On the water practical
29 November 2007 | Key Biscayne
Randy
The 200 ton masters course wraps up with a four day on the water training run followed by an all day on the water skills exam and oral exam. If you pass this bit and have the sea time and the USCG physical and drug test you finish.
Our coursework group split into two parts for the practical. Most of the crew went for the Power endorsement but four of us had elected the Sail endorsement. I think most power owners will consider a sail skipper but I think few sail owners would consider a power skipper. You do certainly learn specific skills with the twin screw boat that you don't cover in the mono hull portion of course.
Our group consisted of Bernard and Terry from Texas, though originally from the Maritimes in Canada, as well as Denis, a young salty dog, and our instructor Kiron. Kiron was an impressive sailor and he could recite the Colregs word for word.
Our first day started at around 8AM provisioning and what not, proceeded through a passage down the New River and out into a rather choppy Atlantic, then hard on the wind to Miami and wrapped up at around midnight on the hook in Key Biscayne. This was not going to be a vacation...