Posted by Grant Headifen on July 8, 2010 under About NauticEd, Bareboat Charter, Skipper, Videos and photos | 
I get this message below all the time from people that I know or meet. Here’s one I got this morning through my Linkedin account.
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Hey Grant,
Long time no see. Grant, I’m thinking about learning to sail. Your sailing vacations all over the world have inspired me. What do I do, where do I start, can I buy you a beer some time and get some advice from you.
Mark.
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Here’s my reply this morning
Mark,
Would be good to catch up. In the meantime – here’s my advice. Obviously I’m a little biased here but you should really start with one of my online theory classes. I’d recommend the NauticEd Skipper Sailing course at http://www.nauticed.org/course/view/skipper. That will give you a good solid knowledge of what you need to know when starting out on a learn to sail quest.
Skipper Sailing Course
The next thing I would recommend is to spend ¼ million dollars on a boat – nah just kidding. Go join our local yacht club and do some racing. Almost every yacht club is begging for members to be crew on their boats. A note on their pin up board that you want to crew will attract multiple phone calls to you. Also just call their office and ask what you should do. But I guarantee that they will be more than happy to have you out there. Yacht clubs appear old and stodgy on the out side but once you get inside there are dozens of skippers that are keen to help out.
Whether or not you’re into yacht racing, racing is the absolute best way to learn fast through immersion and you can rack up the experience fast. By taking the skipper course you’ll have the theory knowledge to know what you’re doing on the boat. Now you just need to burn it into your brain with the practical sailing skills.
Log all your yacht club time in our free online logbook as it counts towards your sailing certification rank.
Another thing you can do is to go to the local sailing school. In Austin it is the Texas Sailing Academy. They teach a 2 weekend long basic introduction to sailing and will give you hands on training. Just make sure that whatever school you go to that they don’t put too many people on the boat at one time. It waters down your practical experience. Some schools do this to keep the cost down but if you’re there to learn to sail then you’re there to learn to sail not water it down with a cheap course. With Sailing courses you get what you pay for.
The other ways to gain practical sailing experience is to catch up with friends who have a sailboat. Funny enough but sailboat owners are almost desperate to have some one call them and say “would you like to come sailing with me on your boat this weekend”? But people learning to sail are always too embarrassed to ask – so sailboats tend to sit in the slip month after month. So just ask.
If your goal is to take a sailing vacation then I’d also recommend aiming to reach our Bareboat Charter Master Rank. Most worldwide charter companies accept our certification. Here’s a video explaining that.
http://www.nauticed.org/faq_sailing_certification/
Sailing vacations are the way to go. They’re relatively inexpensive and you get to go to some awesome places. As you know, every year we gather our friends and go somewhere. This year we’re chartering three boats with The Moorings South Pacific in Tonga. I was up there a few months back and wow – what an incredible place. By the time we get there next month the place is supposed to be teeming with whales.
Let me know if there is any way I can help out.
Cheers
Grant
Posted by Grant Headifen on June 3, 2010 under Bareboat Charter, Skipper |
Here is a question posted by one of our students today with our response following.
On 6/4/10 1:54 PM, “Ted” wrote:
I have recently started through your courses in the hope of chartering next winter. My own boat is a 25′ Catalina. From your information it appears that I will not receive credit for my days on water due to my boat being under 28′. Is that correct and therefore will I not be able to progress beyond crew level 0?
Thank you for your time
Ted
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Ted
Some of your small sailboat experience is counted. However, the sailing certification and experience that the yacht charter companies are requiring is that their customers have some experience on larger sailboats before they responsibly release a sailboat to anyone on a chartered sailing vacation. As you can imagine, sailing experience is a major factor for them in lending out their charter sailboats. When we consulted with the major yacht charter companies in the world to put this program together they were adamant and rightly so that a proper and valuable sailing certification would include some big boat time.
My advice would be to buddy up with some one the local yacht club who has a larger boat to gain the experience you’ll need.
You will be able to advance to Skipper as soon as you log 5 days more on a sailboat 28ft or longer whilst you are acting as master of the vessel.
I hope that answers your question.
Sincerely
Grant Headifen
Educational Director
Posted by Grant Headifen on March 31, 2010 under About NauticEd |
This is the day 2 email of 6 in a new NauticEd Sailing School students introduction to NauticEd
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Today we’ll discuss the NauticEd Sailing Certification and give you 10% off on any new NauticEd Course or Clinic.
Promocode
Please accept this gift of 10% off any one course valid for the next 30 days. Use the promocode – (xxxxx). You’re welcome to share this promocode with your friends at anytime during the next 30 days also.
Go to your course page and sign up now.
About NauticEd Certification
NauticEd provides Sailing Education and Certifications to the sailing and boating world. The NauticEd Sailing Certification is accepted by most large Charter Companies.
View our video of the NauticEd sailing certification
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F_ugv7i3sk
Our sailing certification works as follows:
The Certification is based on 4 ranks and 5 levels within each rank.
Ranks are Crew – Skipper – Bareboat Charter Master – Captain. They are based on the theory education and passing grade the student has attained as well as a required minimum level of experience.
Levels reflect the exact days-on-the-water experience that a student has logged in the FREE NauticEd online logbook. An algorithm in the NauticEd software calculates the level awarded based on size of the sailing vessel and whether the student was master or crew on the vessel.
All students automatically start out as “Crew”
Students then begin to take online theory courses. To gain the Rank of “Skipper”, the student must take and pass the Skipper Course and the Maneuvering Under Power Clinic. The Skipper must then have a minimum of 10 qualifying days out on the water to achieve Level I
To graduate to the Rank of a “Bareboat Charter Master”, the Student must in addition to the Skipper courses, complete the Bareboat Charter Clinic and the Coastal Navigation Clinic. A Bareboat Charter Master can not have less than 50 days of qualifying experience on the water.
To further graduate to a “NauticEd Captain”, the student must then additionally take the Weather, Sail Trim, Storm Tactics and the Safety at Sea Clinics. A NauticEd Captain can not have less than 50 days of qualifying experience on the water.
The NauticEd software will automatically take care of calculating your rank at any time.
Levels are defined as in the chart on this page http://www.nauticed.org/faq_sailing_certification/.
- Level I is 10 days qualifying experience on the water.
- Level II is 25 days qualifying experience on the water.
- Level III is 50 days qualifying experience on the water.
- Level IV is 100 days qualifying experience on the water.
- Level V is 200 days qualifying experience on the water.
Qualifying days are based on an algorithm which ensures that the majority of the experience is performed as the skipper on sailing vessels larger than 28 ft.
Because the NauticEd certification is based on theory knowledge and practical experience it thus follows the requirements that most countries place on an official license. For example the United States Coast Guard requires 360 days of practical experience on the water to be eligible for a Captain’s license.
It follows then that most charter companies world wide recognize and are happy to accept the NauticEd certification of Bareboat Charter Master Level III as a prerequisite to chartering one of their boats.
You can begin growing your Sailing Certification now for free by filling out your history of sailing experience under the experience tab when you login to NauticEd.
Tomorrow we’ll discuss how to fill out your boating experience and our FREE iPhone app that allows you to update your sailing resume on the fly.
Sincerely,
Grant Headifen
Educational Director
Posted by Grant Headifen on February 8, 2010 under About NauticEd, Bareboat Charter, Coastal Navigation, Maneuvering Under Power, Skipper |
While I’m waiting for the America’s cup race to start and twittering the updates to the delayed start – I thought I’d add a blog update about our upcoming Tonga Sailing flotilla.
The site with all the details is at http://www.nauticed.org/postgraduatesailingflotilla
The dates will be August 30th to September 7th 2010.
Sailing in Tonga
Come join us in one of the most tropical sailing locations in the world. Only seven boats will be in the flotilla so contact NauticEd now at info@nauticed.org
Requirements are that the skipper must have reached the Bareboat Charter Master Rank – see the video about how to get to this rank at NauticEd Certification on youtube.
Essentially you must have passed the following sailing courses: Skipper, Maneuvering Under Power, Coastal Navigation, Bareboat Charter plus have documented a minimum of 50 qualifying days on a sailboat.
This will be one of the most fun sailing vacations you could have. We’ve got loads of fun activities planned every day including a mini regatta. Tonga is known for its whale watching, pure white sandy beaches, the friendliest people and tropical fruit like you’ve never tasted. Come on!
Posted by Grant Headifen on February 4, 2010 under About NauticEd, Bareboat Charter, Skipper |
NauticEd Online Sailing School will begin offering a Post Graduate Sailing Flotilla to its students. Students who graduate to the NauticEd Bareboat Charter Master Rank will be invited to celebrate their graduation by skippering their own charter sailing yacht with their friends and family for a week long sailing adventure.
Grant Headifen, Educational Director and Founder of NauticEd, has previously lead dozens of successful sailing flotillas throughout the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Pacific. “This time we’re spicing it up a little with a sailing adventure to the Kingdom of Tonga” says Headifen. “Tonga is ideal for this type of trip. It’s navigationally a simple sailing ground and is a safe introduction to yacht charter sailing vacations for someone who has not ventured beyond local and familiar waters. It’s also a pretty awesome location to ‘come and get your feet wet’ ”.
The Moorings charter sailing base in Tonga is owned and operated by Shane Walker. “Tonga has always been an excellent sailing ground but has not been highly publicized because it is slightly off the beaten track – but that’s part of the allure – untouched beauty. NauticEd has chosen well, during the flotilla participants will almost certainly see humpback whales, other incredible sea life, breathtaking beaches and clear clear water, with consistent 10-15 knot winds”. Says Walker.
NauticEd students who have reached the Bareboat Charter Master Rank have logged a minimum of 50 days of practical sailing experience on large sailing vessels and have completed relevant courses online through NauticEd’s online learn to sail, sailing education program. The online sailing courses that are a prerequisite are:
- Skipper course
- Maneuvering a Large Sailboat Under Power clinic
- Coastal Navigation” clinic
- Bareboat Charter Clinic
A video explanation of the NauticEd Sailing Certification system is available at http://www.nauticed.org/sailing-school-student
NauticEd’s electronically managed Sailing Certification allows students and NauticEd to determine automatically if the student has reached the Bareboat Charter Master Rank. Once reached, the student will receive an official invite to the Post Graduate Sailing Flotilla. “This is going to be a really fun and excellent celebration event” says Headifen. “on top of the excellent sailing and fun navigational exercises, we’ll have GPS treasure hunts, a mini regatta, a 100m dash on the beach wearing mask, fins and snorkel, there will be spot prizes for best boat maneuvering, best dressed crew, sand castle design etc etc etc. Reaching Bareboat Charter Master Rank is really an achievement and we’ll be there to make sure the Skippers are appropriately recognized.
The NauticEd post graduation flotilla will take place in August 2010 – with exact dates to be announced. Sailors interested in participating in the sailing flotilla in Tonga lead by a professional Captain should contact NauticEd.
To learn more about NauticEd, goto http://www.NauticEd.org
Posted by Grant Headifen on January 18, 2010 under About NauticEd, Skipper, Videos and photos |
Here is a question posted by Nancy Knudsen Editor Sail-World Cruising. Sail-world is one of the largest and respected online sailing news companies (http://www.sailing-world.com) to NauticEd this week. Followed by our answer.
On 1/16/10 6:47 PM, “Nancy Knudsen Cruising Editor Sail-World” <cruisingeditor@sail-world.com> wrote:
Hi Grant
I have a question about the [sailing certification] video you have sent me. The practical experience that is mentioned in the video. For a sailor not within practical distance of your facilities, how does this happen. Do you take the word of the sailor that they have completed this? – or what happens.
As my readership is international, this is a very important point for me. (I understand that if it is an honour system then the ‘verification’ process at the end would make up for this)
Cheers
Nancy Knudsen
Editor
Sail-World Cruising
www.sail-world.com/cruising <http://www.sail-world.com/cruising>
TetraMedia established in 2000, operates the largest online marine news network in the world. It now has regional sites around the world, with Sail-World UK-Europe, Sail-World Asia, Sail-World NZ, Sail-World USA, Sail-World Australia, Sail-World Cruising International, Sail-World Cruising USA, Sail-World Cruising Canada, Sail-World Australian Cruising, Powerboat-World and Marine Business News.
Each week, more than 165,000 newsletters are sent to subscribers, by its seven editors. More than a million individual boaters have visited Sail-World and Powerboat-World in 2009.
This is NauticEd’s response
Nancy,
Yes - as with all charter company resumes – it is the honor system. It is completely impossible to verify time. Additionally the United States Coast Guard accepts the honor system for the USCG Commercial Captains license as do most other country licenses.
What I’ve been able to do is to also back this up with a Proficiency Verification by a NauticEd affiliated sailing school. Right now we are encouraging schools to be affiliated with us because there are a ton of “students” (we are all students) out there who don’t see the value in taking a basic course if they are already past that point. Thus the entire sailing school network is missing out on touching many students. With the verification check out, schools now can actually add this to their income stream thus it’s a big incentive for them to align. Students benefit by solidifying their resume to charter companies and by picking up a few professional tips along the way.
The technology is simple but clever. When an instructor is finished verifying a student’s proficiency, he or she simple logs into the site and clicks the verification button against the student. Before the student can get home, their certificate is updated with the Verification stamp.
We’re making it pretty simple for a school to sign up with us. They must be an established school with a website and have commercially legal instructors and follow our standard when performing a verification. A new system that we will implement shortly is a way for students to publicly rate the experience with the school on-line on our site. This ensures the school is providing an excellent learning experience for the students else they may get a bad rating. This I think is essential for the growth of the industry – no one in the sailing industry wants a single student to have a bad/boring/unprofessional initiation experience to sailing.
So to answer you question specifically – we plan on expanding our verification-training schools. However even with out a verification the honor system for building a resume is fine. Whats’ exciting to us is our sailing iPhone app which makes it easy for a student to update their resume on the dock in 2 clicks.
If you have any more questions please let me know.
Grant
Grant Headifen
Ph 512-696-1070
http://www.nauticed.org
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/grantheadifen
READ MY BLOG: http://www.nauticed.org/blog – it’s really interesting
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