Yachtmaster Exam 2021

[laika]

I'm not rising to the bait.... I think.

There’s no “bait”: That statement seemed to make no sense: It’s like saying you don’t recall anyone joining the RAC when they’ve got a year’s worth of AA membership. Was it just a way of saying you think people who’ve done services training are much better than those who do RYA training?

 

[mmbamb1234]

Yes. It depends on whether you want an answer to the pedagogical question or specific course content? Here's a bit of both. Apart from my aforementioned DS experience, which is about pedagogy. If I were an RYA instructor I would have told that person they need to find someone to spend a lot of time with then teaching them to operate a boat and that until they could operate a boat they shouldn't be attempting an exam oriented course.

If one wants to do a YM one needs significant qualifying experience. If the intent of the RYA syllabus is to insure safe sailing the most risky part, between DS and YM, of a persons sailing career is not covered.

Where is the course content that actually tells you how to sail a large cruising boat, basics like how to get the genny in a high winds, when to reef or what to do when your engine quits coming into port on a lee shore. Bear in mind there are lots of people that, these days, do not come up through the ranks or do not have sailing mates or family to call on. They don't know what they don't know. The RYA syllabus is lacking in this area.

On DS, what's the point of learning a one hour CTS method when you really need to know how to cross multiple tides. I was bewildered after the course until I saw a Youtube video of Patrick Laine crossing the Channel. There's a long thread on this forum were, apparently experience sailors, demonstrate their lack of understanding.

It's well understood that the human brain rarely remembers more than a few steps in a complex process. Forcing them to try to remember a long MOB procedure rather understanding the basic principles introduces risk. One very experienced instructor told us to remember just three things... 1. get someone to keep sight of the MOB, 2, know how to stop the boat quickly on any point of sail and 3. remember where you keep the sheet of paper (preferably laminated) that tells anyone on board what to do in plain language. I know that begs a question about what best practice might be, but the fact that an examiner told us, on a YM course, brings into question the thinking behind the course design.

He also told us to have sheets with all the VHF channels on it, the key radio procedures and a pre-departure check list. He was a ex SAR helicopter pilot. I'm a flight instructor. The ABSOLUTE rule in flying is use checklists. Even if you have 20 years experience flying passengers jets you must use checklists even if you can recite them verbatim.

For the same reason it is dangerous to rely on people remembering extensive lists of light configurations, nav markers and ColRegs to pass an exam and continue to remember them thereafter. Good pedagogy would be to get people to remember the really important stuff essential to respond to indeterminate dynamic conditions such as key parts of the ColRegs and the rest left to reference... but that doesn't make good course content you can charge people for.

I'll give you three examples from personal experienc of relevant situations. I have others:

1. While crossing the TSS in the Western Approaches our experienced YM skipper waited for over three hours for a gap with no ships in sight because he couldn't remember the rule on heading, didn't have reference material to hand and couldn't get mobile phone signal. Four recently qualified DS crew on board couldn't remember either.

2. An ab initio skipper of a yacht under sail, close hauled was hit by a ferry in the Ria de Vigo the year before last because he obeyed the ColRegs to the letter. The investigation deemed the yacht skipper at fault. A similar thing happened to me crossing the bay at Gib. A fast cat ferry came out from behind a tanker in a big arc. With less than a minute to contact I radioed him to check his awareness and ask his intentions. He proceeded to give me chapter and verse on how pleasure craft should give way to commercial traffic.... despite the fact I was close hauled under sail. So whatever the ColRegs actually say they, at least, don't apply to Spanish ferries.

3. A Lagoon recently sunk in the bay at Sant Carles in the dark because the chart plot failed and the skipper couldn't read the lights. It was grounded at least twice, once after a tow failed. The tow line was tied to the davits and the vessel tow backwards. If you know the bay at Sant Carles, which this skipper did, the safe thing to have done would be to have beach the boat and wait until daybreak.

My YM examiner certainly seemed to focus on the essentials you mention, e.g. he observed us how we handled the boat/practically avoided collisions, didn’t ask a lot of questions about the finer points of IPRCS or the more obscure lights and shapes. This was the same on practical courses, instructors teach you to practically sail the boat avoid collisions, pilotage mobs etc.

Every training boat I have ever been on has had laminated check sheets for MOB mayday and departure checks as a minimum. I recently did the fastnet with 2 YMIs, part of the safety brief was the MOB procedure, we ran right through it but they distilled it down to 3 things as you say, stop the boat, sound alarm and keep eyes on the casualty.

Since there is no requirement for uk recreational boaters to have any sort of license I think it needs to be understood that is the individuals responsibility to ensure they don’t put themselves/others in danger. On the practical courses I have been on the instructors have been very good at giving feedback during at the end of courses I.e. and recommending suitable additional training or development.

On the courses I have been on, good practice with reefing was well covered.

I agree there is a big gap between stray kipper and coastal skipper, but there are certainly options, crew for other people, flotilla sailing,milebuilding courses through sailing schools, the dreaded fast track course, or even redoing dayskipper.

 

[nortada]

There’s no “bait”: That statement seemed to make no sense: It’s like saying you don’t recall anyone joining the RAC when they’ve got a year’s worth of AA membership. Was it just a way of saying you think people who’ve done services training are much better than those who do RYA training?

You said it?

I understand that a RYA YM assessment can be completed in 18 hours, where as the JSASTC test lasts for best part of a week so I would just suggest they can be pushed harder.

On the other side of the debate, they get more opportunity to redeem themselves from earlier transgressions.