Boating School Information

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Boating School - Seamanship

Seamanship is an art and is, specifically, defined as the art of operating a boat. A sailor has to be qualified in many different fields before he can progress in seamanship and these range from subjects like navigation and international maritime law to fire fighting and how to deal with dangerous cargoes.

Fortunately, today, instead of spending many years being apprenticed at sea, sailors can attend boating school and qualify in seamanship in a relatively short time. As the field of seamanship is extremely broad, the available training programs have been grouped into several areas of specificity, which would include such seemingly unrelated areas like Fundamentals of Damage and Claims Survey, and Government and Corporate Contracts.

A typical course in seamanship is the Yacht and Small Craft Surveying program in terms of which the student would learn how to prepare appraisals of seagoing vessels, place a value on a vessel for insurance purposes and draft and complete insurance ‘to-do’ lists. This is the ideal qualification in maritime surveying and should be strongly considered by anyone wanting to get ahead in this field.

The Career Development and International Maritime Organization (IMO) Compliance program is a great way to propel a career forward. Registering for this course at your boating school will ultimately qualify you to become a deck officer and will give you a firm grounding in areas such as bridge resource management, basic safety training, able seaman training and marine radio operators permit training. The Professional Mariner Training program, on the other hand, is aimed at qualifying you for career opportunities in the pleasure and commercial yacht industry and can be taken by beginners and experienced seamen.

Another option would be the USCG (United States Coast Guard) License Training course, which is specifically aimed at those mariners who have had plenty of experience at sea but who have not yet received any certifications. Once a student has completed this course, he or she will be ready to seek licensing in the Operating of an Uninspected Passenger Vessel (OUPV). Finally, the Fundamentals of Damage and Claims Survey program teaches one how to assess and report on yacht damage while the Government and Corporate Contracts course teaches the basics of maritime contracts on a local, state and federal level.

If you want to get ahead in boating, one obvious way would be to go to boating school and obtain a seamanship qualification.

Choosing the right boating school can often mean the difference between finding a new passion in life and having an awful experience. One of my favorite stories an old boat dealer buddy of mine used to tell was when a client of his bought a big new power boat. In his excitement and desire to use it he grabbed his wife and headed out into the ocean for a short ride, the words “three hour tour” come to mind here.

In his haste to get his wife out on their new toy he did not bother to check the weather forecast. Needless to say the weather turned ugly, the inexperienced skipper panicked, his wife was absolutely terrified, and after receiving assistance to get back to the dock from local marine authorities he promptly called the broker and listed the boat for sale. Now while this may seem like a great way for a broker to earn a two-for-one commission on a boat, it is obviously not an ideal situation for anyone.

A little time spent in the classroom of any decent boating school would have given the poor individual in our story the simple knowledge that you don’t leave the dock without first checking the weather. Now this may seem like common sense to most people, but trust me, when the excitement of boating is on the horizon, plans are being made, lunches packed, calls placed, engines warmed up, etcetera… it is easy to forget something as simple as this.

This is really where choosing the right boating school comes into play. Think about what you want out of the program. Here are some examples of different focused programs some boating schools offer:

• Basic Seamanship
• Learn to sail
• Understanding Aids to Navigation
• Reading a Nautical Chart
• Safety at Sea
• Marine Weather
• Docking and Anchoring
• Radar
• Celestial navigation

The list could go on and on, in fact no experienced mariner would ever claim to have learned everything about boating there is to know. One of my favorite maritime quotes is this: Good seamanship is defined as having sufficient intelligence, experience, and foresight to avoid desperate circumstances demanding same.

The bottom line is when looking for a good boating school it is best to keep your options open, that is why we recommend programs like WindPath’s boat training courses. These types of boat club programs allow you to really experience all boating has to offer without the significant upfront investment like the one made from our story above.