Getting a Captains License, What an experience!

We went through five phases during our process of taking the course and passing the tests. 

• Trepidation
• Interest in great people, great instructor, great stories
• Lots of work
• “Survivor”
• Elation

When we first signed up, we were confused about what the different licenses offer and whether we indeed needed one.  If we did need one, was this the right one?  Were we signing up for something that would help us with what we wanted to do, or wasting a considerable amount of time and money on the wrong course or the wrong license.  Most of the course descriptions are not terribly clear and if you don’t know what you want, it’s hard to search for the right thing.  It was also quite a commitment of time during a very busy period in our businesses, so that added a little more stress.  Just the thought of no days off sent shivers through our spines.

The moment we got there, we knew we had done the right thing.  Captain John Henderson, a very nice, respectful, knowledgeable sailor, truly wanted us to learn.  He loves teaching. He loves sailing. And he loves sharing. I think we got very lucky.  His goal, aside from helping us get our license, was to make us all better seamen.  For this, I am grateful.  He isn’t a taskmaster.  He gets his students interested in wanting to know.  What great talent that is!

Chart plotting is an essential element of the OUPV course work.

He also got us all to know one another.  Members of the class shared goodies for breakfast, we spent breaks sharing stories, and we joined various groups at lunch.  We learned a lot from each other.  I know I learned to think differently about fishermen’s worlds, the go-fast boaters learned to appreciate the sailors’ perspectives, and we all learned the rules of the road and the Coast Guard perspective!

It wasn’t all talk though.  We spent mornings on the textbooks and sample test quizzes.  We spent the afternoons plotting on one of three different charts doing time-speed-distance problems, plotting three point fixes, and calculating set and drift.  Then it was back to the textbooks and quizzes before the end of the day.  During the week, we had to work on our own to practice the chart plotting and take sample tests. For us, besides learning to learn again (we have been out of school for quite a while), the hardest part was getting the hang of the difference between inland and international rules, and remembering all the lights and day shapes.   Others found firefighting, weather and knot-work confusing.  It was a lot of work.  But we actually believe it stuck. 

For the test, we had a different proctor than our instructor.  He seemed very competent as well, and praised our instructor as the best he’s ever seen.  He mentioned that the night before more than half the class failed at least one exam, which sent chills down all our spines.  Nevertheless, our class had a high percentage of wins, although not everyone passed all the tests.   As we finished up our last test, the proctor led us outside the classroom to give us the result.  Slowly the room started emptying as one by one we were led out.  It felt much like the “Survivor” TV series, where little by little, the crew was eliminated.  We had no idea who was passing and who wasn’t at the time.  When he shook my hand and said, “Congratulations, Captain,” I felt like jumping up and down and yelling, “Wahoo!” which I might have done.  Then he reviewed briefly all the answers I had wrong to make sure I understood the right choice. 

The elation of having done it was intoxicating.  We stood around in a small group at the end and compared notes, dreaming about what’s next.