International
Yachtmaster
Coastal |
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The
International Yachtmaster Certificate of Competency Course is a
professionally developed course which is approved by the Maritime and
Coastguard Agency (MCA). The MCA is the British equivalent of the
US Coastguard, and exercises jurisdiction over 80% of the world Super
Yacht fleet which is register in Red ensign Countries. The MCA
also accredits the British RYA Yachtmaster, an amateur qualification
which has additional professional endorsement.
If you are here reading this, then you have a desire for more than what you have been offered before in the United States and you are serious about gaining a level of seamanship and competence, that until recently, has not been available on these shores. The Yachtmaster program is a series of courses ranging from Coastal to Commercial certificates. Each certificate builds on the previous and these certificates are MCA recognized and meet the 2002 IMO requirements. As of February 2002 there is a minimum operator requirement agreed to by the signers of the International Maritime Organization, the United States is one of those signers. Currently there is no specific requirement being authored by the US Coast Guard as to these requirement but we feel that the IMO agreement along with a great number of state governments wishing to institute minimum vessel operator training requirement that sometime in the future there may be a national standard set and administered by the US Coast Guard. The United States unlike most countries does not require a certificate of competency for vessel operator unless they are engaged in carrying passengers for hire. If you are planning to sail your private vessel to another country where there are these requirements then a certificate like the Yachtmaster Certificate may come in handy, and after February 2002 it may be a requirement.
We, at Ocean Masters Sailing Academy, are proud to be the first school in the United
States to offer the Yachtmaster Coastal Certification program from International
Yachtmaster Training, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. IYT has established the
credentials for the MCA recognized courses and are focused primarily on those individuals
that work within the commercial side of the maritime community. They are teaching and
evaluating students for the Offshore and Ocean Yachtmaster classes each month. These
are very intense courses and for those that have undergone the training it is like nothing
else offered in the United States. Currently only USCG 500 ton licenses and above meet
minimum MCA - IMO requirements. So a lot of the students that are taking the
classes, are USCG Licensed Captains, and they desire to meet this
MCA We are working in conjunction with IYT to provide this same level of instruction and certification for the recreational boater. The Coastal Certificate does not require a number of the modules that are included in the other, more advance Yachtmaster Certification courses. Modules such as sea survival, fire fighting, advance first aid, CPR and some others. The primary focus of the Yachtmaster Coastal Certificate is coastal navigation, use of charts, tide¤t tables, marlinspike seamanship, man-overboard techniques, VHF radio usage, boat handling, sail trim and safety procedures. There is a special text book custom designed by IYT and issued to each student as part of the course. It is important that every student understands that this is a serious endeavor. You are expected to arrive at the vessel knowing the course material. For six days you will be heavily engaged in the practical aspects of the training. On the seventh day you will be turned over to an evaluator from International Yachtmaster Training. They will put you through a series of procedures to test your skill level. This evaluation will last most of a day. Upon successful completion of the course and evaluation you will be issued a Yachtmaster Coastal Certificate of Competency. This is the first rung of a distinguished ladder of excellence. For those of you that have taken some of our other courses you know that we try to balance fun with learning. There is no balance here, this is a serious course and if you desire to gain an Internationally Recognized Certificate of Competency then you will have to able to perform at a high standard. For those of you that have take our 110 or 200 level course, much of the material is the same, only more intense. The primary focus of this course is the Certificate. You may ask, "What is so special?" In a single word, Respect. In the US we have two major certifying agencies, US Sailing and ASA (The American Sailing Association). ASA has been around for a long time and for most of that time it was the only certifying agency in this country. A decade or so ago a number of schools, us being one, petitioned US Sailing to offer certification. They agreed to do so, but it didn't get any better. Both these programs are more of a marketing tool for us, the schools, than a real certificate of competency. We, at Ocean Masters Sailing Academy, decided to remain independent teaching our own cruising style classes and offering our own certifications. At the same time we have always recognized the value of a certification that would be internationally accepted and respected. For a certificate to be of real value: First, it has to be independently evaluated. No conflict of interest, we do our best to insure your success, but in the end you either cut the mustard or not. For a certificate to have respect then it has to be independently evaluated Second: The certificate should be independently issued by an agency that has met international recognition. Third: The certificate should be internationally recognized. Only the Yachtmaster Program meets these requirements, in this country. Cost: The cost is $2495 per person, this includes the $450 for the Yachtmaster books, Evaluation and Certification. We think that this is a program of great value and we are willing to put forth our support with along with our opinions. So if gaining an internationally recognized certificate of competency is of value to you, give our office a call (1-800-700-1388) and ask for Capt. John Dunsmoor, we will try to answer your questions, or you may email me directly at ymc@oceanmasters.com |