Sailing Resume FAQ

First read this page about why a sailing resume trumps a sailing certification every time.

Why do I need a Sailing Resume?

With changing times, it's time for sailing to keep up. It's no secret that people are busier than ever. They have more demanding jobs, want more time with their families, and want more time for other recreational activities. For many, the prospect of sitting in a weekend classroom is too much. They'd rather be on the water. Yet studies show that people also want personal continuing education and recognition. NauticEd is a perfect match for all this. Spend your time learning sailing theory at home, on your own schedule: half an hour here, half an hour there, or at ten at night in your pajamas. Doctors, nurses, and airline pilots learn online, and sailing theory is equally well suited to online learning.

While on-the-water experience is essential, the safe operation of a sailboat and responsibility for the crew's lives also depend on understanding the extensive theory presented by NauticEd. NauticEd provides a way to document everything in one place: your theory knowledge, practical experience, and time spent with a professional instructor.

Oftentimes, a sailor has enough experience to be extremely accomplished yet has had no professional practical schooling. Under other sailing certificate systems, this sailor may go unrecognized. However, charter companies may accept the sailor based on a qualifying logbook resume. The NauticEd Sailing Resume provides a way for the sailor's experience to be recognized without professional practical schooling.

With NauticEd, sailing schools can do what they enjoy most and do best: teach practical skills on the water. Students arrive at a practical school with the theory completed and a common base level of understanding. They can spend more time on the water and gain a real appreciation for the wind in their faces, the exhilaration, and the fun.

Finally, in the electronic age, there is no reason for a sailing certificate to take weeks or months to be awarded. With NauticEd, once the student is qualified, they instantly gain their sailing certificate and it can be downloaded immediately. Upgrades are automatically calculated and instantly awarded by the proprietary NauticEd Sailing Resume and Certification software.

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How does the NauticEd Sailing Resume system work?

The NauticEd Sailing Resume takes advantage of the power of the Internet. It helps students track their actual time spent on the water, where real hands-on learning takes place. The more time spent on the water, the more experienced and capable a sailor can become. For example, the United States Coast Guard requires substantial documented time on boats as well as extensive theory testing before a person can attain a USCG professional captain's license.

NauticEd uses a similar theory-plus-experience approach and also includes an optional competence assessment by an American National Standards-accredited school:

• Students progress through the ranks based on the sailing theory courses they have taken and passed.
• Students move through the "levels" within each rank based on the experience they have gained on the water.
• Students are acknowledged for verified competence by accredited schools.

See this interactive infographic, which shows how you can progress through the ranks and levels while increasing your competence.

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How do I progress through the Sailing Resume Ranks?

Qualified Crew Member

All students automatically start as "Crew - Level 0." They can progress to Qualified Crew Member or choose to move directly toward Skipper, which is what most students do. Qualified Crew Members have completed either the Qualified Crew Member Course or the Skipper Course and have logged a minimum of 10 crew qualifying days (see below for the definition of "Qualifying Days"). Alternatively, the student can reduce the experience requirement from 10 days to 4 days through practical competency training and verification from an accredited hands-on NauticEd training school.

Skipper Small Keelboat

To gain the rank of "Skipper Small Keelboat," the student must take and pass the Skipper Small Keelboat Course. The student must then have a minimum of 10 small-boat qualifying days on the water to achieve Level I, or the student can be verified as competent at the Skipper Small Keelboat level by a NauticEd instructor or assessor with a minimum of 4 days on the water.

Skipper

To gain the rank of "Skipper," the student must take and pass the Skipper Course and the Maneuvering Under Power Course. The student must then have a minimum of 10 skipper qualifying days on the water to achieve Level I. A student who has passed the theory requirements for Skipper but has logged at least 4 and fewer than 10 qualifying days remains ranked as Qualified Crew. As soon as the student logs the 10th qualifying day, the student automatically becomes a Skipper.

Bareboat Charter Master

To graduate to the rank of "Bareboat Charter Master," the student must, in addition to the Skipper courses, complete the Bareboat Charter Course, the Coastal Navigation Course, the Electronic Navigation Course, and the Anchoring a Sailboat Course. A Bareboat Charter Master must have at least 50 days of qualifying experience on the water. If sailing in European waters, you may need either the NauticEd SLC (Sailing License and Credentials) or the ICC (International Certificate of Competence), which was created under United Nations Resolution 40. Learn more about the ICC. Both credentials may be used for international chartering, depending on the destination and charter company. Gaining the SLC in North America is generally more geographically accessible than obtaining the ICC. Learn more about the NauticEd SLC.

NauticEd Captain

To progress further to "NauticEd Captain," the student must also take the Weather, Sail Trim, Storm Tactics, and Safety at Sea Courses. A NauticEd Captain must have at least 50 days of qualifying experience on the water.

The NauticEd software will automatically take care of calculating your rank and level at any time.

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How do I progress through the Sailing Resume Levels?

Levels are defined as in the chart above:

• Level I is 10 days qualifying experience on the water (unless Qualified Crew Member, Skipper (small boat) or Skipper, then 4 days with Competency Verification)
• 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.

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What are Qualifying Days?

In order to place real value on the experience, each day of experience must qualify according to the rules below.

Qualified Crew qualifying days

1. Can be crew or Master experience – it doesn’t matter.
2. At least 50% of experience must be on vessels that are 20 ft (6.1m) or longer.

Skipper (small keelboat) qualifying days

1. At least 50% of the days must be as Master of the vessel.
2. At least 50% of experience must be on a vessel 20 ft (6.1 m) or longer.

Skipper qualifying days

1. At least 50% of the days must be as Master of the vessel.
2. Vessels must be 20 ft (6.1 m) or longer.
3. At least 50% of experience must be on a vessel 25 ft (7.6 m) or longer.

Bareboat Charter Master or Captain qualifying days

1. At least 50% of the days must be as Master of the vessel.
2. Vessels must be 20 ft (6.1 m) or longer.
3. At least 50% of experience must be on a vessel 28 ft (8.4 m) or longer.

Additionally,

1. Must be on a sailboat.
2. Similar to the USCG standard, a day is considered a minimum of 4 hours underway in any calendar day. Eight hours in a day is still one day.

Some Examples:

• A student has completed the Skipper Course and Maneuvering Under Power Course and has 35 days of sailing experience: 20 days as master of a 25 ft sailboat and 15 days as crew on a 22 ft daysailer. The student is ranked as Skipper Level II.
  
• A student has completed the Skipper Course, Maneuvering Under Power Course, Bareboat Charter Course, Coastal Navigation Course, and Electronic Navigation Course. She has 100 days of sailing experience: 50 days as master of a 32 ft sailboat, 10 days as master of a 25 ft sailboat, and 40 days as crew on a 22 ft sailboat. The student is ranked as Bareboat Charter Master Level III.
  
• A student has completed the Skipper Course and Maneuvering Under Power Course. He has 13 days as master of a 24 ft vessel and 13 days as crew on the same vessel. He has also been assessed by a NauticEd-accredited sailing school and verified as competent at the Skipper level. The student is ranked as Skipper Small Keelboat Level II.

In essence - don't worry too much about this - just log your time honestly and the algorithm will take care of it.

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Entering practical experience

The NauticEd sailing certificate software maintains your sailing resume through your entries. Entries are tracked by date, boat type and size, and whether you served as crew or master of the vessel. Students can also set up their favorite boats for quick entry. This can be done through the NauticEd website, the NauticEd iOS app, or a mobile web browser.

The NauticEd software will automatically take care of calculating your level at any time according to your entries and the rules above.

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What is the Verified Competency Mark?

The Verified Competency Mark acknowledges that the student has been practically assessed by an accredited NauticEd Professional Sailing School and has demonstrated a level of practical competence on the water. The assessment can take place at the end of a training session or by special request.

Although NauticEd recommends that all students receive practical instruction through an accredited sailing school, it also recognizes that some sailors may already be competent in boat-handling skills and choose not to attend a practical school. In this case, students can still gain a sailing resume rank and level, but the Verified Competency Mark is not added to their logbook resume.

Following the assessment, the professional instructor logs in to NauticEd, securely locates the student's online profile, and verifies the student's sailing competence. The NauticEd software then automatically places the mark on the logbook resume.

Students are graded by the instructor to their level of demonstrated practical ability:

• Qualified Crew Competence
• Skipper - Small Keelboat Competence
• Skipper Competence
• Bareboat Charter Master Competence
• Captain Competence

With further practical experience and instruction, the student can continue to upgrade their demonstrated ability to the next competence grade. A student cannot attain a competence grade if they have not completed the theory courses required for the corresponding rank.

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What is the Logbook Resume?

The NauticEd software provides each student with a real-time Logbook Resume for FREE. At any time, a student can download the Logbook Resume from the NauticEd cloud as a PDF document and email it to a charter company, practical school, instructor, or another recipient. The student can also make the resume accessible to yacht charter companies through https://www.nauticed.org/student_verification. The yacht charter company enters the student's login email address and logbook code. The student creates the logbook code and stores it in their profile. This means the student never has to carry a paper logbook, worry about where it is stored, or re-create it each time they want to charter a yacht. It is available in the cloud 24/7.

The Logbook Resume is securely protected. Only persons given express permission via their secret logbook code by the student can view the Logbook Resume.

The NauticEd mobile app also allows the student to update their logbook at any time.

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How do I progress through Badges and Status?

Badges and Status are ways to measure how you're doing in adopting good boater practices.

Many times, new and experienced boaters don't know what they don't know. That lack of awareness can create a dangerous sense of complacency. NauticEd badges reward you for doing the things that help keep you, your vessel, and your crew safe on the water. If you want to be an excellent boater or yachtie, you should work toward earning NauticEd Badges and NauticEd Status.

Learn more about Sailing Badges and Status.

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What is the cost for the NauticEd Resume and Logbook Tracking system?

Nothing - IT'S FREE!

Students pay for online classes and on-the-water instruction, but the entire sailing resume and logbook tracking system is completely FREE.

Start building your NauticEd Sailing Resume today.

• Take the NauticEd Skipper Course and the Maneuvering Under Power Course.
• At any time, you can begin building your FREE Logbook Resume.
  • Simply enter your sailing history and experience as you go online when you login to your NauticEd account.
  • Download the NauticEd iPhone application to log your everyday experience. Search for "NauticEd" in the Apple App Store, or visit our Sailing Apps page.