Skippering!

After the research cruise in October, I spent two weeks cramming for my Yachtmaster Coastal skipper exam. I was awarded a scholarship from Trinity House and the RYA last year to do all of this training! 

I spent 4 long days getting used to Bold Ranger, a Nelson 42 owned by James at https://hebrideanseaschool.com/

These blue sheets across the windows are to represent fog. We practiced our blind nav using just speed, distance, time, and using radar. 

These are all of the things that we get tested on in 1.5 days and need to know off by heart and be competent! It is a big scary list, however, over the years I have been building this up so it was great to actually test my knowledge and skill! 

International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea Questions will be confined to the International Regulations and although candidates must be aware of the existence of Local Regulations, they will not be expected to memorise specific local regulations. 

 General Rules (1-3)  Steering and sailing rules (4-19)  Lights and shapes (20-31)  Sound and light signals (32-31)  Signals for vessels fishing in close proximity (Annex II)  Distress signals (Annex IV) Safety Candidates will be expected to know what safety equipment should be carried on board a motor yacht, based either on the recommendations in the RYA Boat Safety Handbook (C8), the ISAF Special Regulations or the Codes of Practice for the Safety of Small Commercial Vessels. In particular, candidates must know the responsibilities of a skipper in relation to:  Safety harnesses  Lifejackets  Distress flares  Fire prevention and fighting  Liferafts  Knowledge of rescue procedures  Helicopter rescue Boat Handling Candidates will be expected to answer questions and demonstrate ability in complex situations and will also be expected to show a high level of expertise in:  Coming to and weighting anchor under power in various conditions of wind and tide  All berthing and unberthing situations in various conditions of wind and tide  Recovery of man overboard  Towing under open sea conditions and in confined areas  Boat handling in confined areas  Boat handling in heavy weather  Helmsmanship  Use of warps for securing in an alongside berth and for shifting berth or winding HEBRIDEAN SEA SCHOOL General seamanship, including maintenance  Properties, use and care of synthetic fibre ropes  Knots  General deck-work at sea and in harbour  Engine operations and routine checks Responsibilities of skipper  Can skipper a motor cruiser  Communication with crew  Delegation of responsibility and watch-keeping organisation  Preparing vessel for sea and for adverse weather  Tactics for heavy weather and restricted visibility  Emergency and distress situations  Victualling for a cruise and feeding at sea  Customs procedures  Standards of behaviour and courtesy Navigation  Charts, navigational publications and sources of navigational information  Chartwork including position fixing and shaping course to allow for tidal stream and leeway  Tide and tidal stream calculations  Buoyage and visual aids to navigation  Instruments including compasses, logs, echo sounders, radio navaids and chartwork instruments  Passage planning and navigational tactics  Pilotage techniques  Navigational records  Limits of navigational accuracy and margins of safety  Lee shore dangers  Use of electronic navigation aids for passage planning and passage navigation  Use of waypoints and electronic routeing  Use of radar for navigation, pilotage and collision avoidance Meteorology  Definition of terms  Sources of weather forecasts  Weather systems and local weather effects  Interpretation of weather forecasts, barometric trends and visible phenomena  Ability to make passage planning decisions based on forecast information Signals  Candidates must hold the Restricted (VHF only) Certificate of Competence in radiotelephony or a higher grade of certificate in radiotelephony

Having two engines means that if you keep the helms neutral you can use the engines to park! 

We had a gale force 8 for the day and night of the exam - typical. I thought it would throw me off, especially when the table flew across the room as we went over a big wave. These big rollers were not just big in the daytime of the exam but also for the night navigation. The big waves meant that we could not take our usual transit across to places so had to go up into the waves and directly down then so we were not caught on the beam which could cause us to capsize. 

 Straight after the exam I was out on the boats at work at SAMS on Seol Mara and up Loch Etive. 

We then launched the RIB Uisge and I gave inductions to staff so that they could be signed off as skipper and crew! 

Now instead of 4 miles I can go 20 miles offshore in all sorts of power vessels.

Adrian, checking to see how the seaweed has grown!

I also did some drills and training on the vessel Seol Mara at work so eventually next summer I can get ticked off to skipper her with staff and students. This is the emergency tiller! 

Sunsets always make me reflect. I have one more year left of the scholarship. So because I love to stress myself out, next year I am heading down to Plymouth in the summer to get tested for my Yachtmaster RYA Sailing Offshore, I will then convert the Sail Offshore ticket (if I pass) to Power Offshore. I am also planning to do my ocean theory exam before I head off in March to the Caribbean where Al and I are bringing a yacht back to the UK! Hopefully, this all goes to plan but over 2021 I am going to work hard to try and complete this, but who knows!