 'is cotton sox.

Not only did he not suffer fools gladly, he didn't suffer fools at all. He would have given the current YM Ocean practice of 'doing a single sun sight in company with a team of other hopefuls, then scooting back to the nearest port' some every short thrift.

"The whole bluddi idea is that you actually navigate the bluddi boat from here to there, using traditional astro, well out of sight of land....."

Harumph!

 

[capnsensible]

Had a number of interesting conversations with Bill, what a bloke.

Interestingly im sure he would be happy that the perceived but not real scenario you mention, if it did exist, no longer does.
Passing the exam is rightly tough. One must know ones stuff. Examiners ensure this.

Hoorah.

 

[ProMariner]

And very good are all 22, always had brilliant service, every time.

They do offer many more courses, and commercial accreditation, to a much broader and more global clientele than way back when too.

 

[laika]

Interestingly im sure he would be happy that the perceived but not real scenario you mention, if it did exist, no longer does.

Hyperbole on zoidberg's part but I understand the point. I often wondered how it was possible for a sailing school to run a cruise with multiple people doing their qualifying passage when the requirements are to be skipper or mate. A little investigation shows I hadn't read closely and it's:

skipper or mate in sole charge of a watch

...and from looking at BOSS's site each candidate get's a watch they are "leader" of.

With multiple "mates" and a sailing school with a timetable to keep to I wonder how fully this requirement is fulfilled:

The candidate was fully involved in the planning of the passage, including selection of the route, the navigational plan, checking the material condition of the vessel and her equipment, storing with spare gear, water and victuals and organising the watch-keeping routine.

With multiple candidates potentially with a different idea of where they are, who decides which way to head? Won't the skipper be using the GPS?

I'd be really interested to hear from people who've done YMO qualifiers with a school how that works.

I'm guessing that the reality is that what look to some like "loopholes" being exploited are nothing of the sort. The task isn't to cross an ocean without GPS it's to demonstrate a grasp of the concepts on the syllabus which would enable you to do that if necessary.

 

[zoidberg]

I'm guessing that the reality is that what look to some like "loopholes" being exploited are nothing of the sort. The task isn't to cross an ocean without GPS it's to demonstrate a grasp of the concepts on the syllabus which would enable you to do that if necessary.

Guessing - and supposition. Asserting opinion without citation or evidence.

Anyone even loosely involved in a professional capacity in 'training' knows the difference between demonstrating knowledge and demonstrating competences. For those who haven't so been, it's the difference between 'talking the talk' and 'walking the walk'.

 

[laika]

Guessing - and supposition. Asserting opinion without citation or evidence.

If I was asserting something that I really supposed would I say I was guessing? Importantly you may have completely mis-assumed my opinion. Whilst I have no view on whether the RYA employs the appropriate number of staff I have in the past wondered whether sailing school "YMO qualifying passages" were an appropriate demonstration of skills the qualifying passage was supposed to demonstrate. Not having had first hand experience of a sailing-school passage like that, especially in the light of capnsensible's post, I was offering up that (a) I may be wrong about the sailing school thing and (b) what I (and I think you) originally took as "the spirit" of the pre-requisites may have been a misinterpretation, with what you've quoted from me being a suggestion of a different reading of what is being tested rather than a value judgement on that being a good or bad thing.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

I would have thought that most organisations / associations have to change to avoid becoming irrelevant and, or winding up. The RYA have had to adjust to modern, leisure sailing, modern racing and host a multitude of other water borne issues that just were not relevant in Bill Anderson's day. Maybe the original remit of the YM scheme, under the DTp, to have to a cadre of non-professional sailors that could man a coastal fleet in times of crisis has long gone. Or has it? Perhaps with electronic warfare and cyber security risks, the skills taught in Bill Anderson's day will be valuable in some future time of tension. (-;