YM Ocean online theory course

[ErikKiekens]

There are too many online courses offered. No way I can decide which is best unless you share your experience. Comments please?
Erik

 

[SteveSarabande]

There is only one RYA Ocean theory course, it is just being offered by different schools.

 

[ghostlymoron]

I'm not a fan of on line courses, I enjoy the companionship of evening courses and it gives you something boaty to do in winter. If you can find a local one and can commit to regular attendance, I think you'll find it more rewarding.

 

[laika]

There is only one RYA Ocean theory course, it is just being offered by different schools.

With particular respect to online courses as asked by the OP...are you sure? I recently completed the RYA PPR course which is designed and run as an online course and your statement would certainly be true for that: all the schools are simply reselling the same course. However the Ocean Theory was (I have always thought: could be wrong) intended to be classroom taught. You could be correct but I had thought that distance learning versions would be compiled by the individual providers.

Would it be a bad idea to do the course online? Not sure. I did Ocean Theory in a classroom and whilst the instructor was competent at delivering the course material he was pretty useless at answering any questions around it. From that point of view I might as well have saved myself the travelling and done it online. The one thing attending was good for was that the instructor brought in 3 different sextants and let us use them. We couldn't properly take sights because we had no horizon but being able to physically correct them was very valuable. Also good to see how a "nice" sextant differs from my plastic one.

 

[Blue_mischief]

I'm not a fan of on line courses, I enjoy the companionship of evening courses and it gives you something boaty to do in winter. If you can find a local one and can commit to regular attendance, I think you'll find it more rewarding.

+1

 

[morgandlm]

I have done both on-line courses and evening school type ones. I did the old Yachtmaster theory on-line and found the experience very good and genuinely believe I ended up with a better and deeper understanding of the subject because there was less time pressure on each module so it was easier to be self-paced. The process is very dependent on the quality of the on-line instructor and perhaps I was lucky. I quite enjoyed the discipline of allocating periods of "boat" time and getting stuck into it so was also "rewarding" in a different way.
The experience was some time ago so any specific recommendation probably of no value. Definitely worth asking any prospective tutor about the programme he proposes you work to and how quickly he will turn round submitted work.

David Morgan

 

[Skylark]

I also believe that this is a course that requires good instruction to be effective. There are a number of fundamental concepts to grasp. A good tutor, together with a lot of self study, is required to demystify the art of celestial navigation and ocean passage making. I did the course one-to-one with a retired master mariner. He had a wealth of knowledge and I asked a lot of questions. It still took a while for the proverbial penny to drop.

It's easier to go "off piste" with a real person, too. You should be able to turn the pages of AP3270, vols 1-3. Celestial Almanac, you may also get to use Norries Tables and venture into the wonderful world of Bowditch. You should also get hands-on experience with a decent sextant. While you are doing the course, you may be interested in drawing-up your own Plotting Sheets, taking and reducing a sun sight and a sun Meriden Passage, for example. You could then review your work with the tutor.....can't imagine this could be done during an on-line course.

There's a lot to be gained during the coffee breaks, too. No doubt a real person would be happy to share experience of victualing for an ocean crossing, crew rota, vessel maintenance, weather experiences. Even "harbours I've been to" would be fascinating to hear about.

Thumbs down for this as an on-line learning experience!

 

[Sandy]

I am trying to find a Ocean Theory Course that is run over weekends that are a few weeks apart. If anybody knows of a school that does this I'd be interested.

 

[ErikKiekens]

Trouble is that I live in Belgium and nearest course is Ramsgate; every Wednesday evening. Not possible for me. 5-day course exists but expensive when including flight and a week holiday. Also, it is only a refresher course for me as I have already the Belgian equivalent of the YM Ocean. Could do it on my own I guess, but I would like to have the attendance certificate to be exempt of the theoretical exam. Therefore: on-line course. Can anybody suggest a school? If not I take the top of google search result?

 

[Skylark]

Trouble is that I live in Belgium and nearest course is Ramsgate; every Wednesday evening. Not possible for me. 5-day course exists but expensive when including flight and a week holiday. Also, it is only a refresher course for me as I have already the Belgian equivalent of the YM Ocean. Could do it on my own I guess, but I would like to have the attendance certificate to be exempt of the theoretical exam. Therefore: on-line course. Can anybody suggest a school? If not I take the top of google search result?

In that case I would reward the school for having invested in internet SEO and go with Google.

 

[alant]

Trouble is that I live in Belgium and nearest course is Ramsgate; every Wednesday evening. Not possible for me. 5-day course exists but expensive when including flight and a week holiday. Also, it is only a refresher course for me as I have already the Belgian equivalent of the YM Ocean. Could do it on my own I guess, but I would like to have the attendance certificate to be exempt of the theoretical exam. Therefore: on-line course. Can anybody suggest a school? If not I take the top of google search result?

Why, doesn't your Belgian Ocean Ticket suffice?