Skippers licence

[Fila se vis]

Hi guys

My grand parents have relocated to Yzerfontein from Hentiesbay in Namibia. I tried shore fishing there and almost cried myself to sleep when comparing to Henties and Torra bay.

I have been out on Katalina(charter boat) twice, catching snoek and yellow tail at Dassen island. I was amazed at how difficult and dangerous the environment is launching at Yzerfontein harbour. I have had a total of about 8 fishing charters in total at all coasts, not much, hence my questions.

It is thus essential for me to be comfortable and have some experience before taking on the ocean there.

I am planning on doing my Cat C skippers even before looking at buying a boat.

I have a few questions for the community:

-Can the hours spent by me on fishing boats count towards my 25 hours required for the CAT C skippers, even if I was only a passenger?

-How does someone like me gain skippering experience without actually having to buy a boat and have an experienced skipper tag along?
It is also going to be flippen expensive for me to book myself 5 or so fishing charters just to see how everything gets done...

-Who would you guys recommend for the actual licence and everything? I can do anywhere in Cape Town to Langebaan.

Thanks in advance guys.

Can't wait to share pictures of the boat, hopefully soon!

Philip

 

[necrovis]

Hi Philip

Yes, you actually only need 25 hours experience on a similar vessel as a passenger. When applying for the skipper course, you need the relevant skipper to sign your log chart for the hours that you were at sea with.

I remember the hours spent on the sea as a laaitie there, and yes, Yzerfontein harbour can be quite tricky, especialy at spring tide.

There are a few places you can go bout to do your skippers. Langebaan has The yacht club and Atlantic yauchting, Samsa is in Saldanha. No need to look far. I am sure there are well reputable institutions within the Cape Town area too.

I'm sure when all is in place and you have the boat, many will be eager to assist you on deck navigating Yzerfontein.

Whenever you need a deckhand on your new boat, you know where to find me


Good luck and have fun with this.

 

[Fila se vis]

Thanks Necrovis

We are in the process of finding a quality boat to buy. What would you guys recommend? Definitely want to buy second hand, and not break the bank. The boat has to be rated for a cat C (15NM) at least, or a Cat B (40NM.

Where is the best place to go looking for second hand boats, Gumtree?

We are not looking for a monster with 2 * 200HP's on it. Just something for casual Dassen island fishing etc.

I look forward to your replies...

Phil

 

[Mahi mahi]

Welcome to the Cape Town boating fraternity!

Along with your skippers ticket you will also need to do your SRC/ short range radio ticket with DSC, by law you need a radio ticket to operate a VHF radio which is a samsa survey requirement, and most surveyors will not survey your boat without that.