Blue Oyster Sailing School / Costa Brava Sailing School.

[danielshaw]

Don't know what happened above, but I've recently (May 2013) been on a sailing course with Blue Oyster at their base near Barcelona with my 7 year old nephew and a fellow day skipper.

Was picked up by Mark at the airport, and taught on the boat by Susie. I've done courses with 3 RYA schools around the Mediterranean and can safely say that this was one of the better ones.

Susie shared very practical knowledge of sailing and techniques that I missed on other courses, and was a patient teacher.

As for the boat, a chartered Beneteau 343, I couldn't have been more pleased.
All in all, for those slightly worried when reading the comments above, I would say that going with Blue Oyster is a certainly worth it for that part the Spanish Coast.

If you need to get in touch for references on Mark & Susie please do.

[melisswa]

Hi- i would higly recommend Blue Oyster. Had a fantastic time and the tuition was great. My partner did day skipper and I did competent crew and likely to go back to complete Day Skipper with them next year. The boat was great - loads of food. It was a holiday as well as a course. Melissa

[goboatingnow]

Hmm user Melissa, with one post, just about this subject. Hmmmm


dave

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Hmm user Melissa, with one post, just about this subject. Hmmmm


dave

That would apply to just about every post in this thread. Hmmmm.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Hmm user Melissa, with one post, just about this subject. Hmmmm


dave

You old sceptic you

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

You old sceptic you

I am getting more cynical as I approach my early retirement pension payout that has evaporated in the financial crisis and will force me to work till Im dead. !!!!

dave

[Sea Frog]

The school's name reminds me of something... Can't remember what it was... some sort of bar or something?

[Sailtexas]

Yeah Sea Frog, must be a cult...

[Torqtone]

Originally Posted by danielshaw

Don't know what happened above, but I've recently (May 2013) been on a sailing course with Blue Oyster at their base near Barcelona with my 7 year old nephew and a fellow day skipper.

Was picked up by Mark at the airport, and taught on the boat by Susie. I've done courses with 3 RYA schools around the Mediterranean and can safely say that this was one of the better ones.

Susie shared very practical knowledge of sailing and techniques that I missed on other courses, and was a patient teacher.

As for the boat, a chartered Beneteau 343, I couldn't have been more pleased.
All in all, for those slightly worried when reading the comments above, I would say that going with Blue Oyster is a certainly worth it for that part the Spanish Coast.

If you need to get in touch for references on Mark & Susie please do.

You were lucky but what you say makes sense. Susie is a good instructor and she's very personable, as are most of the cruising instructors. With Comp Crew and Day Skipper courses you can get lucky - or you can have a less than satisfactory time depending on Mark's organisational skills and promises. These two courses only involve day-sailing out of their marina with little need for classroom instruction. And, of course, you are only getting non-tidal qualifications.

The people who suffer with this company tend to be the fast-track yachtmaster students and the visiting instructors. To elaborate on my last post: there was no schedule or program. On the first day the company advice was to only make pencil entries in personal log books because Mark would want to adjust mileages to meet the exam criteria. Once we got to the end of the course we had not sailed the miles needed.

And you say Mark picked you up from the airport - that must be a first.

[Torqtone]

I wish I had seen this thread before going to Blue Oyster.

This company will likely change its name, as it has in the past. The guys writing above are right: if a couple called Mark Wodhams and Susie Capel offer you a course, be very careful. We had no class rooms, no shore-based tuition worth speaking of (it was self-study), no feedback on progress made, nor monitoring of miles sailed. They fudged exam passes for weak students and sharp-penciled miles sailed just to meet paper requirements. Ancillary courses like survival and first aid weren't run but some certificates were given anyway. There was very little pre-exam preparation. And, as commented elsewhere, it was all day-sailing at the Barcelona end of the company. Traveling between Barcelona and Gibraltar was a nightmare. Bottom line: fast-track students were simply assistant instructors for the shorter courses.

Further, don't believe a word Mark says - he had no conscience, was glib, and lied constantly. Every now and then you catch his eye when the mask slips and it ain’t pretty - his behaviour and attitude fit psychopath profiling. As for Susie: nice enough lady but we hardly saw her. She provided Mark's front - emails from her address, and signed by her, looked like they were from Mark. Try researching Mark Stephen Wodhams and you'll find very little. A quick company check throws up: "Mark Wodhams holds 0 current appointment, has resigned from 2 companies and held appointments at 4 dissolved companies. Mark is not registered as holding any current appointments. The combined cash at bank value for all businesses where Mark holds a current appointment equals £0, with a combined assets value of £0 and liabilities of £0. Roles associated with Mark Wodhams within the recorded businesses include: Director".

Looks like he’s still running a sailing company; I wonder if he’s still operating his UK property leasing company. Why hide under cover……..

They say the British RYA has been told about these guys and yet still they give them accreditation - go figure.