Newbie to sailing and this forum

[kat2her]

Well Hello everyone.
I started googling a sailing course I am interested in and that brought me to this discussion forum. Since I'm pretty set on started to learn about sailing I thought I might as well join. I'm not very computer savy and haven't been on forums before so please excuse me if i'm a bit slow to see replies or to reply myself.
I'm not sure if I should post this somewhere else but does anyone have any experience of Fastrack Coastal Skipper Courses with Yachtpro Phuket? I am interested in it because it is only a month long (not too long to be away from my 13 month old) and it qualifies me to skipper a boat plus a bit more. I have read lots on the comparisons between ASA and RYA. But I can't find an equivalent short fastrack course with the RYA. Is it OK to get to ASA Coastal Skipper so quickly and then gain experience slowly before going for the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean one day? Are there any short sailing courses that are commercially recognised that might be more useful to me if I would like to work on boats before I get my RYA Yachtmasters, thanks.

[JPA Cate]

Welcome Aboard, kat2her.

Someone more knowledgeable than I am may be able to tell you about the courses. Good luck with it.

Ann

[RainDog]

Welcome to Cruisers Forum. Sounds like a great course.

You might have more luck finding someone who has taken it if you start a new thread with "Yachtpro Phuket" in the subject line.

Welcome aboard and good luck!

[Teknav]

Welcome aboard Kat! Do you want to be a professional or a recreational sailor? Before investing in courses, have you been on a few boats yet? Give us a summary of your sailing intentions so that we may offer you a few suggestions. Good luck!

Mauritz

[kat2her]

Thanks Guys, Yes it sounds good to repost the question with 'Yachtpro Phuket' as a title.
Hi Teknav, yes I have been on a few boats as crew. I seem to have caught the boating bug back in 2008 when I met sailors on circumnavigations in the Cook Islands. I couldn't go with them at the time but my how I longed to. And that yearning seems to not have gone away so i'd best do something about it and move towards getting my own boat one day. I'm not sure if I want to work on commercial boats or not, but I might like to charter or take people out on sailing trips one day. I thought it would be good to make sure that I do a course that is well respected and useful, with the time I have. Thats why I wonder if its the right one.
Thanks for your guidance

[Brilliant Sea]

Welcome aboard! You will find a vast amount of resources here and very knowledgeable experts along with the aloof boat bums(me)!

Good luck and keep us posted!

Markus

[Teknav]

Hiya Kat! Google the US Coast Guard's website for their requirement to earning a "six-pack" Captain's license. I think that might be your ticket! Keep us posted! Good luck!

Mauritz

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
There are members here on the forum that have all of those tickets punched. Just start a thread with the proper title or search the many threads already in existence.
It's good to have you here and I hope you get your answers.

[kat2her]

Thank you everyone, it been good to find this site.
Mauritz that does sound interesting, a 6 pack captains licence. I read they don't give it to non-citizens of the US though. At the minute i'm a Brit, resident in Australia, would there be something similar for me outside the US I wonder. I'll keep searching, think the YachtPro course might be OK to get me started though. But its great to know about charter licences like the 6 pack, thank you

[HappyMdRSailor]

Welcome to CF Kat....

Hope you find what you're looking for... Keep asking until you do... the knowledge is here...

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Aloha and welcome aboard!
There are members here on the forum that have all of those tickets punched. Just start a thread with the proper title or search the many threads already in existence.
It's good to have you here and I hope you get your answers.

Then there's the rest of us with a drawer full of losing lottery tickets...