Surprising comment from Yacht master

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Alrob

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On the boat with my brother in law at the weekend who has ,done his yacht master (15 years ago),
when I pointed out where the life raft was kept - he proceeded to ask me how they deploy !!!!!!!!

does yacht master course not cover this I wondered ????????????
 
Was he asking how your particular liferaft configuration deployed, or how liferafts in general deploy? If the former, it's a good question, if the latter, 15 years is a long time.

SWMBO was shown how to deploy a liferaft on her Competent Crew Course, so I could guess it is repeated at Day Skipper and Coastal Skipper levels, and also during a YM prep course.
 
Go and do the sea survival course if unsure, its a great experience and the simulator makes you realise how things can really be.
 
There is no Yachtmaster practical course as such so the answer would be no, it doesn't cover it. The theory certainly doesn't cover it. But a Yachtmaster should know how a liferaft is deployed form their vast experience they have built up prior to taking the test. Is he a 'Real' Yachtmaster or someone who has done the theory only?
 
Misunderstood?

There is no Yachtmaster practical course as such so the answer would be no, it doesn't cover it.
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Probably misunderstood your comment above but there most certainly is a "Yachtmaster Practical" and very testing it is too. Certainly the deployment of a liferaft was not specifically mentioned but one would assume that the skipper would be familiar with the specifics of his/ her own liferaft on a safety basis alone?
 
miket said:
There is no Yachtmaster practical course as such so the answer would be no, it doesn't cover it.
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Probably misunderstood your comment above but there most certainly is a "Yachtmaster Practical" and very testing it is too. Certainly the deployment of a liferaft was not specifically mentioned but one would assume that the skipper would be familiar with the specifics of his/ her own liferaft on a safety basis alone?
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Neale is actually right - there is not a Yachtmaster Practical course. There is a Yachtmaster Offshore exam and many schools run a YM Prep which is designed to fill the holes that a candidate might have. in preparation for the exam.

The question of life rafts can be covered and we certainly discuss both deployment and the type of life raft carried. The examiner may ask questions on the raft and even what sort or equipment is carried in it as part of the safety brief.
 
What I was saying is that there is no official YM 'Course'. There is the YM practical test, which I have done, and most sea schools will offer a brush up course taking you through the skills that may be required on the day, but unlike the DS, the RYA do not have a YM practical course syllabus.
 
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neale said:
Is he a 'Real' Yachtmaster or someone who has done the theory only?
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Would have to agree with this comment, I did my first YM theory in 1980 Liferaft included but no GPS and don't forget . at that time Morse code required!

Was advised to redo the course in 2004 and found it very different,. No morse code, no liferaft but with time on GPS and route planners. However, there was a strong recommendation to do sea survival course.

IMO, there is no substitute for hands on tuition and/or experience.
 
I suspect that the course, while having to follow the RYA's overarching syllabus, reflects the concerns and interests of the tutor as well. We did cover deployment of liferaft in terms of tying it on etc and were advised that not all of them operate in exactly the same way, so it is wise to check and/or ask. Our tutor had had occasion to use the liferaft in anger beforehand so it was one of the areas he was "hot" on.
 
Yachtmaster exam

I did my exam two years ago and I briefed the crew and examiner how to launch the liferaft in the safety brief, the examiner during the course of the exam asked me further questions about the liferaft and what would the procedure be, once it is launched.

Lucky for me I did the sea survival course at Fleetwood Nautical college a couple of years ago so it was still fresh in my mind and I was able to answer his questions. One of the things that I would want to know if I was on some body else's boat is what type of raft it is,look at the service label to see that it is in date, how is it affixed to the boat so that you could launch it quickly if needed,is the painter line already attached to some part of the boat,Ect.

Hopefully he was just questioning this and wanted to ask the skipper how he would launch the raft in anger.
 
Alrob said:
On the boat with my brother in law at the weekend who has ,done his yacht master (15 years ago),
when I pointed out where the life raft was kept - he proceeded to ask me how they deploy !!!!!!!!

does yacht master course not cover this I wondered ????????????
Click to expand...

I can't imagine that any YM would not know how a liferaft is deployed. In my YM exam, the first thing the examiner did was to ask me to show him all the safety equipment on board and explain to him how it worked as if he was a non boater. Of course knowing how to deploy the liferaft in no way prepares you for actually using it so a survival course is a very good idea
 
Alrob said:
On the boat with my brother in law at the weekend who has ,done his yacht master (15 years ago),
when I pointed out where the life raft was kept - he proceeded to ask me how they deploy !!!!!!!!

does yacht master course not cover this I wondered ????????????
Click to expand...

I did mine 26 years ago at Liverpool NC and the first question he asked was.
How long is the painter on a life raft?.

To which I answered it can be anything up to 150ft depending on the vessel it is on.
The bugger knew I was ex merch.:D

Now heres a question:-
How long is / should be the painter on a say your average up to 40 foot yachts life raft painter and why?.
 
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