Yachtmaster Practical

[Cornishman]

Don't mind poor crew for an exam. It shows two things
1. The candidate's inability to select a good crew, or if they were on a course the failure of the instructor to teach anything and,
2. The candidate's ability or otherwise to manage the crew and make decisions based upon their abilities. Candidates who sit at the helm for 12 hours during the exam should fail, in my view, for having displayed no 'ability as a skipper'.

Nearly every candidate I have examined in the last 27 years would have passed with flying colours if it had been just an oral exam, which they used to be able to do if they had successfully completed both courses, but when it became a practical exam as the only way to achieve the certificate we soon found out was lacking.

 

[oldsaltoz]

G'day (No profile) Doug,

Having read through the responses I am amazed at how easy it sounds there. I did my Offshore Yachtmasters a few years back and it entailed a year of night school, a 2 hour written exam and a practical exam, followed by on oral exam.

Four of us on board, we had to rotate thru all positions on board and had at least 20 man overboard drills, 4 blind navigation sets, foul weather and no grog till we got back, 26 hours later thanks very much, and the oral test is taken as soon as you get back. Some of the questions asked by the examiner were not even part of the corniculum.

3 of us passed, the other poor soul had to submit to another test on navigation when he trouble describing how he worked out his tidal vectors during the oral exam, did not get his ticket for another 2 months.

We even had some blokes that came from Canada (To Australia) to do the course as the AYF ticket it is well recognised over there, not sure why they don't do it there.

And, if you want to pass, don't waste time telling jokes, concentrate on what you are doing and plan ahead, be confident in all aspects, after all you have done the time, the distance, the study and you know your limitations, if you are in doubt about any of the above, get out there and test yourself, as this is what you will be doing every time you put to sea....

Anagoodweekend Old Salt Oz /forums/images/icons/cool.gif

 

[doug748]

Thanks for the advice, Happy Christmas to all. Think I will give it a go in the New Year.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Uncontrolled gybes are rarely cheap jibes.

 

[kingfisher]

1) I weed out the 'cowboys': those that, when you tell them to berth the boat alongside, try to impress the examiner by doing it at full speed, and then put it in reverse at the last moment. The student that comes alongside with a a foot to spare, drops of a crew member, and uses the lines to manually guide the boat in, gets more points.

2) Think ahead. Always be one manouvre ahead of the boat. It's like playing for position in snooker. One is going for the pot, but just as important is deciding where the cue ball should be. Say you're going from bouy red 14 to 16. You must then already know what the course for 16-18 will be. While your in the approach, visualize how you're going to lower the sails, and berth the boat. Always be one step ahead.

3) Take your time
I've had candidates race to the berth, while the crew were franticaly hanging fenders, and getting warps ready. Of course the manouvre is a shambles, and the candidate blames the poor crew. Simply hold off, or make another 360° turn. Same with a tack. Cowboys yell "ready for tack" and go for it. Nobody's ready. Issue a warning, receive a confirmation, check that confirmation is correct, and execute. This will avoid tacking with a crew member on the foredeck. Time is the most ample commodity at sea.

4) Navigation
Always navigate from the map to the real world, never from the real world to the map. Navigation should be like this: the navigator tells the helmsman that if all is well, he should have green bouy 23 at 11 o'clock, does he see it? If the skipper tells the navigator he's got Gr 23 at 11 o'clock, and you have to look for it on the map, you're doing it wrong, and again, you're letting the boat sail you.

5) The helmsman is not the skipper. Don't helm. If you're helming/trimming/cooking/navigating, you don't have time to make the crucial decisions. Delegate. Unless you can helm on near autopilot, and command at the same time, do only one thing. Most people (and certainly all men, according to SWMBO) are not multi-tasking.

6) Reef
As soon as you're thinking about it: do it.

7) Have plan B ready at all times
Here's a stunt I always pull: a student sails into port, puts the boat head to wind, and starts lowering the sails, and only then starts the engine. I stop him, and instruct him that he has an simulated engine failure.
First of all: don't cut one power source before you have another ready, second of all, know at all times what to do if things go wrong.

Group of people on the pontoon: skipper is the one with the toolbox.
http://sirocco31.tripod.com

 

[rhinorhino]

I have always had a question I wanted to ask about YM exams.
Suppose I turn up for the exam with my crew so well trained that I can give orders like "Berth A8, come alongside and make fast" and it just happens, what does the examiner do to me?