So what did I really get here. Well I may have gotten a bit carried away with the endorsements for something I really have no plans on using but figured I might as well do them all while the base information was fresh in my brain. In addition to the test for the standard 6 pack license I went ahead and got the endorsement for the Master level which means I can drive pretty much any vessel under 50 tons full of people. I can be a Ferry Captain if I want or I can take out large charter groups on inspected vessels. Additionally I also got endorcements for Towing and Sailing. This means I can run sailing charter boats with more than 6 customers and I have the option to be a tow boat captan.
It's nice to have options but am I really qualified in any way to do any of this stuff? Probably not. But the USCG says I'm good to go. I'm sure I could figure it out with a lot of on the job training but for now I'm smart enough to know I should not be jumping into any of these things without additional experience. While it sounds impressive to say you're a Master rated Captain with endorsements for sailing and towing. It really just means one can pass a few tests the main one being that I could get all the paperwork together and filled out correctly. Frankly I'm a bit disappointed that there is no actual proof needed that one can safely operate a boat like what is required for a drivers license. In my case I filled out a couple forms that said what types of boats I've owned, how much time I've spent on them over the years, and where I took them. It's all an honor system. Until one has to demonstrate some actual seamanship skills I won't be very impressed with their licensing system.
Now that I've nearly completed the process I will say it was a bit of a roller coaster ride. A ton of information was feed to us during the in person training class I took for the 6 pack endorsement. I spent a fair amount of time in class and memorizing a bunch of stuff that is interesting to know but not really required to know to successfully operate a boat. Getting the notification that I had passed all of that felt like an accomplishment. Passing the four tests required for the entry level endorsement was not trivial. Oddly adding the endorsements for the Master rating, Towing, and Sailing did feel somewhat trivial and required much less time. With that said putting together the application and submitting that was quite time consuming. After uploading everything I was quite worried that I might have missed something, paid for the wrong drug test, or not checked a box correctly somewhere along the way. Fortunately after watching a number of YouTube videos on the process I seemed to have gotten everything correct the first time. Its feels like another weight has been taken off now that I've made it though the process successfully.
