Danger Boy has two black balls

Erin completed the PCOC exam and can now burn around in the boat all by herself!  The PCOC is the Pleasure Craft Operator Card that is required by all recreational boaters in Canada, the US and who knows where else.  I got mine about 10 years ago at the local Boat Show.  There was a booth at the event offering the test for free, so I wrote it and past…  Being that it was multiple guess, if you gave it to a hundred monkeys, presumably one of them would have past it too, so there are probably several monkeys bombing around out there right now.  Writing the test was free but they didn’t tell me that it was $35 to actually get the card.  This particular monkey happened to have the $35 bucks. 

We both just took the Canadian Power Squadron basic Boating Course which you take the PCOC in the middle of the course.  I took the PCOC again because, according to Power Squadron, it is the only Canadian PCOC that is accepted in the US as well; which only matters if you’re in the US for more than six weeks I think it is.  The boating standard you need to conform to when out of your own country is your boat’s country of origin unless you’re in the States for more than six weeks (I could be wrong on the length of time there, so don’t quote me on that, and it varies from country to country.  I think its six weeks for Americans coming into Canada too).

Erin and I haven’t written the final exam for the Power Squadron course yet, we write it on May 11^th.  The exam doesn’t actually get you anything in terms of accreditation other than you can become a member.  Power Squadron courses are not recognized by the Canadian Yachting Association (CYA) which is a member of the International Sailing Federation     I’m not sure why that is, but I imagine it is because Power Squadron is run by volunteers, so it may not be up to the standard when compared to a course being taught by a professional and there is no on the water component which is required by the CYA to be an accredited course.  You need the accreditation if you ever want to charter a bare boat anywhere in the world.  Despite that, it does give you an awareness of a basic level of safety and is quite a bit cheaper (and easier) than taking a CYA approved course.  It’s a good start for someone with zero boating experience. 

The next course we take will probably be the VHF licence course, which is required to operate VHF.  Then we’ll probably take the Basic Cruising course with Cooper Yachting School, which is a CYA accredited week end course, out on the water.

Following that, here is a list of the courses we plan to take over the next few years:

- Power Squadron, (PCOC),

- VHF Licence, (ROC (M)),

- Basic Cruising Standard

- Coastal Navigation Standard

- Intermediate Cruising (Yachting Association Skipper ticket.  Allows you to charter bare boat anywhere)

- HAM Licence

- St. John Ambulance Emergency First Aid Certificate

- Advanced Cruising

- Celestial Navigation

- Engine maintenance (may skip this course)

- Yachtmaster - Ocean

The Yachtmaster is not actually a course.  It’s a credential you achieve after having completed a minimum of 50 days and 2500 nautical miles. Passages specified must be over 60 nautical miles minimum. Applicants not holding the CYA Offshore Cruising Standard must have experience of 100 days and prove that they have earned at least one sparrow tattoo (or the equivalent).

There are of course several other courses that can be taken but you’ll never leave if you plan on taking every course.

If you ever take one of these course exams, remember:  Danger Buoy has two black balls.