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View Poll Results: What level of Certification have you attained?
I have no certifications 11 25.00%
Basic Sailing 5 11.36%
Basic Coastal 2 4.55%
Intermediate Coastal 5 11.36%
Advanced Coastal and/or Passage Making 6 13.64%
I am certified/licensed to work as a professional skipper 15 34.09%
Voters: 44. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 18-04-2015, 06:15   #1
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Certification

It seems we get a fair number of discussions on CF about the value of certification so I started wondering what levels members on the forum have attained.

For the purposes of this poll I'm lumping ASA, USS, ICC, RYA, etc, together as general certification so pick the best answer that corresponds to your level of training/certification/accreditation.

I understand many here have experience greater than the certification they might have attained but the poll is only regarding the level of formal training.
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Old 18-04-2015, 06:33   #2
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Re: Certification

I answered none to your poll but I wouldn't recommend that anyone just jump in a boat with little or no experience without at least some training. I can tell you that it probably would have been a lot easier than to self teach without all the little lessons that the boat teaches you on the way. I am not saying that I believe that any type of certification will make you a competent sailor and certainly I do not profess to be any kind of expert but certainly after 8 years of cruising I am a lot more proficient than I was when I started out. It certainly helped that I had lots of mechanical knowledge and I hope a little common sense however looking back, a couple of weeks spent in some basic courses would have helped.

The fact that there is very little in the way of sailing courses in Canada except for on the west coast which is thousands of miles from where I lived didn't make it easy to enroll. besides, I started so late in life that I was in a hurry to get going.

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Old 18-04-2015, 16:28   #3
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Re: Certification

We are both USCG 200 Ton Masters.
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Old 18-04-2015, 16:43   #4
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Re: Certification

I see 50% of respondents refer to themselves as professional skippers. As that appears to be the largest group, the poll might benefit from additional categories in that option. Being a professional skipper can mean a lot of different things. You might include a non-STCW certified professional (domestic, usually small craft skippers) and STCW certified professional- more formal training, guys that have the skills to handle large ships.
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Old 18-04-2015, 19:32   #5
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Re: Certification

Professional qualification (small commercial vessel) but for the first five years of water sailing">blue water sailing didnt have any qualification. Studied professional sailing qualification and then commercial to get jobs as required.
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Old 18-04-2015, 20:17   #6
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Re: Certification

I had a 100 ton that I allowed to lapse in law school. I wish I had kept it now since it seems like a lot of trouble to get it back. I have no idea what I would do with it anymore however.
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Old 18-04-2015, 21:06   #7
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Re: Certification

Quote:
Originally Posted by FamilyVan View Post
I see 50% of respondents refer to themselves as professional skippers. As that appears to be the largest group, the poll might benefit from additional categories in that option. Being a professional skipper can mean a lot of different things. You might include a non-STCW certified professional (domestic, usually small craft skippers) and STCW certified professional- more formal training, guys that have the skills to handle large ships.
Good point but I was more interested in the "amateurs" and threw that option in because I know there are "professionals" on CF. Personally I don't know enough about the different levels to construct a poll focusing on that demographic. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable would like to take that on.

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Old 18-04-2015, 22:48   #8
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Re: Certification

No certifications, no worries, nearly 150,000 miles of mostly blue water experience. No problems with insurance, either. Oh... when I had some 5 years sailing in SF Bay and coastal, my insurance company said if I took a CG Aux basic boating course they would give me a discount. So I took it, and the next time it came around they (the local branch of the CGA) asked me to teach it... WTF?? So I guess I lied, for somewhere there may yet be a record of that successful completion of an arduous course (not).

I have no issues with folks using formal training as a stepping stone to competency, but it is clearly not necessary.

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Old 19-04-2015, 00:04   #9
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Re: Certification

None here. And I'm on the water everyday. Lord help us all! :-)

Oh wait. I have the Alabama V-vessel endorsment on my driver license. The test was a bit "testy" as it had many watercraft(jetski) questions.
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Old 19-04-2015, 06:58   #10
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Re: Certification

Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFrog75 View Post
Good point but I was more interested in the "amateurs" and threw that option in because I know there are "professionals" on CF. Personally I don't know enough about the different levels to construct a poll focusing on that demographic. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable would like to take that on.

I don't see much value in a poll on a cruising forum focusing on that. I just thought it might be interesting to see the further breakdown of how many of those 50% are yacht and charter captains, and therefore having essentially yachting certification vs formal internationally recognised certification.

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Old 19-04-2015, 07:21   #11
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Re: Certification

Quote:
Originally Posted by FamilyVan View Post
I don't see much value in a poll on a cruising forum focusing on that. I just thought it might be interesting to see the further breakdown of how many of those 50% are yacht and charter captains, and therefore having essentially yachting certification vs formal internationally recognised certification.

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So far approximately 70% of the respondents have some level of formal training/accreditation. I think that's a meaningful number.
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Old 19-04-2015, 07:34   #12
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Re: Certification

Do Cal Sailing Club Junior, Senior and Cruising skipper tests count? Since then I have just been sailing. Oh - and a CG Auxilliary Adv. Coastal Navigation class, teaching me all of those paper chart skills that have languished as I stare at my chartplotter.
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Old 19-04-2015, 07:39   #13
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Re: Certification

The only certification I have is 48 years of sailing. I did take and pass an ASA advanced costal class 20 some years ago but they wouldn't issue me a certificate because I didn't take the basic costal class first.


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Old 19-04-2015, 07:54   #14
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Re: Certification

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Originally Posted by OldFrog75 View Post
So far approximately 70% of the respondents have some level of formal training/accreditation. I think that's a meaningful number.
Oops, my comment was taken out of context, I was saying there wasn't much value in a separate poll focusing on pro mariners, because pro mariners are on a different forum, for the most part. Yes I agree this is an interesting poll.

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Old 19-04-2015, 08:09   #15
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Re: Certification

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Originally Posted by PaulSommers View Post
Do Cal Sailing Club Junior, Senior and Cruising skipper tests count? Since then I have just been sailing. Oh - and a CG Auxilliary Adv. Coastal Navigation class, teaching me all of those paper chart skills that have languished as I stare at my chartplotter.
I would say that counts. It's formal training but it's up to you to decide the level.
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