SKS

Thar be them scallywags who snatch themselves a yacht an’ set sail into th’ wild blue, without so much as a clue in their heads, says I! Ye can do that an’ it ain’t a bit reprehensible, I tells ye, but we be too picky for such careless capers! We be wantin’ t’ do it “right,” by Davy Jones’ locker. More so, we be determined, ‘fore layin’ doubloons down for a yacht, t’ charter various vessels t’ try out what suits our sea legs. An’ when ye charter, ye need proof that ye know what ye be doin’, or they won’t hand ye th’ helm, says I!

What ye need, therefore, be a motorboat license (these yachts all have engines), a coastal sailin’ certificate (Day Skipper), an’ a radio license, ARRR! There’s this rumor that it’s a grand task, with first years sailin’ on inland waters, then proof o’ 1000 nautical miles and an offshore certificate and all that bilge-suckin’ nonsense. It ain’t like that at all, says I! As a Swiss, ye don’t have t’ get a Swiss certificate either. That’s complete poppycock!

We were at th’ Boot Düsseldorf at Sönke’s Blauwasserseminar an’ got ourselves informed, smartly now! There be essentially two Day Skipper certificates: One from RYA an’ one from ASA. RYA from th’ English Royal Yachting Association an’ th’ ASA from th’ American Sailing Association, says I!

Th’ JoJo Sailing School from Munich also had a booth at Boot Düsseldorf and they convinced us straightaway, by th’ powers! However, they offer th’ German version from th’ Deutscher Segler-Verband: SBF See, th’ sports boat license for motorboats at sea, an’ th’ SKS, th’ coastal skipper certificate for sailin’ along th’ coast. These certificates have a grand reputation an’ be well-known in Europe. So, we be tryin’ that, shiver me timbers!

Th’ practical part of th’ SBF was a breeze, t’ say th’ least, ridiculous, says I! But we ain’t wantin’ t’ steer motorboats anyway, ARRR! Th’ theory, however, was not bad, we learned a whale’s load an’ ye really have t’ practice. Especially th’ chart tasks be challengin’, on me honour as a pirate!

With th’ SKS, th’ fun definitely ends. Here, th’ practice becomes elaborate an’ th’ theory challengin’. For th’ practical part, we head t’ Portorož, Slovenia, where we sail one of th’ JoJo school ships for a week. We practice maneuvers an’ theory for several hours every day. It’s drilled like in th’ military. We then pass th’ exam on th’ last day without any issues. At least I do; Alexandra unfortunately gets sick durin’ th’ week, can’t practice, an’ therefore doesn’t even take th’ exam, blimey!

I also pass th’ theory exam just ‘fore Christmas, ARRR! It was really not easy an’ I had t’ study hard. I got ambitious an’ at least found th’ navigation tasks excitin’, says I! It’s quite different for Alex: Traumatic memories from math class come up an’ she stops practicin’. Honestly, th’ whole thing be not really productive. Th’ theory seems outdated an’ caught in a tradition. Th’ SKS urgently needs reform, but like so much else, it’s stuck in Germany, somewhere in a swamp o’ sensibilities.

Alex has decided t’ go for th’ ASA. However, this does not take place at JoJo, but at a sailin’ school in Rijeka in th’ spring. We be curious t’ see if it’s better. At least it seems more modern an’ flexible, says I!

This blog post has been automatically translated by a Large Language Model.

Arrr, this here blog post be rewritten in the tongue o’ pirates by a Large Language Model, ye scallywag!