Getting Your Captain’s License

While less than five percent of those currently holding a captain’s license are women, in my experience it’s still useful to have the knowledge that comes along with the “ticket,” even if you’re not planning to take a job in the Caribbean as master of a charter vessel. According to a survey done by The Triton (magazine for “nautical news for captains and crews”), many women in the yachting industry have never really considered pursuing their captain’s license for three main reasons:

1) The rules and regulations for acquiring sea time through the United States Coast Guard (USCG) system can be confusing;

2) The career options within the marine industry for female captains are often overlooked, and;

3) There’s often no one to turn to for support, guidance and encouragement.

While some women may be interested in taking a few classes, you may dream of someday getting paid to do what you love and perhaps even entertain the thought of NOT leaving the boat over the winter but rather, making it available for charter. There’s no secret that it’s better to combine what you love with your income-production. To that end, your USCG captain’s license is a potential revenue resource. It may also make a difference in your future as a cruiser. Get that license now so that when the economy does start to improve, you’ll be ready to take full advantage of the throngs of vacationstarved families ready to take a boating vacation.

You may be asking yourself this: “I’m not a professional, so why would I need a captain’s license?” Well, as a recreational cruiser, you may never really “need” the license, but it is still worthwhile to have what comes with it: namely training and knowledge. Another good reason—a captain’s license will lower your vessel’s insurance costs. Almost all major insurance companies now require basic training that goes beyond the standard boat safety course currently required in almost every state.

As far as classes go, there are many to choose from: courses in bareboating, basic coastal cruising, offshore passagemaking, liveaboard sailboat cruising, blue water tactics, and now there’s even trawler training available. Generally however, it all begins with the basic OUPV (Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessel), formerly known as a “six-pack” captain’s license. When it finally came time to put my four years of cruising ocean miles to good use, I concluded that I might as well get one of my own. But where to take the course?

Fortunately, I live by the water in South Florida where there’s a plethora of courses available. SeaSchool, based in St. Petersburg, Florida, has schools located throughout the southeast and Gulf Coasts. My husband is an alumnus so I decided to follow in his wake and go with a known entity. SeaSchool is very laid back, but they get the job done and have been around since 1977. But if you’re not near a major boating area, there are excellent programs offered online.

Our instructor—John, a long-time Fort Lauderdale resident and charter fisherman—was adamant in telling us on the first day that everyone would pass. John made the lectures fun by interjecting his “fish stories” and sharing his top secret fishing holes with the lucky fisherman in the class.

I do need to add here how hard it can be to work all day at your job and then attend class from 6-10PM through the weekend. And, unless you live in a major boating area, you may not have an available class nearby, nor the time it takes (usually two full weekends plus five nights to satisfy the 64-hour requirement for classroom instruction), to complete a USCGapproved course. If your time is limited or you don’t care to take a learning vacation, SeaSchool offers all of their courses online. Courses are also offered in Spanish.

SeaSchool began offering online “distance learning” captain’s license courses back in 2009. They’re the same courses you can take in their classrooms, but are designed especially for older mariners or those who don’t usually spend their days in front of a computer screen. They’re especially easy to read, easy to navigate and less complicated than most other online offerings.

According to Len Wahl, SeaSchool’s Training Director, “Our online courses aren’t complicated. My father designed the first course for those not so familiar with computers.” Students will see ‘Walk Ons’ by instructors, who actually appear to walk onto the screen to describe things. Once you’ve read the supplied course book or reviewed the required PDFs, you’re ready to log in to access the course online. You’ll see review highlights on the screen, before you take the online quizzes. Once you’ve passed, credit is given for that section. “The average total computer time is generally about 65 hours to cover all the material for the OUPV,” Len added. The OUPV captain’s license is just $395, a considerable savings over the classroom course price of $550.

The final exam

No one really enjoys the exam at the end, but in order to get your ticket you must pass nonetheless. There are four parts to the test: Rules of the Road (COLREGS), Deck General, Navigation and Chart Plotting. Rules of the Road tends to be the most difficult and you must pass it with a score of 90 percent or better. You can pass the other three with a grade of 70 percent or better. The Chart Plotting takes the longest. I had a period of four hours to pass the tests which was more than enough and actually more time would have been made available if needed. The good news is that if you can take your exams directly after you finish the course then all you have to do is regurgitate all that information and… voila, you’re done!

SeaSchool offers exams every Tuesday and as far as their guarantee goes, if you don’t pass an exam (you get three tries), you only have to sit through that part of the class again and you can retake the test. Not a bad deal. Classes are generally small; ours had only 10 students, but generally speaking, classes are usually between 15-20. SeaSchool also offers you assistance with the complicated Coast Guard application so that yours doesn’t get caught in USCG Purgatory.

New course and exam – all online

“SeaSchool’s renewal course is the only course of its kind available online. It was just approved by the USCG,” Len told us. And there’s some good news: the final exam can be taken online, in lieu of an open book final exam with the Coast Guard. For those who spend more time onboard cruising or for working mariners, this can be very convenient; however, studying and training online isn’t for everyone. You must be very disciplined and set enough time aside to go through all the material, take the quizzes and final tests. For those of us who spend a significant part of our lives online, it’s not a big leap, but for others… well, it may not spin your prop. If you prefer a live expert in front of the classroom—drilling the information into your head and where you can interrupt and ask questions or interact with fellow students—then you should choose the classroom option. Either way, the Coast Guard describes the topics and degree of difficulty, as well as the amount of time spent in class. If you take the online course, you’re still required to take the final exam in the classroom of your choice.

Besides the traditional OUPV and higher grade licenses, SeaSchool also offers endorsements such as sailing and towing. License applicants must also pay for the SeaSchool’s First Aid/CPR course.

Once you’ve passed your exam, taken your CPR course and paid your fees, you have to have logged a minimum of 360 days experience on board a boat starting from age 15, with 90 of those days occurring over the last three years, before you can get your ticket. Keep in mind that four hours on a boat can be considered one day and in one 24-hour period, you can claim just one day of sea service time. If you own the boat yourself, you sign-off your own time. If your time was spent on boats belonging to friends or family, they can sign-off for you. Your time does not need to be signed off by a licensed Captain and in fact, you don’t even need to be operating the boat for the time to count. At least for the moment, the entire sea time sign-off process basically works on the honor system where the Coast Guard will accept your best guess, and you are no longer required to submit logbooks.

There’s a relatively new document now being required for all captains. It’s called the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) card and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) administers it. This document requires that you appear before the TSA for security clearance, including digital fingerprinting, which would then be shared with the USCG.

Whatever your mode of learning there’s a captain’s course for you. You’ll be surprised just how easy it is, thanks to great programs like SeaSchool. As for your support network, there are plenty of great resources available online for women who love to boat. Websites dedicated just to the ladies include womenandcruising.com, womensailing.org, womanship.com, seasenseboating.com, sailsistership.com.

For more information about the entire USCG licensing process, you can visit uscg.mil/STCW/new-begin.htm or seaschool.com.

Contact: Seaschool – 1-800-237-8663; seaschool.com. Locations throughout the northeast, southeast, Gulf Coast, USVI’s and Puerto Rico.