Roberto,

(By chartered in the BVI do you mean you rented a boat _from_ someone, or
_to_ someone?)

Anyway, sorry you took offense, I didn't mean it that way.

Experience and self-learning matter. They matter a lot. And some people are
very good self-teachers. So, so far, we agree.
I do (true to form), however, stand by my previous comments. I heard a neat
quotation somewhere recently about somebody who had been doing a certain job
for twenty years, but without formal training. Now, this was said by a guy
_with_ formal training, so he may have had a vested interest. But there is
still some truth to it, it seems to me. The quote is, "Yes, you've been
doing the first year twenty times over."

In other words, formal instruction matters, too. A problem which sometimes
arises without it is that something small but important gets missed. The
IALA buoyage system might be a tiny example. Or, rare but critical
variations of a common problem aren't realized by the self-learner. And so
forth.

I know a guy who taught a retired Admiral the Power Squadron boating course.
The Admiral, of course, was above all this, but wanted the insurance
discount or something. He failed. He took the course again.

I met a thoracic surgeon who took an Advanced Trauma Life Support Course
(years ago) - and failed. He hadn't really tried hard because he had figured
himself above that. Like the Admiral, however, he was an intelligent man,
and so put his ego on the back burner, and took the course again.

I'm about to go on a course to fine-tune the skills I use in a career I've
successfully pursued daily for twenty-two years - and the course is said to
be very hard, and humbling (but not punitive!).

Some people take a course and manage to pass but weren't really there to
learn, and don't apply anything they were taught. That doesn't mean that all
training is superfluous. That only means that some people need a lot and
some need a little, and you can lead some people to knowledge but you can't
make them think, etc., etc. It's not the certificate that matters. It's the
skills and knowledge and wisdom which matter, and sometimes they go along
with a certificate, and sometimes not. Doesn't mean all certificates are
worthless.

My wife's calling me for supper. I've learned enough without going to school
to know I had better go.

Charles

P.S. I'm not in the certifying business. I do belong to and support the
Power Squadron (www.brockville.com/CPS), which is a volunteer training
organization. And my unrelated business(es) are doing fine, thanks for
asking.

====

Charles T. Low
- remove "UN"
www.boatdocking.com/BDPhoto.html - Photo Contest
www.boatdocking.com
www.ctlow.ca/Trojan26 - my boat

====

"BIANCO ROBERTO" wrote in message
...

well, Charles, it sounds like you run a boating certification
agency or are associated with one which sorely needs customers.
hows business these days?

i've chartered in the BVI, i see a different arrangement of the
buoys on a map of a Greek harbor because i am studying the area
and i take a closer look, i get concerned, i ask a simple
question in the right newsgroup, corteous people reply, my
problem is solved, and without taking a boating course ---
what's the deal with your skewed comment?!? in my view,
attention to detail should be a plus in anybody's sailing resume
and attitude. but not in your certificate-prone, short-sighted
perspective. just can't stand people with a can-do attitude,
can you?

i haven't taken a boating course, but i've crewed and read
enough to feel confident to bareboat-charter on my own for the
first last year, and bring back both boat and crew without a
scratch. it's your experience and knowledge that counts when
you apply for a bareboat charter, and not the list of the
boating courses you've taken.

besides the fact that, sometimes, even people who shouldn't ever
skipper a boat get certified, and just in a week, paying top
dollars, because failing them would be bad for business. then
they go out there, wreck their boats, but, hey, it's not your
responsibility, you "certified" them, right? ever certified one
of those yourself, Charles?

r