CV3/Team Red Socks news

The Team Building weekend was a great success with 22 of our crew attending. It was while I was doing my Level 3 theory, so I was unable to attend. The first Level 4 training has taken place. Level 4 training is being run on a ‘race’ basis, with the crew responsible for victualling, a watch system in place and a race between all 10 boats, heading down to the Channel Islands and back.

The crew of CV3 are still waiting to hear who our sponsor will be. There is a lot of regular checking of the website to look for news but nothing as yet. There has been a lot of speculation and rumour, but we just have to be patient. It will be a great to finally find out who we are representing.

Keep checking here for news, as we are hoping to hear an announcement soon!

Level 3 Theory

I have just completed my Level 3 theory course, which for me meant taking the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Day Skipper exam at the end of the course. For others who already have sailing qualifications there is the challenge of Coastal Skipper, or Yachtmaster exams. My other L3 buddies were Ed, Nigel, Mike, Tom, Franziska, Gary and Matt.

The course was five days, with the first four being full days of teaching from 9-5. It is some years since I had to work my brain that hard and I was worried that as I pushed more information in that some other stuff must be leaking out! For the theory we covered meteorology, IRPCS (International Regulations for the Prevention of Collision at Sea!), day shapes, lights, sound signals, buoys, safety, boat checks… there seemed to be a never ending list of topics. Then there was the chart work, tides, using the almanac, working out estimated positions, course to steer, passage planning…another seemingly endless list.

I found the theory part interesting but really enjoyed the chart work as it seems to suit my neat nature!

On the last day we had two 1 ½ hour exams in the morning. It was a very generous allocation of time and we were all finished well ahead of schedule. James, our tutor marked the papers over lunch and we got our results in the afternoon – a pass for all of us doing the Day Skipper. I got full marks on my theory paper – amazing!

Next for me is Level 3 and Level 4 running back to back in July following a rescheduling of dates due to a knee injury.