Rya competent crew

[alant]

Alant,

I 'feel able to pontificate' as I was alongside people doing CC and DS while I was doing ym offshore; have you had that experience to 'pontificate' ?!

As for my time as chief instructor on dinghies, we were not bothered with any thoughts of a 'next level' - what's that, Budhist or something ?!!! - We were quite happy to reach a Zen level of being good with what we had, hopefully enjoying ourselves while not killing anyone; seemed to work.

So, you seem not according to your comments to have started with 'beginner level', then progress onward, until reaching 'expert'.

If that is so, not a particularly well thought out or structured course then!

 

[prv]

'Making it go' is a tiny fraction of dinghy sailing; it also teaches the whole feel for boats, ballast trim - where to sit as in a true' seat of the pants' feel ! - and sail trim - ' I've stopped / other people are passing, do something about it ! '

Um, those are all facets of "making it go".

I was referring to things like locking into a marina, or whether it's OK to pick up this unoccupied mooring here, or how to raft up without pissing everyone off inside you, or what does that buoy over there mean, or anchoring overnight, or all the other things that dinghy sailors don't do. Tides too, if the dinghy sailing has been on lakes and reservoirs, and the OP did say he was landlocked.

Pete

 

[prv]

Yet another 'training expert'!
[...]
"as you wont learn anything you don't already know - apart from the things that are different on a yacht that you dont know about."

What exactly does that mean?

For once Urban Dictionary actually has a sensible definition of the response I want to make here:

Whoosh!

Pete

 

[Seajet]

Yet another 'training expert'!

Alant,

I suggest you are the one guilty of that !

I have been an instructor / 'trainer' since 1970, and also been grateful to receive training from some quite brilliant sailors.

How about you ?!

 

[shaunksb]

For once Urban Dictionary actually has a sensible definition of the response I want to make here:

Whoosh!

Pete

Thank you Pete


____________

 

[Lakesailor]

don't ever make off a warp off on a cleat by locking it under itself - 5+ tons will mean you'll never undo it

That old one again. and again

 

[nigelmercier]

As for 'jumping stages' of the RYA courses, feel free to do every increment...

It would probably be worthwhile if the OP had a look at the sylabus for Competent Crew and Day Skipper then make his own mind up where any weaknesses are.

If you decide to go for the Day Skipper, then do the Day Skipper Shorebased course first, but before doing that read a couple of books on the subject. I recommend:

The Complete Day Skipper: Skippering with Confidence Right from the Start (Tom Cunliffe)

Day Skipper: Introduction to Navigation Theory, Safety and Seamanship (RYA Course Notes)

 

[shaunksb]

That old one again.

I always use OXO - (chicken is best)


____________

 

[prv]

I always use OXO - (chicken is best)

Whereas somewhere along the line someone taught me "0800".

But on belaying pins on Stavros it's "one hug and three kisses".

Pete

 

[shaunksb]

But on belaying pins on Stavros it's "one hug and three kisses".

I've never heard that - brilliant


____________

 

[VicS]

It would probably be worthwhile if the OP had a look at the sylabus for Competent Crew and Day Skipper then make his own mind up where any weaknesses are.

If you decide to go for the Day Skipper, then do the Day Skipper Shorebased course first, but before doing that read a couple of books on the subject.

Even better get the RYA Booklet G15 which sets out all the details of the courses.

The sylabi, the depth of knowledge required for each topic and a suggestion for the time allocated to each.
It is also your log book of your progress

.... See http://www.rya.org.uk/shop/pages/pr...Sail+&+Power+Cruising(RYA+Main)&type=&course= for details

.

 

[Aurai]

Comp Crew - Good Reason to study!

AS

Somebody who had plenty of own boat experience and went in at RYA DS level, it was only later, on School Boats with Comp Crew students, that I realised what I had missed.

That is you are schooled from the very basics upwards and learn the correct way of doing everything that is then built upon, you can obviously miss it and catch up. My own experience is that crew who have spent 5 days doing Comp Crew make better organised and consistent crew, later on.

They have also had sufficient time to see if sailing on a yacht is for them, or at least what to think about. A balance has to be understood as to the gap between what the course will add to prior knowledge and it will, typically, benefit true beginners most, but I reckon there are not many who would not gain anything from the course.

Aurai

 

[alant]

Yet another 'training expert'!

Alant,

I suggest you are the one guilty of that !

I have been an instructor / 'trainer' since 1970, and also been grateful to receive training from some quite brilliant sailors.

How about you ?!

"we were not bothered with any thoughts of a 'next level' - what's that, Budhist or something ?!!! - We were quite happy to reach a Zen level of being good with what we had, hopefully enjoying ourselves while not killing anyone;"

So, that's 'training' is it?

Sounds to me as if you were making it up as you went along!

 

[alant]

AS

Somebody who had plenty of own boat experience and went in at RYA DS level, it was only later, on School Boats with Comp Crew students, that I realised what I had missed.

That is you are schooled from the very basics upwards and learn the correct way of doing everything that is then built upon, you can obviously miss it and catch up. My own experience is that crew who have spent 5 days doing Comp Crew make better organised and consistent crew, later on.

They have also had sufficient time to see if sailing on a yacht is for them, or at least what to think about. A balance has to be understood as to the gap between what the course will add to prior knowledge and it will, typically, benefit true beginners most, but I reckon there are not many who would not gain anything from the course.

Aurai

Hallelujia!

 

[Marakei]

When I did Comp Crew, having a slight background in dinghies and motor sailors, there were two Day Skipper candidates on the yacht. It was helpful to see the standards expected of the D/S people as this made me realise how much more experience I was likely to need before being able to do all the D/S stuff comfortably. I did D/S theory straight away after Comp Crew, but am crewing for the next while rather than going straight for D/S practical, due to this.

 

[William_H]

Just Wonderin' Olewill,
When you say "we" in your post, do you mean your club, Yachting Australia or Oz in general?

I just checked yesterday and found this


Now I always feel a bit worried when a site has obviously not been revised for over 2 years.

What it means and this is stated elsewhere on the site, is that Australia is the same as the RYA for any courses above entry-level.

I also checked New Zealand and they say nothing more than they do RYA courses, no need for interpretation.

The strange thing to me is that I have been looking at this on and off for 15 years. I belonged to a dinghy/trailersailer club at one stage closely connected to the Army. They offered Day skipper courses and some of us did them.

Apart from that, in my sailing at a couple of clubs using offshore type yachts, I never meet anyone who has done courses, or they don't talk about them. They just sail with each other. Anyone who owns a yacht does not do them, maintenance and racing and their other life takes up all their time.

Keen and skillful dinghy sailors get snapped up by yacht owners as their first-tier new crew. They don't need to do any more formal training.

Yes when I say we I mean me, my club/school and Yachting Australia. The National Keelboat Scheme is up and running. It is dismaying to find the web site has not been updated. There are newer sites of course.
We were told that RYA were interested in adopting the National Keel Boat scheme but I think this was wishful thinking and RYA are not so much different anyway. What happened with this new scheme was the division into 5 parts each of 12hrs training time. Starting with "comp crew". In my opinion and in our club/schools experience this is too limited or stretched out. Our biggest client base is people who want to get a taste for sailing. So comp crew is OK for that but people prefer to learn from books or by their own experience to progress further. Anyway we have the Nat Keelboat Scheme and for credibility insurance etc we must stick to it. I have got the school accredited to the new scheme, run 2 courses to helm level been a teacher at 2 more one at another club school and run one instructors course since beginning 2011. The first school I ran was about 25 years ago. It was sort of accredited by YA but cost $45 for 3 weeks 15hrs with instructors being experienced volunteer boat owners using their own boats. One course we had 53 participants. They all go a taste of sailing and some good practical instruction.(and we got lots of new members) Now days instructors are paid and participants must join the club which makes it all a lot more expensive.

I was involved as a career in Aviation safety and was impressed with the very rigid nature of training for pilots. Also rigid standards for maintenance and modification. (my area) All with very good reason.

I love the fact that with sailing you can do your own thing. Be it learning maintenance or modification.
I have been known to state particularly relating to dinghies, that if you can get the boat off the beach out there and back again you can sail. Do it again and you are learning how to do it properly.

I am not one for learning or teaching how to do it properly. I like people to try their own way and see what works. I then show them how I do it. If that is better I can justify or it will be obvious.
My teaching of sailing is to set up an environment where they can discover how it can be done. (in safety) Mind you it can be a bit frightening letting them run amock on the tiller learning about gybes in strong wind. Mostly things end up being learnt properly they just learn from a different point of view.
Any way I still respect anyone who wants to DIY learn their own KB sailing. It is certainly easier than dinghy sailing if a bit different. It is of course very important to learn from books etc from other people's experience of the things that can go wrong that are always obvious. olewill

 

[BobPrell]

I am not one for learning or teaching how to do it properly. I like people to try their own way and see what works. I then show them how I do it. If that is better I can justify or it will be obvious.
My teaching of sailing is to set up an environment where they can discover how it can be done. (in safety) Mind you it can be a bit frightening letting them run amock on the tiller learning about gybes in strong wind. Mostly things end up being learnt properly they just learn from a different point of view.
Any way I still respect anyone who wants to DIY learn their own KB sailing. It is certainly easier than dinghy sailing if a bit different. It is of course very important to learn from books etc from other people's experience of the things that can go wrong that are always obvious. olewill

Olewill that is beautifully put.

It is an attitude that is needed if the younger generation are to be attracted to yachting, because that is how youngsters learn these days.

I want to add more but have to form my thoughts.