Time to earn my Captains License

I'm not sure where this goal came from.. I suspect the goal to get both a Pilots and Captains License may have come after reading Jimmy Buffets book a Pirate Looks at 50 many years ago. A Facebook add popped up one day for Captains training class near by and it seemed like the right time. So I decided to take advantage of it. Honestly I really had no idea what I was getting into, what the extent of it would be, or what I might do with it once I got it. I just knew I wanted it. Not to mention I figured a little more knowledge never hurt anyone and it might be fun to do some boat deliveries one day should I get the opportunity. Just to ensure I was not alone in this endeavor I talked Max into joining me on this adventure which really did not take much convincing.

We both signed up for the OUPV class. Which provides the bearer of the license the ability to take no more than six paying customers out for boat trips fishing, diving, sight seeing, or whatever. This is the first level of many it seems but it is the basic starting point should one wish for a paid life at sea. Turns out one needs to be 18 to get a license however Max could take the class and the tests then wait to apply for the license when he turns 18 in a couple months. 

The class entails teaching you over a period of 60 hours how to "successfully" take the four tests required for this license. Additionally they offer to help review your paperwork for submission once you have past the tests and have all the other required items in hand.. More on that later. The four tests required are 

• Rules of the Road
• Navigation General
• Chart Navigation
• Deck General/Safety

The class was taught over a period of ten consecutive days and required two full weekends. There were no excused absences, if you missed you were not allowed to sit for the exams. It was a commitment. Most the classroom time was spent on learning the rules of the road which seemed to come down to memorization. Then there was chart plotting. Surprisingly chart plotting was quite a challenge for me. Mainly because I'm not a very exacting or detailed orientated person. Turns out you need to be pretty precise with those sliders and compass rose when determining coordinates, drift, and routes. Frankly after going though it I'm not really sure how relevant it is in todays age where everything is electronic, we have multiple back ups, and charts are hardly carried in stores anymore. But we had to show proficiency with it none the less. I suppose knowing that I still remember how to use a chart, can plot a course, look in the coastal guides & or piloting guides for a white light flashing four times as I come into a channel may give me some additional confidence while I'm out there. But I would still feel better if I had some working knowledge of celestial naviagation or something slightly more useful for determining where I am should I loose all the electronics while out of sight of land.

After completing our classroom time they suggest studying for a week or so at home before taking the tests. All four tests are available though the school and done online. The tests all have to be taken at the same time. They did give us a 10 minute break between tests. One has to have a laptop with a video camera attached ensuring the proctors see a 360 degree view of the room you're in before starting the test and then watching you while you take them. If you step out of view of the camera during testing it's an automatic failure. This does not sound like a big deal when taking a multiple choice test however when doing the charting test where you end up with a full size chart rolled out on the dining room table looking for points on the map then charting angles, approaches, and what nots its a bit more intimidating. At one point I simply crawled up kneeling on the table while drawing lines and looking for bouy's to ensure I did not step out of view of the camera.

Prior to ending the training our instructor informed us that only about 70% of the class would actually complete/pass the tests to successfully become licensed captains. I'm proud to say both Max and I successfully completed it and Max was their youngest ever to take the class and additionally passed everything the first time. 

So now with the hard work done of passing the knowledge based tests we now both have to get physicals where they test hearing and vision. We both needed current First Aid/CPR certificates. Once that is complete we need to apply for TWIC cards which is a government background check ensuring we are not terrorists I suppose then follow that activity up with a drug test. Once we have positive results from all of those in hand we can then submit our application for the license along with our documented time at sea.

Turns out all this is quite expensive. First there is the cost of the class in our case about $1200 each, then the cost of taking the exams another $100 each. Then the costs of a physical, drug testing (if you're actually a working captain then you need to join a drug consortium where they test you regularly. I think this is about $200 a year), then the background check $135. Additionally we needed valid First Aid/CPR certificates which we had but they were not USCG approved which meant we got to pay $125 each to take an approved first aid class. Finally there is then the cost for submitting all of this for the license which is around another $150. Seems we will be in this for around 2K each once it's all said and done.

At this point I have the completed testing certificate in hand, a USCG approved First Aid/CPR certification, and my physical completed. I still need to complete the drug testing and background check then I should be able to apply for the license. I've been dragging my feet on those last two waiting for Max to turn 18 so we can do both the last two at the same time. Not to mention with the government shutdown we've been told the application process is quite slow right now. So hopefully that gets cleared up sometime soon.

I'll be sure to post here to brag a bit when it's finally official! Guessing sometime this summer.