kimhollamby
Active member
Off the fence then
If asked for a view on whether 5,000 miles is better than 2,500 then I would of course agree that 5,000 miles is better. But that would affect all Yachtmasters, not just commercially endorsed ones. So should in fact the Yachtmaster itself be 5,000 miles? That's not unreasonable in my book but I'm sure the MCA have as much if not more of a hand in whether this would be the case; it is after all its qualification. Otherwise you really have to look at splitting the Yachtmaster in a more defined way which might either devalue the leisure version, upgrade the commercial one or a bit of both. That's not necessarily wrong either, except for the fact that we already have Coastal Skipper exams as well and it's starting to sound complicated (well, it already is complicated - try explaining to a novice boater).
Having jumped firmly off the fence I think I was being accused of sitting on (it got uncomfortable anyway) let me play devil's advocate.
One thing that the 16 week courses don't get credit for is the extra-curricular learning on things like mechanical systems. It is really quite possible to pass Yachtmaster at the moment and then have to call the lifeboat for quite basic breakdowns of engine or rig due to lack of knowledge. At least the crammers are giving a more rounded view of life on some of the boats their pupils will get jobs on. Ditto some of the people skills. It'll only scratch the surface and as someone whose training has majored on the school of hard knocks I for one know that it will not be enough. But it is better than the straightforward curriculum offers.
Another thing about 16 week courses based around large structures is that pupils are exposed to a wider range of instructors and hence, a potentially wider range of skills.
Another thing about the 16 week courses is that many of the pupils do have some experience of boating. What they probably lack more than any other thing is maturity and command (management) experience, particularly in the case of the younger ones.
Are the pupils of the 16 week schools actually going straight into captain's positions? Insurance companies probably ensure not in most cases. So perhaps there could be some kind of apprentice scheme to follow the 16 weeks with regular health (as in knowledge) checks? But then that is starting to sound like the next rungs up the qualification ladder anyway.
Mind you you can also take full deck officer qualifications, stand watches for many years and still ram your highly-equipped ship into the side of another without too much bother it would seem. Or you can take your ship and ram the world's most high profile wreck of the moment, guarded by one buoy and a warship, the next day. So should 'whether you can read a radar, take a look at navigation warnings and be arsed to stay alert' play a part as well. History teaches that experience sometimes leads to neglect in these area through over-confidence so as far as commercial boats go that then plays into the hands of the owner, the owner's agent if he has one and the charterer to take a long hard look beyond the tickets. I suspect most do.
kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com
If asked for a view on whether 5,000 miles is better than 2,500 then I would of course agree that 5,000 miles is better. But that would affect all Yachtmasters, not just commercially endorsed ones. So should in fact the Yachtmaster itself be 5,000 miles? That's not unreasonable in my book but I'm sure the MCA have as much if not more of a hand in whether this would be the case; it is after all its qualification. Otherwise you really have to look at splitting the Yachtmaster in a more defined way which might either devalue the leisure version, upgrade the commercial one or a bit of both. That's not necessarily wrong either, except for the fact that we already have Coastal Skipper exams as well and it's starting to sound complicated (well, it already is complicated - try explaining to a novice boater).
Having jumped firmly off the fence I think I was being accused of sitting on (it got uncomfortable anyway) let me play devil's advocate.
One thing that the 16 week courses don't get credit for is the extra-curricular learning on things like mechanical systems. It is really quite possible to pass Yachtmaster at the moment and then have to call the lifeboat for quite basic breakdowns of engine or rig due to lack of knowledge. At least the crammers are giving a more rounded view of life on some of the boats their pupils will get jobs on. Ditto some of the people skills. It'll only scratch the surface and as someone whose training has majored on the school of hard knocks I for one know that it will not be enough. But it is better than the straightforward curriculum offers.
Another thing about 16 week courses based around large structures is that pupils are exposed to a wider range of instructors and hence, a potentially wider range of skills.
Another thing about the 16 week courses is that many of the pupils do have some experience of boating. What they probably lack more than any other thing is maturity and command (management) experience, particularly in the case of the younger ones.
Are the pupils of the 16 week schools actually going straight into captain's positions? Insurance companies probably ensure not in most cases. So perhaps there could be some kind of apprentice scheme to follow the 16 weeks with regular health (as in knowledge) checks? But then that is starting to sound like the next rungs up the qualification ladder anyway.
Mind you you can also take full deck officer qualifications, stand watches for many years and still ram your highly-equipped ship into the side of another without too much bother it would seem. Or you can take your ship and ram the world's most high profile wreck of the moment, guarded by one buoy and a warship, the next day. So should 'whether you can read a radar, take a look at navigation warnings and be arsed to stay alert' play a part as well. History teaches that experience sometimes leads to neglect in these area through over-confidence so as far as commercial boats go that then plays into the hands of the owner, the owner's agent if he has one and the charterer to take a long hard look beyond the tickets. I suspect most do.
kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com
