Fast Track to Yachtmaster Offshore (Sail)

[barnakiel]

Turone: I never had people asking me what licenses I hold when they saw my skills. I did hear people asking me who gave me the license when they saw my lack of experience.

Build skills, hours and contacts. Get licenses as you go.

The comment from JoePa above also gets my +1. Avoid getting into a job that may collide with becoming a parent later, if you are fixed on becoming a parent one day.

Think twice before you jump. Having thought three times, jump.

Good luck!
barnakiel

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Turone: I never had people asking me what licenses I hold when they saw my skills. I did hear people asking me who gave me the license when they saw my lack of experience.

Build skills, hours and contacts. Get licenses as you go.

The comment from JoePa above also gets my +1. Avoid getting into a job that may collide with becoming a parent later, if you are fixed on becoming a parent one day.

Think twice before you jump. Having thought three times, jump.

Good luck!
barnakiel

This may have been the case in the past. It's not now. Large boats are very certificate orientated and with the MCA code on manning, even more so. I know several super yacht captains and mates that went back to school to get tickets in the past few years.

Dave

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

This may have been the case in the past. It's not now. Large boats are very certificate orientated and with the MCA code on manning, even more so. I know several super yacht captains and mates that went back to school to get tickets in the past few years.

Dave

Yes. This goes without saying.

The only exception and then only under some flags are big private yachts NOT registered for charter. Often a plain Yachtmaster Ocean (no endorsement, no STCW) backed by relevant experience are enough. But such jobs are few and apart as most such owners tend to sail their boats on their own. Also, owners of such bigger non-charter yachts are always limited in choice of crew (e.g. by insurance policies).

As regards the other job (host/chef) then I have the feeling that the best ones are those who moved into yachting from their successful land career. So to say, big shots are looking for a great chef who does not get seasick rather than for a great sailor who knows how to cook.

Hence having the best license in a field on top of plenty of experience is the logical way to go.

b.

[goboatingnow]

As to the chef/cook/chief steward, yes Id agree, there are some cookery courses aimed at super yacht chefs and obviously a qualification from a world renowned school is a big advantage. I know some super yachts chefs that are paid more then the skipper.

As to chief stewards ( or any rank above dogs body) qualifications in the hospitality industry are a big help.

Dave

[Tyrone777]

We will have to work on the cooking qualifications. Here are the licenses and training we will receive while doing the fast track course.

RYA Competent Crew
RYA/SAS Day Skipper Theory & Practical
RYA/SAS Yachtmaster Coastal Theory & Practical
Offshore Passage & Mileage Building Trip
STCW’95
ICASA VHF
RYA/SAS Yachtmaster Offshore Prep & Exam

Again, thank you all for the great imput!

[Tingum]

Just remember, a clean cut appearance and a smile mean more to the owner than any certificates, and his or her opinion is the one that counts. Just a note from an old Captain. Good Luck!

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Tyrone777

We will have to work on the cooking qualifications. Here are the licenses and training we will receive while doing the fast track course.

RYA Competent Crew
RYA/SAS Day Skipper Theory & Practical
RYA/SAS Yachtmaster Coastal Theory & Practical
Offshore Passage & Mileage Building Trip
STCW’95
ICASA VHF
RYA/SAS Yachtmaster Offshore Prep & Exam

Again, thank you all for the great imput!

Thats the standard fast track , zero to hero course all right. I would suggest you then get your YM commercially endorsed by the MCA in the UK. ( An exam with a endorsed doctor).

After that its experience, do a bot of mile building by getting involved in deliveries, little money but generally good experience.

Then its pound the pavements looking for work. You need to decide on what aspect of the industry you are aiming for, your on the edge of the age bracket for a startoff. ( sorry). Ps you also need to look acceptance in shorts and a T-shirt. If you aim at the super yacht sectors, then getting experience on motor yachts is easier as this is where their are crew shortages. ( also more money too). Florida, Antibbes/Nice/Cannes in France and San Remo in Italy are the centers of the industry. Talk to crew agencies as nearly all hiring is done through them these days.


dave

[Tyrone777]

Not to derail this thread, but family has asked a few questions concerning medical insurance. Do most purchase travelers medical insurance till they get hired on with a company? There are definitely more and more things to consider before jumping in. So far looks like we are still on track to leave this August.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Tyrone777

Not to derail this thread, but family has asked a few questions concerning medical insurance. Do most purchase travelers medical insurance till they get hired on with a company? There are definitely more and more things to consider before jumping in. So far looks like we are still on track to leave this August.

I traveled without insurance then got insurance when working. There are simply too many things that can go wrong when you are doing things under stress. In case of private employers I did all the paperwork myself. If you work for a company they may have a scheme in place.

I always try to get the medical and the liability from the same agent but this was not always possible.

(Aside from the medical - make sure when you are employed you ARE covered by your employers policy - this should be mentioned in the contract).

b.

[RabidRabbit]

All those fancy titles soung great, but have you sailed a boat on the ocean? Maybe get a boat and sail it to where you need to go. Maybe having experience, sea miles, and some concept of sea life before you commit to the time required to obtain all those lic.

[Tyrone777]

Ideally we would love to just island hop in the Caribbean, but we do understand we have to sacrifice in order to accomplish our goals. Looking at deliveries more as grunt work and a path to our goal. We look at the "titles" as more of a way to get our foot in the door.

[barnakiel]

To get the foot in the door consider applying with Moorings or the likes as a host/skipper.

This would put you in the position where you can look at the other options and see what they offer and what they call for.

Try to sacrifice nothing. You may find you miss it badly one day.

b.

[Tyrone777]

We should be able to catch a delivery once we are done with the schooling there in SA, most likely be with Leopard Catamarans. TUI marine owns Leopard as well as the Moorings, Footloose, and a couple of others. So I was thinking of trying to work with them and then transition to the Moorings.

[RabidRabbit]

I was just trying to point out that if you had 10 years of actual on ocean experience. You would be really skilled and it would be apparant to others that you know your ****. Having those certifications won't make you a master seaman, being at sea makes you a master. Sure you need book learning and knowledge, but anyone can go to school and come out with the paper. Don't ya think the fasttrack would be easier with some ocean time under your belt?

[Tyrone777]

I appreciate your input Rabid, and we have no intentions of thinking we are a master of anything once we are finished with the school. We look at the coarse more as a starting point to give us the very basic skills we need. Also, getting us in contact with people and the industry. Not to mention living and learning on a sailboat for a few months just sounds fun . The worst that could happen is for this to turn out to be a really expensive vacation.

Over the past few years we have become stagnant in our dream mainly due to living in Houston. Our other plan was to move to FL, get regular jobs, and then try to pursue side jobs on the water. This would take much longer than we would want.