OUPV(6 pack) and a 100ft m/y legal?

If you don't like your job do yourself and your clients a favor and bail. There is no shortage of gypsy "captains" so the grumpy old farts won't be missed and fewer boat owners will look for another place to spend their money than on bitter and bent boat drivers.

Then who would the Water Taxi,charter SF and Pirate Ship replica's hire if there aren't any grumpy old farts available to run them?

Hopefully it would be young guys and girls who are enthusiastic about the job and bring some current training and safety culture to the business.

There is nothing more dangerous than an old know it all who hasn't had a day of recurrent or upgrade training since getting his first license. They are also a real turn off to new owners who think that everyone is like that.

Now that might be the smartest thing you've said. If not having your license leads you to an enjoyable retirement then that could be very good.

Young know it all with little experience is dangerous too.

Really, it's like any profession. Some continue to learn and advance regardless of how old or how many years. Some don't. Some love it, some don't. And some take it as a serious profession while others are on some kind of pseudo vacation.

Half are better than average and half are worse. That aspect always concerns me with doctors and other professions too.

And even within one profession there are many different ways of pursuing it. I know many companies and many industries I never could have worked for. In this industry, some like commercial, some private. Some like big, some small. Some are highly technical, others have greater people skills. I'm glad there are captains and crew interested in all levels of work.

It's like other professions too in that there is a lot of aggravation. But when those things start outweighing the good in one's mind, then time has come. Most of us in all professions love what we consider the job itself but dislike the administrative tasks, regulation, paperwork. But we accept them as part of the price. Hopefully we all are wise enough to move on before they cancel the good and make us bitter over the profession we loved.

This is the REAL problem. When I started, I was (and still am) passionate about yachting and the industry. Back then you had to be, and you had to prove yourself and have solid references before anyone would even consider your resume. That's pretty much how everyone started.

I use a lot of various day mates and mates for trips and whatnot. I haven't found anyone younger than me that is in the industry because they want to advance to a Captain or because they are passionate about yachts and are establishing a career. It seems that ALL of them are simply in it for the money and the short term. It's sad to say and see. It's even worse when you have to teach mates the very basics of yachts and dealing with owners and that this isn't a paid vacation.

I also see that all of the good day Captains are aging, I'm the youngest of my peer group and most are almost retirement age now. There really are very few of us, that can get on 5 different yachts in one day, locate all of the systems quickly , get the boat operational and safely run it with finesse, and be able to fix most all systems on the yacht, regardless of hull type and power. That can safely navigate with charts to places they've never been.

I would say that out of 100 people that want to be a Captain. 50 of those will never be a good Captain, they just are lacking either hand/eye coordination, decision making skills, or aren't responsible enough. Out of the remaining 50, 40 of those can become a good Captain on the one yacht they're full time on with some practice....docking, operation, systems, etc. However, when things go wrong like the bow thruster stops working, they're adequate but not great. Then there MIGHT BE 10, that can proficiently jump on any type of yacht with any type of power and safely run the vessel without any battle scars, adequately fix any system that might break, and be able to operate just about anything on the fly. Sort of like the pilots in airplane repo, yet with yachts.

There are some days where I've run 6 different types of yacht/boat in a day......an outboard walkaround, a sailboat, a sailing cat, a sportfish, a motoryacht, a trawler (single screw), etc......and had to pull alongside a steel freighter with them wihtout incident. Now I'm not the best Captain in some area's as others, and possibly not on some types of yachts as others, but I'm pretty proficient in most all area's. You don't see anyone new people with the passion to learn or the drive anymore.....

Ya scared me. Worth less at the airports (TWIC) when I serviced point of sale & ATM equipment, I put it away, never used nor really looked at.
Just checked; Got my TWIC fall of '09. It expires '14.

Funny part, I used my DOD activity & flight line pass, and had all access to the air guard terminal (near armed intercept fighters), on the other end of the same air strip. Go figure?

Most ports don't even know what they're looking at when you hand them a TWIC card. LOLOLOL I've found it to be the most useless credential I've ever gotten.

Marmot's link tells you everything you need to know about renewing. I'd renew sooner than later. The 3 year extension is only $60 and you make an appointment to pick it up and they take a finger print, picture and they ask a few questions (I think you need to bring 2 picture I.D.s, but read the link). If you do the 5 year renew it's $129.xx, but you have to do 2 visits in order to renew it.

Unless things changed recently, you only have to show you applied for the TWIC to renew your license.

I renewed mine today as a walk in with no appointment - took all of 20 minutes and they will mail it to my home. That's it, done. Since I don't use my MMC in my current job I don't need my TWIC in a short time frame.

Question to all of you captains. I have owned my current 60 ft motor yacht for 15 years cruising around So Cal, Sea of Cortez, PV, and for the next 2 or three years around the PNW up to Alaska.

The question is, should I get a captains lic to increase my competence? If so, are the self study courses as good as the two week class room program? My only passengers are family and friends, and we are cruising about 9 weeks over the period of each year.

There are many ways to increase your competency. The first question I'd probably ask is where do you currently feel you are lacking? Then, what cruising do you see in your potential that you don't feel as comfortable as you'd like in handling?

For 9 weeks a year, is it worth it? I don't know. Could it save your life?

I think there are three ways to increase competency. The first is experience. Not just any experience, but experience and attempting to learn more while doing it.

The second is hands on training. If you feel short in specific areas, hire a good training captain to challenge and teach you in those areas. When we started we couldn't get 20 years of experience in one month. However, we could learn from someone who already had the experience and was an excellent teacher. We told him to be tough on us and he was.

The third is classroom. I personally think it is valuable. I've sat there with persons who had been at it for much longer than I had and yet seen how little they knew before the course. We have licenses but not for the sake of having them. We wanted to build the knowledge and competency.

Beyond the above you can also select targeted training. For instance, a diesel school for your engines. If cruising to remote places, definitely first aid. The three day, "Medical First Aid Care Provider" teaches a lot regarding the most common situations you might encounter on a boat. The basic captain's license program is one day of first aid and CPR.

Now, I know we're sick, but we enjoy the occasional return to the classroom and taking something new. However, in the basic two week program you are referring to, you pick up a lot of information in a very organized manner. STCW basic training includes training you hope you never need, but could save a life. The basic captain's license course exposes you to various elements of being a captain, much of which you may already know. However, you might find there are some elements you misunderstood before or others you might not use today but might need to sometime.

As suggested above, specific training to improve your knowledge on some topics like engines, first aid etc maybe a good idea.

But the basic 6 pack course is pretty much useless. The whole point is just to pass the test and while some instructors may be better than others, there isn't much room for anything but learn to pass the test.

And saddly the next steps (100 and 200 tons courses) aren't much useful either.

Absolutely. I would want my family and friends to be as safe as possible. You should have enough seatime to get your 100 ton masters. I think you should take the class AND self study. You learn a lot of safety factors like stability, fire, and how items and fluids effect that, navigation items and so forth. Generally you'll see about a 10 percent reduction in your insurance premium as well.

Thanks for your thoughts. You are all right on target with regards to specific issue training like First Aid and diesel repair, two areas of weakness. I have had the cell phone access to have mechanics and ER Docs walk me through most trouble while in Mexico, but Alaska is probably going to be a very remote adventure and will require more mechanical talent.

Thanks for the guidance.

Do any of you have an opinion on which online captain's license program is the best? It sounds like some are just a prep for the test and some have practical and useable content. So just wondering which would be the best selection if you want to actually learn something!