Seamanship & Training

APPLICATIONS NOW BEING PROCESSED FOR THE 2009 COURSE.  PLACES ARE BEING FILLED VERY QUICKLY - IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY APPLIED, DO SO NOW!!

ABLE SEAMAN CERTIFICATE

Do you want to learn real Traditional Square Rig Seamanship and Leadership skills?

Square Sail’s training programme will allow you to do both and more!

The 6 month long course (running from the beginning of March through to the end of August inclusive) offers a truly unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of Traditional ‘square-rig’ sailing. You will live aboard one of our three ‘period rigged’ ships, literally ‘learn the ropes’ in the time-honoured way and find out exactly how these wonderful ships are rigged and sail. You will become part of the ships' crew, totally involved in the care and maintenance of the ships as well as sailing to a variety of destinations. These passages may be purely as training cruises for you and your fellow trainee’s benefit; they may be charters, visits to various Maritime Festivals in the UK and abroad or be film or TV work.

KASKELOT, EARL of PEMBROKE, and PHOENIX have featured in dozens of feature film and TV productions over the years and are very popular ships on the Festival circuit. These ships are maintained and sea-certified at the highest level and crewed by professionals with years of ‘square-rig’ expertise.

The Square Sail certificate in Square Rig Seamanship offers the only formal, comprehensively structured training available to persons wishing to pursue a career in the ‘Tall Ship’ industry. Previously there were very limited opportunities for training of this sort either in the UK or abroad. It was possible to join various ships and ‘do square-rig sailing’ but not learn real Square Rig Seamanship. Our aim is to turn out competent professional crew for both the private and commercial sailing industries.

Some of our past trainees have not chosen to pursue a career in the marine area but have benefitted immensely from the personal development and leadership component of the course. They are unanimous that it was an unforgettable, positive experience and with hindsight would not have missed it for the world.

Our full time Instructors / Tutors personally guide you through the course modules, while our permanent crew – Captains, Mates, Bosuns and Leading Seaman will assist you master the many practical skills involved. You’ll be learning from some of the most respected professionals in their particular fields and benefiting from a unique training environment; Square Sail owns and operates the historic port of Charlestown and its extensive infrastructure of workshops and facilities.

The course fee of £5,100 includes full board and accommodation for the six months, uniform, stationery and learning materials. The additional (and optional) modules: RYA Powerboat I & II, First Aid at Sea, VHF / GMDSS radio and Sea Survival are charged separately.