VHF Marine Radio course.

Ten club members attended the VHF Marine Radio course and assessment on 11th and 12th May, run by Bay Sea School, Morecambe. 

The Short Range Certificate is the minimum qualification required by law to control a handheld VHF radio, such as we use in sea kayaking . Once you have the licence it is valid for life. The course involved 3 hours pre-course study, a full day classroom course plus a written and practical assessment . 

We all felt the course was very well run , blending theory with our instructor John’s practical knowledge from a long time at sea. He gave us plenty of hands-on practice in operating dummy radios . It was a very valuable experience to feel you were making  Mayday, Pan-Pan and Security calls “for real” , rather than just reading how to do it . You realise how the adrenaline takes over and therefore having a strict protocol on what information to give, and in which order, is vital in a crisis situation.  

I had never even held a radio before, others had used radios but realised how much they didn’t know, or had forgotten. 

Feedback from the course was very positive , for example : “I did the same course 10 yrs ago , but because I avoid using my radio unless it is absolutely necessary, I had forgotten most of what I had been taught. With improved confidence I now hope to use the radio more , and that has got to be better and safer”

Nicola 

Sea kayak skills – Brighouse Bay

Tuesday/Wednesday 7/8 May 2024

On a very pleasant sunny wind free Tuesday at Brighouse Bay for the practise and tuition session before assessment on the Wednesday by the posse made up of Kaz Field, Nicola Hartley, Sally Soady, Ray C , with leaders/assessors Mike H and John Soady.

We had spring tides 7.55M 11:30hr HW 18:09Hr low water winds 4-5mph SSE, 
Brighouse Bay is a lovely sandy bay, but it drains out a long way as we found out at the end of our session where we had a significant walk back carrying or wheeling our kayaks.

A total of 19 items were on the assessment form, but towing, self rescue and sideways paddling came up as working in progress …..extra practise was needed
So practise we did……….with a large array of different strokes, practised through some rock hopping ,towed with various lengths of rope, self rescued, and covered off all the items in the assessment sheet (located under forms and policies in the LCC website)

Tuesday evening was beautiful, windless sunny and clear with terrific views over Kirkcudbright …..with an impromptu BBQ at my caravan which was deemed a success by all the participants!

On the Wednesday assessment day we were joined by Giles. 

7.40M HW 11:58hr , LW 18:30hrs, Winds variable 10-15mph SSE 
Weather conditions on the day were quite variable, we had the whole gamut of sun, cloud, sea mist and wind up to around 15mph. We paddled from Brighouse bay around the headlands towards Little Ross island. We caught the changing tide and managed to get a short run on a bit of a tidal race. 
All through the day we were set various tasks and questioned on all the items in the assessment list.

Can you tell your draw stroke from your sculling draw? – that was the question…along with many others!

 We paddled for the full day (10:00hr on the water to 15:00hrs) , and were we were set various tasks and questioned on all the items in the assessment lists, with the final self recovery tests left until last……we were all successful in this exercise ….well done Sally! who had been nervous about doing it, but did it with excellence!

Ray trying to emulate Michelin man during self recovery practise

The day concluded , we were each seen individually and advised of our fate…..but we all were deemed satisfactory and advised of our success with a few few pointers of what we should continue to focus on.

 A big thank you to both Mike and John for giving their time and expertise!

Ray Clark