In the know

As the pace of life increases in Dubai and more people are attracted by the delights of being out of the water, especially being a boat owner, the prospect of regulation will gain impetus, particularly some kind of ‘driving licence'. While compulsory in many countries around the world, the UAE matches the UK in not currently enforcing any type of user licence, allowing anyone to take to the water in any type of registered craft, possibly with no experience of driving a boat or knowledge of the regulations. With Dubai's love of paperwork and culpability, I'm sure this is a situation that will be under review.

Training makes sense

Whatever sport you indulge in, training always has a negative connotation. Going to the nets for cricket practice or rugby training is never has the same enjoyment stakes as playing an actual game, but without the progression of skills and fitness, that end game will never improve: it's a simple circle of development. The same can be said for all aspects of boat handling, sailing and navigation - the more you learn about skills, processes and techniques, the more enjoyment you will get out of being on the water. Though it is certainly harder to step onto a sailing yacht and set off never having been on the water before, when it comes to the modern key-start powerboat, there is a temptation to skip the learning stage and jump straight into the ‘doing'.

Lack of training choice

As there is currently no compulsory qualification, there are very few training centres in the UAE where an internationally endorsed qualification can be acquired, and they are limited to being under either the British Royal Yachting Association (RYA) or American International Yacht Training (IYT) authority bodies. Both systems offer courses for both power and sail to take novices all the way up to professional and commercial certification requirements, and both are now internationally recognised by National Sailing Authorities as being up to standard in terms of their exam structure.

Choosing the right course

Having already done RYA courses, I went to Knotika Sea School (KSS) and its experienced Principal instructor Christian Kaden, to find out what getting a skipper's qualification with IYT would be like. With offices and a training room in the Knotika Marine Mall, KSS runs its practical element out of DIMC marina in a twin outboard engined GC Marine Adora 38. Running a cyclical season by operating in Dubai during the autumn/spring season, then returning to Mallorca for the Mediterranean high season, Christian is in the early stages of building up the range and frequency of courses offered in his Dubai operations as demand increases. Picking IYT power courses that take the beginner to the position of being able to command a yacht unsupervised, KSS offers training and qualifications for the IYT Small Powerboat and RIB master course and the IYT International Bareboat Skipper Certificate, While the Small Powerboat course can be taken over a weekend, combining practical elements of boat handling to the basics of daylight navigation and the rules of the road, for the more serious traveller, the International Bareboat Skipper Certificate is the course to go for. Not only is this a useful qualification that will in all likelihood be transferable if a Dubai licence is brought in, but to charter a yacht bareboat around the world, a certificate of some degree is always required.

Getting Certified

Set over a two-week period, the IYT Bareboat Skipper Certificate Course combines seven nights of theory with three practical days, and then a whole morning of theory and practical examination to complete the certificate. Starting at 6.30 each evening, sailors of all calibre found themselves in the Knotika Marine Mall Training room, sat around desks that surround a central projector. On my course we had two professional crew who were already employed in the UAE and looking to further their position, one businessman who was looking to start a charter business and an engineer who had always wanted to own a boat, but was not going to take his family out until he knew what to do. While at first it felt a bit like being back at college, as we were all given our course books, navigational equipment and had to introduce ourselves, this was very quickly lost as we were thrown deep into the rules of the road, navigational tests and knots. All of us having different levels of experience, but all with the aim of getting the qualification that would authorise us to be in control of a 15-metre powerboat, Christian worked through the modular course booklets night after night, ensuring that we were up to speed with the theoretical elements of being a skipper. A bit like going back to take a driving test, it is amazing how many points you forget or get lazy about remembering. While admittedly the average Dubai-based sailor is back in port well before having to correctly identify the lights of a tug with a 200 metre tow, that is no excuse if the situation ever arose.

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