Unless you are going abroad the ICC isnt much use.. you dont need it here in Blighty. I believe it was established by the RYA as in the UK we dont having the legal requirement they have abroad for training.
Still, its quite fun, and enables you to get out on the water and have some clue what you are doing. I'd say its a great way to get started in a rib , as it were.
The PB1+2 is VERY basic.. start/stop, some ropework,bit of engine info,launch and recover,coming along side etc. I guess if its one-to-one, your trainer might take you further along the learning curve, but in group training, there is obviously a fair amount of sitting about while others drive
, but I think it would be naive of a new boater to think this course prepared him for the sea. After all, if the course was really so informative, there wouldnt be much need for any others!
Perhaps I am being unfair, as I had some experience of boats when I took it, so the add-on seemed very marginal. I did more recently look through the course, and perhaps it now seems very basic just to me. Still, I would advise anyone starting out to take the course, but in my opinion it is an introduction.That is exactly what it is, and there is no way that we pretend to turn everybody into expert boat handlers after it. It is there to teach technique and a variety of other skills.
Of course it depends how big the bay is
When done properly it can prepare him for sea, and at least give a very good idea of what he might come up against. In two days, we can teach the basics - like anything else, you then have to go and put that into practice. As Gary Player said, the more I practice the luckier I get!
The term failure is a bit harsh, however I can tell you that I have asked that people come back for an extra day if I don't feel that a candidate has grasped enough. Very often it's those that think they know it all that are this situation. I recently had a candidate who said he's been boating for years and really didn't want to do the whole course with others of less ability than he. OK, then we can do a Level 2 assessment, no teaching just demonstrate a variety of exercises and some theory knowledge. When I asked him what a cardinal mark was, he said I've never really got to grips with that buoyage stuff". OK, then lets go on the water................... Suffice to say that he did the full PB 2 course and admitted at the end how much he had learnt and enjoyed it. I have also had to refer a YM candidate as well - boat handling was very poor and on the retake, said that he would not have passed himself first time round!
Don't be fooled into dumbing down the PB2. As has been said, it is what he needs.