R Y A course novice to yachtmaster 14weeks

[Birdseye]

[ QUOTE ]
Let me ask you a question. Imagine you are a Mercedes main dealer. A lad of 17 comes in one day and says "I've never driven before but I'm going on an intensive driving course next week and expect to have my license in 3 weeks time, Will you give me a job delivering new cars?" What would you reply?

[/ QUOTE ]

From my experience of the retail motor trade I would expect something along the lines of "forget the course, you can start tomorrow. £3 per hour and a £50 bonus if you deliver more than 20 cars in a day".

 

[starboard]

I am affraid the RYA Yachtmaster certificate no longer stands for what it used to. In thier money grabbing commercial ways the RYA have made this a certificate now too easily got. What sort of experiance can you gain in 14 weeks........there are too many folk out there.....even instructing....that because they have paid for a piece of paper to say they are competant think they are!!!!!!!!

Fair tides

Paul.

 

[Birdseye]

Thomas - do you really expect "experienced yachtsmen" to do anything but cast doubt on a fasttrack course?

The daughter of a friend of mine recently did such a course in Oz, and I was very impressed by the thoroughness of the teaching and the subject coverage she described. In reality, she now knows more about skippering a yacht than most of the experienced skippers I know, not least because (say) 10 years of repeated trips to the same relatively local ports doesnt really teach much. And there are some things (secondary ports for example) that you cant learn by experience at all.

Thats not to say that there arent issues that cannot be taught. If she's a panicker she still will be however much knowledge she now has. The ability to think calmly when the chips are down has sod all to do with either book learning or experience - its a character issue. But it does help to avoid panic if you do know what you should be doing.

So I would say "go for it" but be a bit cynical about the job prospects at the end of the road. There are a lot of people out there wanting to turn a hobby into a job, particularly ex forces types who can get training as part of their "return to civi package" And as in every other walk of life, there are lots of unqualified people who are hostile to qualifications.

 

[thomas1]

Hi there thanks for the input todate, a lot of your words have been a help and some evan a hoot, but alass still no heros to zeros have taken the time to reply, which leads me to belive sailing is a bit of a closed shop or even a bit clicky ??, in march following the advice from a sailing school in dartmouth, I ventured down to portishead marina armed with my calling card all nicely laminated to protect against the weather, and posted my request to owners of sailing cruisers moored there asking if any one would like to take me out for the day or longer I would help with costs to see if it was for me 6months later still no phone calls every couple of weeks i go down to look at the boats talk some of the owners and check to see if posting is still there and it is I am glad to say that i have learnt a new language from some of the skippers down there, and if any one nows of this language can you help, it usualy sounds like grunt, whatttt, hum,busy now by,and a funny jesture its called turn your back quick he might go away
once again thanks for the input and just incase any one is looking for a crew member for the forth coming trip to cherbourg i would be avalible
many thanks Tom

 

[gandy]

Maybe try a different marina if they're that unfriendly. Or a sailing club.

Tony S

 

[Benbow]

They sound a bit miserable, but I have to confess that I too would probably be slightly wary. Personal contact counts for a lot - if you know someone who knows someone that would help enormously. I know it sounds cliquey, but there are some extremely strange people around and you can't entirely blame someone for being cautious.

On the zero to hero thing. I have sailed with several people who have done such courses at a well known solent-based establishment. One was superb, the rest were a disater and I would not have trusted them to deliver a wheelbarrow across the road.

I have also been involved in recruiting for skipper positions. No applicant who only had a YM was even looked at twice. Experience - preferably with well known boats or organisations is what counts, there are 1,000s of people around who think they are Gods gift to sailing because they have YMs. Again that may sound cliquey, but there is much more to a skippers (or mate's) position than technical sailing ability and getting the wrong person can be a catstrophe. I don't *think* having a Z2H qualification actually counts against you, but I may well be wrong.

There are a number of ways into the professional sailing world, but it is not easy simply because there are so many good people around who are willing to work for peanuts. Employers can be extremely picky. My advice would be to look at volunteering for one of the sail training organisations. They have extremely high standards and you will be learning fom the best, that will lead to other things. Then decide what you want to do.

Just my perspective, hope that helps.

 

[Sailfree]

Thomas1 -It could be that all the Z2H's are out on the ocean waves in gainful employment and its only us amateur armchair sailers on this Forum pontificating in our ignorance never having done the course or afterwards sought serious work in the Industry.

Sorry you had such a poor response to your enthusiasm in asking people if they wanted crew. Try asking for crewing oppportunities on here. I do recommend going along to a sailing club with large number of cruisers and offering your services, you could also join one. I believe there are a number of sailing clubs that don't own a clubhouse or many boats and consist of a group of individuals that are keen to go sailing and they club together and charter boats. Try searching for vitual yacht/sailing clubs.

Good Luck

 

[ccscott49]

This question/post honks of a plant. So I will ignore it.

 

[bobgosling]

My instructor for a pre-flotilla course had done one of these courses and I knew much more than her merely from reading PBO and YM every issue for 15 years .....

 

[tcm]

um, maybe. 14 weeks is 98 days - 49 weekends of instruction, and cumulative so you don't spend much time covering again the stuff you covered earlier. That's quite a lot really. Of course, covering the same material over a longer time probably proves you have the aptitude/love of sailing. I reckon it wd be a great start to being able to take on many jobs and begin acquiring more experience.

However, i wd say that "skipper training" is a bit of misnomer cos the job of skiper varies massively according to type of boat and whether it does charter and so on.

I am guessing, but the solent courses don't cover some aspects of biggish-boat and skipper-driven boats which is more prevalent in med sailing/boating, and imho this includes far more boatfixing (at 70ft+) than actual boat-sailing (at say sub 50 foot). The solenties bash around in any old mostly-working heap, but the med sells holidays to non-boaties paying £20k per week+ charter. So some skippers soon find that they are not in the sailin industyr at all, but the leisure/holiday business. This means that smiling a lot, and the well-being of ice machine, generator, and airconditioning are a zillion times more important than sail trimming, for example - which may or may not be taught in a 14week zero-YM course.

Unless you are simply delivering (and even if you are) then skippering a big boat is a load easier if you hardly ever went out of the marina but had electricians qualifications, plus diesel mechanis and even carpentry.

Lots of newbie skippers are identifiable in antibes by the way they prepare for a trip to marseilles on a mobo by pratting about with pencils on charts all evening, then in the morning realise they haven't got enuf drinks, then oops need some fiood shopping - none of which are real "sailing" per se but all vital issues to guests or crew, and are the responsibilities of a skipper.

So, i reckon it wd be good fun in any event.