Thread: Coastguard - Yes. VHF & Day Skipper - Maybe????

Originally Posted by witchcraft

Did the day skippers course years ago, waste of time but for practise letting of flares.

Guess you know it all then

Originally Posted by Deanohit

Do the Day Skipper and VHF courses then get some water time.
After getting some experience, do a Boat Master course, it just goes into so much detail and really ups your knowledge.
The old man made me do it when I was 15 and I still reference the course work

Still reference some of that stuff from time to time, pays to keep fresh on it. It was worse when I was going overseas, shifting between bouyage regions is a bit of a mind fluck and worse for some reason than changing sides of the road. I dunno why, shouldn't be that had he says hahaha.

I found out that day, they slipped the boat off the trailer without a rope and it drifted back into some rocks, then they loaded all nine of us and two boatman and the instructor on board, left the ramp and too heavy to get on to plane, went out 200m to bouys and put the jet unit into reverse but it was damaged from hitting rocks so stuck in reverse all the way back at high idle so transom didn't go under water, save your money

Sounds like a good idea to do the courses. First courses are in March.
PITA the only South Island location to do them is Christchurch. Not surprising many (most?) trailer boaties don't bother.