Licenses and certifications ... ?

[j9gillik]

A question, to help me as I continue my preparations for the cruising world.

What would be the most helpful package of training, licensure, or certification to prepare me for, say, a circumnavigation? I'm getting the impression that OUPV and HAM licenses are good ideas.

What else? It seems reasonable, for example, to get Wilderness First Responder training (then again, I work in a hospital, so I get a little sensitive to emergency medical situations).

What else might be helpful? SCUBA divemaster?

Just trying to plan what I should explore over the next two years. Advice is welcome.

[delmarrey]

Personally, I would say any courses that deal with navigation, safety, seamanship, diesel mechanics, basic electrical and the first level of diving.

There may be more, others will pipe in, I'm sure. Most important after the list above is experience! The experience of just getting out there and going through the necessities will provide a good a portion of the info needed.

Med training will come in handy once overseas. Dealing with injuries and illnesses are some of the biggest fears. There is a thread on here about what meds recommended to carry.

And the items you mentioned would be good too. All things marine-wise are helpful, if not to yourself, but possibly to your fellow sailors. Being a cruiser/sailor is much like a religon, a fanatic.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha J9,
Whenever you see a boating course offered, take it. USCG Auxiliary has some pretty neat courses and is coming out with a new one more to do with sailing that will get you started and give you a break on boat insurance. Many yacht clubs offer training courses. In my opinion OUPV is not necessary but there is a lot of information in old training manuals.
Check the search in this forum for HAM and SSB Marine Licenses. Lots of information already discussed. What I found out was that you need a Marine License for SSB but HAM is not required unless you visit HAM stations.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[JusDreaming]

I would say a diesel engine course, I did not, and learned the hard way. And learning as things broke was not the cheapest way

[rtbates]

Originally Posted by j9gillik

A question, to help me as I continue my preparations for the cruising world.

What would be the most helpful package of training, licensure, or certification to prepare me for, say, a circumnavigation? I'm getting the impression that OUPV and HAM licenses are good ideas.

What else? It seems reasonable, for example, to get Wilderness First Responder training (then again, I work in a hospital, so I get a little sensitive to emergency medical situations).

What else might be helpful? SCUBA divemaster?

Just trying to plan what I should explore over the next two years. Advice is welcome.

Be sure to study at the school of hard knocks...
Get experience and get as much as possible,as soon as possible,,,,,,

good luck with your plans

[swagman]

IMHO all the others have covered the bases well. Good luck on getting experience and enjoy the site.
JOHN

[David M]

Learn how to use the SSB definitely. A HAM license is optional. Nobody is going to go after you if you have an emergency and need to broadcast on a HAM frequency to get help. Becoming a HAM operator will open up a broader spectrum of possibilities, increase you knowledge of how radio communications work and make those long days at sea more interesting for you. In your situation I would go for the HAM license.

Get an advanced first aid course.

Learn celestial navigation. It is not mandatory but it sure is interesting to know how and gives you something to do. There is also a remote possibility that it could get you out of a jam.

Becoming scuba certified will open up a whole realm of sights that you do not want to miss.

Any course that in some way relates to going to sea would help.

Experience is the best teacher.

[j9gillik]

I appreciate the comments and suggestions!

[donradcliffe]

By the time you have cruised for a few years, you will have typically learned the hard way to be a Jack of all trades--not only the things you metioned, but sail and boat handling, sail and boat repair, dealing with customs and immigration, and a myriad of other subjects.

In your position I would invest in one of the offshore passage training sails, like the one John Neale (Mahina Tiare) puts on. Not only do they spend a lot of time teaching, you will also get some very valuable experience and you can find out whether you are suited to circumnavigating without the expense of buying your own boat. I've never taken one of their courses, but I have run into the boat a few times and talked with quite satisifed students.

[easterly]

Originally Posted by JusDreaming

I would say a diesel engine course, I did not, and learned the hard way. And learning as things broke was not the cheapest way

"Some people learn from their mistakes, I prefer to learn from the mistakes of others." -Otto von Bismarck

You know he had a boat named after himself.

[sluissa]

Originally Posted by easterly

"Some people learn from their mistakes, I prefer to learn from the mistakes of others." -Otto von Bismarck

You know he had a boat named after himself.

He didn't really have it named after himself, there were just boats named after him after his death. None of them faired too well though. One was never finished, another was taken by the English as war reparations, and the third, and most famous was sunk.

Still, he was a pretty good leader, so that's worth something at least.

[Ex-Calif]

Weather, weather, weather and weather....

[Tempest245]

I agree....with many of the previous posts.... get all the training you can get and then put it to use ( experience)

SSB..going offshore is essential...for both communications and downloading weather faxes.
Weather, Weather, Weather.
Radar
STCW ..safety training
First Aid, CPR
Attend a Safety at Sea Training, there's one in Annapolis Md. every year
Navigation including celestial
Diesel engine workshops, if relevant.
Also, there are many specific " going to sea" preparations you'd want to implement for a vessel that is venturing offshore for any length of time. Nothing beats a well-found vessel, that is prepared. Always step-up into your life raft.

Be safe!

[Roy M]

Take a community college class in basic outboard mechanics. After a couple months of Saturday shop time, you'll gain a whole new appreciation for preventive maintenance on everything in your world. And you'll begin to acquire a minimum set of really useful mechanic's hand tools. And when you get out into the world, people will introduce themselves, invite you to lunch, and bring you nice gifts for helping them out with fairly basic repairs. I've been a boatbuilder/sailor,cruiser for thirty years and I never realized before, what a powerful skill it was to do a simple service on a recalcitrant outboard, fire it up and watch folks smile.