Where did that month go??

[CloudDiver]

I'm glad that's over.. I started WAY too late studying for the test. The two other guys in my group took the practice tests THREE times in the week running up to the practical exam, that's the entire time I spent prepping. Never took the practice test. No time left!

Sounds exactly how I study for MBA classes... Graduate June 17, then maybe I can finish rehabbing my boat!

 

[Jackdaw]

Pronounced Mer-can. Congratulations. It sounds like a bit of an ordeal. Where will the practical section be done?

Yep, as SFS notes I took the practical test last month in Austin. An RYA examiner was flown in for the day. The ordeal part of it was mostly due to having to cram it all into so little time.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

youngster! Sue is just a few days older than you.

 

[Michael Davis]

Congratulations! I remember the day mine came .... they had spelled my name wrong and I had to send it back. What a let down! Re D.O.B. that was the summer I learned to fly.

 

[jssailem]

Way cool, Mr. C

 

[All U Get]

Congrats. Now does that give you the ability to charter a boat in Europe? I chuckled looking at the chart you posted. The area has so many boats, ferries, and an occasional sub we never make a straight line. I'd like to have the current from one direction, too.

All U Get

 

[Jackdaw]

Congrats. Now does that give you the ability to charter a boat in Europe? I chuckled looking at the chart you posted. The area has so many boats, ferries, and an occasional sub we never make a straight line. I'd like to have the current from one direction, too.

All U Get

While charter companies are not legally required to accept any document to support a request to charter a boat, if they do they now accept the ICC as the de-facto standard for such things.

Re the chart, I agree, and have to chuckle on the other thread where someone is asking for support of tides/currents in electric nav apps. The simple fact that is once you figure all that in, you have to be on it ALL THE TIME to keep the boat where you want it to be. It can't be boiled down to a simple solution.

 

[Jackdaw]

I boiled all this down into a blog post.

http://rarerarebird.blogspot.com/2017/03/getting-international-certificate-of.html

 

[capta]

Wow, all that for a pleasure boat operator's certificate? That's a lot more than what the USCG requires for a 200 ton "Master's" certificate, and that allows one to operate a vessel commercially!
My British Commonwealth certificate was a real bear, too. Twenty five hours of examinations, with the last 5 being oral before a panel of unlimited Masters. The only study guide was a 3 page syllabus. I was required to act as port pilot and dock the ships that came in or out, before I was allowed to take any test. I guess they didn't want to waste the time on testing me, if I couldn't do the job!
Funny, when I returned to the US and asked for a reciprocal license, the USCG said no. I passed all their lame arse exams in less than 5 hours and had a 100 ton Ocean Operator's Certificate. They didn't even know for a fact that I'd ever even been on a boat before, and I was licensed to carry passengers for hire! If one doesn't laugh, one might cry.

 

[Jackdaw]

Capta,

Interesting you say that. I was talking with another WYC club member who got his 6-pack last fall, and we came to the same conclusion. As he owns his own boat, he just filled in his log book backwards to get his hours on the honor system. The test he took was exactly like the practice test he was given. And it was non-tidal!

It's interesting to note that the 6-pack cannot be converted into an ICC (or other certs) because there is no observed proof of practical competency. Nobody has seen you sail!

OTOH, the RYC Day Skipper certificate CAN be used to obtain a commercial endorsement in the UK, with the addition of a physical and some other paperwork.