Become a Club Skipper

The Sailing Club Inc. Skipper Qualification Process

(Approved 6/16/2003)
(Revised 1/30/2006)

Summary

The Sailing Club, Inc. is continually interested in improving the safety and sailing skills of its membership, and in particular, in the skills of the men and women who voluntarily serve as skippers on Club trips. This document has been developed to provide a definitive process for the evaluation and qualification of new skippers and the identification of the information and skills necessary for such qualification. No one may serve as a skipper on a club trip who has not been approved as a Club Qualified Skipper as per this document.

The Sailing Club has developed the following “Skipper Qualification Requirements” as the minimum knowledge and skill requirements for qualification as a Club Skipper. While the listed items and knowledge are not specific checklist items per se for qualification (with the exception of the items identified below), they include skills and knowledge that all Club Skippers must possess. As such, they form the basis for continuous improvement over time.

Qualificaiton Process

The qualification process has two basic steps as identified below:

Step 1 Recommendation for entry into the evaluation process
Step 2 Observation and evaluation

Step 1 involves the prospective skipper obtaining recommendations from at least two (2) Club Skippers that state that he or she has clearly demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and appropriate emphasis on safety required to be a Skipper. These recommendations should be based on joint sailing experience where the prospective skipper has sailed with the Club Skipper for sufficient time needed for accurate evaluation. The prospective skipper is required to sail as a Club-qualified First Mate on at least two club trips over a two year period before being eligible for evaluation as a Club-qualified skipper. The Skipper providing a recommendation must have had Qualified Club Skipper status for at least one year or have sailed as a Qualified Club Skipper on at least two trips, whichever takes longer, before being eligible to provide a recommendation.

Step 1 insures that the individuals who are to be observed and evaluated in Step 2 of the qualification process have an excellent chance for success.

The written recommendations shall be forwarded to the Club Training Coordinator. The recommendations shall indicate particular strengths and weaknesses for the Senior Skippers to use as background information while evaluating the candidate. The Training Coordinator will maintain the appropriate records of received recommendations and will inform all Trip Leaders and Assistant Trip Leaders of an individual’s desires to proceed to Step 2, once the minimum number of recommendations has been collected. It is not necessary that these recommendations be secured at the same time.

In very rare cases, it is possible that the Training Coordinator, with the concurrence of the Commodore and the Vice Commodore, may suspend either the requirement for two recommendations or the requirement that the individual be a Club-qualified First Mate to enter an individual in the Step 2 observation process but not both. This must be based on the needs of the Club and only after a sufficient investigation of the skills and experience of the individual. This is to be the exception rather than the rule and requires written documentation signed by the Training Coordinator, Commodore, and Vice Commodore.

Step 2 involves the observation and evaluation of the prospective skipper’s performance in the role of skipper on at least two (2) Club sponsored trips. This is to be accomplished under the supervision of a Club Senior Skipper. The Senior Skipper will be the Skipper of Record for the trip and will be the representative of the Club who is ultimately responsible for the safety of the boat and its crew for the trip. However, the prospective skipper should be given all of the normal skipper responsibilities for the trip, from crew organization and meal planning to actual performance in sailing the boat or insuring that it is sailed safely and in good order, including following all Club policies and procedures such as check in/check out and crew briefing.

A Club Senior Skipper is defined by and selected according the qualifications and processes in the Senior Skipper Qualification Process. <LINK>

Step 2 begins only after the two recommendations have been collected. The Training Coordinator will notify all Trip and Assistant Trip Leaders that the individual is interested in proceeding through the qualification process. Trip and Assistant Trip Leaders will then make arrangements as appropriate at the request of the candidate and with the concurrence of a senior skipper and the Training Coordinator.

Each evaluation will be sailed with a different Senior Skipper so that a broad opinion of the individual’s performance can be gathered. During each trip, the Senior Skipper is expected to give encouragement but to keep advice and guidance to a minimum. To the degree possible, trips sailed for evaluation should provide the opportunity for the broadest demonstration of skill proficiency possible. Senior Skippers who will be conducting evaluations will receive copies of all letters of recommendation before crew assignment takes place. It is permissible for the evaluating Senior Skippers to consult with the recommending skippers at any time before their evaluations are delivered to the Training Coordinator. In no case will crew re-assignment be permitted to accommodate a candidate once the skippers’ meeting for a given trip has adjourned.

Neither of the two trips sailed for evaluation will be with an individual who also provided a recommendation for the individual’s participation in the qualification process.

At the trip’s conclusion, the prospective skipper should be given feedback as to his/her overall performance, strengths, and area where additional study or experience is necessary. It is expected that the individual will be given continuous feedback on their performance during the trip as well so that the final evaluation does not come as a surprise. The Senior Skipper will transmit a written evaluation to the Training Coordinator within two weeks of the completion of the trip. A copy of this written evaluation may be sent to the prospective skipper as well for his or her information. The evaluation will outline both strengths and recommended areas for improvement and will provide a final rating of performance for the trip from one of the three following categories:

Qualified for Sailing Club Skipper
Incomplete
Not yet ready for evaluation as prospective Skipper

Successful qualification as a Sailing Club Skipper requires that an individual obtain at least two evaluations in the top category (“Qualified”) and none in the third category (“Not yet ready”) within 24 months from the date of the first evaluation sailed.

The guidelines for the categories of final evaluation are as follows:

Qualified for Sailing Club Skipper

In the opinion of the Senior Skipper evaluating performance on the trip in question, the candidate performed all of his/her duties in an acceptable manner, clearly demonstrating the knowledge, skills, and concern for safety required to be a Club Skipper.

Incomplete

In the opinion of the Senior Skipper evaluating performance on the trip in question, the prospective skipper requires additional knowledge, skills and/or experience to be ready to handle the normal responsibilities of a Skipper on a Club trip. The areas where improvements are needed should be clearly identified in the body of the evaluation, as well as recommendations for where and how that improvement can be obtained and can be demonstrated. When the candidate can demonstrate the required improvements and/or that he/she has gained the required additional experience, a Senior Skipper may change the “Incomplete” evaluation to “Qualified.”

Not yet ready for evaluation as prospective Skipper

In the opinion of the Senior Skipper evaluating performance on the trip in question, the knowledge, skills and/or experience of the prospective skipper as demonstrated on the trip are not sufficient to warrant further consideration as a Skipper until significant improvement can be demonstrated, and two additional recommendations obtained.

In the event that a prospective Skipper requires more than two evaluations, each checkout will be done with a different senior skipper until all possibilities have been exhausted. Only then may an evaluation skipper be repeated and again, none of these may be an individual who provided an initial recommendation for the individual’s participation. Senior Skippers who have already given the candidate a “Qualified” rating may not be called upon for a second evaluation.

When a candidate successfully completes the minimum number of successful evaluations, the Training Coordinator will recommend the individual to be a Club qualified skipper. The recommendation of the Training Coordinator is not final until the Board of Trustees approves it.

Removal of Name from Skipper Qualification Roster for Inactivity

A skipper’s name will be removed automatically from the Skipper Qualification Roster if he or she has not sailed on a Club sponsored trip as a skipper within three consecutive years. Furthermore, a Club Skipper must clearly demonstrate he/she has at least the minimum skills required to be a Club Skipper within those three years. A former skipper may be returned to the roster of active qualified skippers on the recommendation of the Training Coordinator and by approval of the Board of Trustees after successfully completing one (1) evaluative check-ride with a club senior skipper. This policy becomes effective January 30, 2006.

Removal from Skipper Qualification Roster for Cause

If a specific formal written complaint (not necessarily a comment on a trip evaluation form) regarding the performance of a club skipper is received, a board of inquiry may be convened at the discretion of the Commodore. Said board is to consist of the Vice Commodore, a Trustee of the Member-At-Large Class, and a Senior Skipper who is not also a Trustee. The Training Coordinator will represent the interests of the Club and present the complaint to the board of inquiry. The board of inquiry is then empowered to investigate the allegations by whatever means it deems appropriate, including hearing direct testimony. The board of inquiry is required to act to protect the safety and well being of the Club members.

In order to provide a fair hearing for the accused skipper that skipper shall be afforded an opportunity to testify and present evidence in his or her behalf.

The board must vote on the proposed resolution, which may range from taking no action at all up to removal of the individual from the list of Club-qualified skippers. A recommendation for removal should also include a recommendation of how the former skipper may regain his or her qualification. Reasons for convening a board of inquiry include but are not limited to physical or medical limitations affecting safety, unsafe practices aboard ship, and unexplained failure to follow club procedures.

The recommendation of the board of inquiry is not final until the Board of Trustees approves it.

Skipper Qualification Requirements

As of 06/16/2003

The following knowledge and skill areas are requirements for qualification as a Skipper with the Club. Optional skills that are developmental goals are indicated parenthetically:

Formal Training (not provided by the Club)

CPR
Basic first aid
Successful completion of at least one commercially available sailing certification such as:

Preparation for Bareboat Chartering
Preparation for Handling a Cruising Auxiliary
Introduction to Cruising

The Training Coordinator may place a high value on candidates who independently pursue additional training/certification. It demonstrates his/her commitment to developing appropriate skills for the role of skipper.

Prerequisite Knowledge Areas:

Skipper Responsibilities
Club policies
Club procedures (before, during, and after trips)
Rules of the road - Inland/International
Lights and shapes
Sound and light signals - Inland/International
Basic navigation - piloting/coastal navigation
Tides and currents (tables/calculations)
Essential and Common Knots
- Bowline
- Square knot
- Figure eight
- Cleat hitch
- Clove hitch
- Double half hitch
- Sheet bend
Rafting "theory"
Radio procedures
Heavy weather tactics
Boat systems

Demonstrated “On-Water” Skills:

Complete familiarity with purpose, content, and use of Charter Boat check in/checkout form.
Crew Briefing
Underway
- Maneuvering under power
- Docking
- Emergency Tiller Use
- Man overboard Procedures
- Anchoring
- Mooring
- Sail Handling
- Navigation-practical underway
- Rafting
- Recovery from grounding (verbal discussion acceptable)
- (Optional) Night boat handling
- (Optional)Towing