Sailing School Standards.

[Guest]

A friend and I have just returned from a very poor weekend of instruction in north wales. It prompted me to wonder exactly how some of these schools obtain and retain their "RYA Recognised" status. Or does this not really mean anything ?

I am pursuing the matter with both the "school" and the RYA, but if anyone knows of any quick and effective route to bring schools like this to book, please let me know.

 

[Guest]

I have had a similar experience. I think the problme is that so often these bsuinesses are uderfunded and therfore the boats are in poor nick and the operators are not professional business people.

I think there probably are some good sailing schools. But I don't know who they are.

I think probably the best solution is to find someone who knows their stuff, has the experience and can teach you on your own boat.

Good luck anyway.

Regards,

Ian Neville-Rolfe

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Have to agree. went to a school in Conway,NorthWales a couple of years back one trainee on the course could not even load a winch the right way .And he was given his coastal skipper cert . When I questioned the instruter, he said that this man was only going to sail on the lakes! After course completed this man asked me would I charter a yacht with him so that so that we both could take our families sailing .The Irish sea!!! Cheers bob t

Bob T

 

[RupertW]

I spent a good part of this winter ploughing through RYA courses at various sailing schools and found them all different, but very good,even though I'd simply found them on the web and had never heard of them before.

They varied in size from large (BOSS and Bisham Abbey) to one man-one boat jobs (like the excellent Clubsail in the Canaries). I've been sailing for a few years but still found I learnt a lot during the courses, and the exams.

I also found that the instructors tended to have a slightly more spartan approach to sailing that I do, and saw broken equipment as "good learning exercises". What they all passed on was how you could sail if you did it week in, week out on any boat you get landed with.


I suspect you've been very unlucky and hope it doesn't put you off doing other courses with other schools. You may get much more out of doing more courses than pursuing some hopeless school - but why not tell us who they are so nobody else on the board gives them any more business?

 

[Guest]

Thanks rtboss1, guess what, the sailing school I went to was in Conwy too.

I sent the RYA an e-mail 4 days ago asking for some help with this but havent had an answer. Maybe theyre busy. Maybe e-mails arent the best method of contact. Maybe the RYA is the problem.

 

[andrewhopkins]

The RYA do take note

A friend of mine had a bad experience and complained to the RYA. His complaint was not the first and the RYA stripped the school of its certification and also took legal action to get money back for my friend.

Very impressive.

 

[Guest]

Your student certainly was NOT awarded a coastal skipper certificate. He/she might have gained a course completion certificate, but the only way you can get a certificate of competence Coastal Skipper is by taking an examination with a Yachtmaster Examiner, a practical exam which should take about 8 to 12 hours and include some night time sailing.
Yachtmaster Examiner

 

[Jeremy_W]

To be honest, I'm not surprised. About eight years ago a sailing school in the West Country gave my then girlfriend a Day Skipper ticket. I have no problem with that except that she couldn't steer a straight course; couldn't trim sails properly; couldn't do a crash-stop MOB to save her life. She was short of time at sea (minimum ten days); short of night hours (minimum requirement eight hours).....

I had expected the school to regrade her as a Competent Crew student and then pass her with honours. But to award Day Skipper was a joke.

 

[yachtcharisma]

> I think there probably are some good sailing schools.
> but I don't know who they are.

I've had only good experiences with the two sailing schools I've been to. I learnt a huge amount on each course. But they were both rather interesting experiences to say the least!

The first course I did was dayskipper with Sunsail at Largs in Scotland. One couple left after the first night on board, saying she couldn't cope with the damp! We borrowed a dayskipper candidate from another boat to make us back up to three crew & instructor. The other dayskipper candidate didn't know his stuff when being gently grilled about it by the instructor, which led to the comp crew candidate bursting into tears the next morning and complaining that the instructor was ruining her holiday with an unsympathetic attitude. This clearly gave the instructor rather a crisis of confidence, and he spent much of the rest of the course pouring out the sorrows of an instructors life to me whenever the other two weren't around - over a few single malts at the local hostelries of an evening! At the end of the week I'd learnt a huge amount and got my dayskipper course completion cert, the other two seemed reasonably happy with their comp crew certificates.

The second course I did was with Plymouth Sailing School one November, a coastal skipper refresher course leading to exam at the end of the week. Two other CS candidates, one DS. I had a great (if chilly!) week, learnt loads and passed my CS exam at the end. But the other two CS candidates, one of whom wanted it as a professional qualification for use abroad, were persuaded by the instructor not to do the exam and ended the week reasonably happy with their DS course completion certs.

So I'm happy to recommend both of those sailing schools as being very good, although clearly it really comes down to the individual instructors. But the other lesson I learnt is that it seems easy to be disappointed by the courses if you're not well prepared - its certainly worth making sure you've read through the syllabus beforehand and had a reasonable go at everything on it, then the course becomes an excellent way of refining your technique and exchanging ideas about different ways of doing things. Expecting to learn everything on the syllabus from scratch on the course is too ambitious.

Cheers
Patrick

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Sailing a Corribee
vzone.virgin.net/patrick.fox
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[Guest]

To: Yachtcharisma.

I think instruction is only part of it. Its about enjoyment too. If I pay £150 to live for 2 days on a 20 year old unheated boat, I expect at least one shower during the weekend and adequate food. On the sunday for example, we motored for 5 hours because the main-sheet traveller snapped, in freezing rain, and we finally moored up at 3pm having done about 1 hour of sailing, no manouevres, no man-overboard, no navigation, and having had no lunch - not even a cuppa. We got home filthy, hungry and exhausted.
I know sailing has its hardships but you dont have to wallow in deprivation; on the contrary, you stay alert and keen by eating well and looking after yourself.
This was my 4th Course and by far the worst.
Anyone want to know the name of the school, just ask.

 

[jtwebb]

They seem to vary. My wife went to Boss who were very good and ensured the syllabus etc. was followed. I have had crew who I feel I should tear up their certificates. One admitted they did a single cross channel trip and got Competent Crew from it. One bit that is always missed is ability to use a dinghy. I say there is the dinghy, they say where is the outboard and I say there are the oars and you have a piece of paper that says you know how to use them!

J Webb