I have been sailing for a number of years now and want to get my Coast Guard six-pack License. I read the requirements and everything looked fine except the sea time requirement. 360 documented days? I don't question the requirement, it makes sense. I wonder how I am going to meet it! At this stage in my life I get out about 20 days a year. Kids and other activites take up a fair amount of available sailing time which is fine. At that rate though it will be over 15 years before I am ready. I have been sailing for 5 years so probably have 100 days under my belt but I have been less than diligent in my log keeping. Am I missing something?
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Keep a log of your time "underway"
That includes time at anchor. I think that the requirement is that you accumulate so many days in such and such a period of time. Crewing counts, just record the date, time and name of the vessel and skipper.
That includes time at anchor. I think that the requirement is that you accumulate so many days in such and such a period of time. Crewing counts, just record the date, time and name of the vessel and skipper.
Sea Time
Sea time does NOT include time at anchor. It is time underway, at anchor is not underway. Tim, Unfortunately, the process for a USCG "captain's license" is aimed at professionals. I'm not, but I still got mine. However, it sounds like you might have problems getting in enough sea time to get and keep a license. The 360 days requirement is 360 days total. However, 90 days of it must have been in the last three years. You have to renew the license every 5 years, and the sea time requirements for renewal are basically the same. At 20 days a year, you'd only have 60 in three years. "Proving" the time is actually pretty simple. Deceptively so. You fill out a form with the dates of your sea time and sign it. If must also be signed by the owner of the vessel on which you did the sea time. However, it's a federal document, and in this day and age, I would imagine that any sort of "cheating" on the forms would be dealt with fairly harshly. They're pretty vague in defining a "day" of sea time. It's supposed to be an 8 hour watch, but then they turn around and specifically say you must have been underway for at least 4 hours on that "day". You also cannot have more than one "day" in a 24 hour period. In other words, sailing straight for 24 hours doesn't give you 3 days. Hope that gives you a little more information. This might be something you want to wait on until you have more time to dedicate to it. I've included a link to their form so you can see what's required to document your time. You complete one of these for each vessel you serve on.
Sea time does NOT include time at anchor. It is time underway, at anchor is not underway. Tim, Unfortunately, the process for a USCG "captain's license" is aimed at professionals. I'm not, but I still got mine. However, it sounds like you might have problems getting in enough sea time to get and keep a license. The 360 days requirement is 360 days total. However, 90 days of it must have been in the last three years. You have to renew the license every 5 years, and the sea time requirements for renewal are basically the same. At 20 days a year, you'd only have 60 in three years. "Proving" the time is actually pretty simple. Deceptively so. You fill out a form with the dates of your sea time and sign it. If must also be signed by the owner of the vessel on which you did the sea time. However, it's a federal document, and in this day and age, I would imagine that any sort of "cheating" on the forms would be dealt with fairly harshly. They're pretty vague in defining a "day" of sea time. It's supposed to be an 8 hour watch, but then they turn around and specifically say you must have been underway for at least 4 hours on that "day". You also cannot have more than one "day" in a 24 hour period. In other words, sailing straight for 24 hours doesn't give you 3 days. Hope that gives you a little more information. This might be something you want to wait on until you have more time to dedicate to it. I've included a link to their form so you can see what's required to document your time. You complete one of these for each vessel you serve on.
1 day = 4 hours underway
Hi Tim - Time is accumulated in number of days - the CG considers any 4 hour period within 24 hours underway (not at anchor) as 1 day. In some cases you can get 1.5 days credit for 24 consecutive hours underway. I recently obtained my master's license and have done some charter work on my boat this summer. Best of luck, Trevor
Hi Tim - Time is accumulated in number of days - the CG considers any 4 hour period within 24 hours underway (not at anchor) as 1 day. In some cases you can get 1.5 days credit for 24 consecutive hours underway. I recently obtained my master's license and have done some charter work on my boat this summer. Best of luck, Trevor
Hmmmmm
I don't really need the license yet, trying to plan ahead. Some day I want to be able to run Charter's and know I will need this. I guess I just need to get out sailing more often. Darn
I don't really need the license yet, trying to plan ahead. Some day I want to be able to run Charter's and know I will need this. I guess I just need to get out sailing more often. Darn
Can be done
If you're an avid sailor on a boat you spend weekends on it can be done. In the Northeast it's toughter because of the short season. Figure a two week cruise every summer, plus 7 weekends. Including one long weekend you just make 30 days if you sail at least 4 hours (including motoring) on every one of those days. The only problem is that at the "steady" minimum of 30 days per year, it takes 12 years to get to the 360 hour aggregate minimum! This license is set up for professional crew and military, in my estimation. The requirement keeps the recreational boaters out. I imagine many non full time pros who get and maintain these licenses, and don't have any professional or military time logged in their past are faking their log books.
If you're an avid sailor on a boat you spend weekends on it can be done. In the Northeast it's toughter because of the short season. Figure a two week cruise every summer, plus 7 weekends. Including one long weekend you just make 30 days if you sail at least 4 hours (including motoring) on every one of those days. The only problem is that at the "steady" minimum of 30 days per year, it takes 12 years to get to the 360 hour aggregate minimum! This license is set up for professional crew and military, in my estimation. The requirement keeps the recreational boaters out. I imagine many non full time pros who get and maintain these licenses, and don't have any professional or military time logged in their past are faking their log books.
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