Caribbean youth, doing Boatmaster is cool

This blog is for young Caribbean people whose minds have never considered a career with boats (and their parents). If you don't personally know anyone connected to boats, you probably never think about boats unless you have to go in one. That probably means you've never thought about working on a boat or learning about boats. We will try to change your mind and get you more interested in boats. It's a good idea, you live on an island, so listen up.

The Hollywood image of a captain  is an old man with a white beard. Actually, captains and people working toward being a captain come in a range of ages and both genders. So anyone can join.

The boat industry is one where professionals have to keep themselves upgraded with the latest technologies and regulations at regular intervals. SSNT has courses for both sea going and onshore professionals to be skilled and knowledgeable in the dynamic boat industry.

The SSNT Boatmaster programme was created for both private and professional seafarers and has value for shore-based workers in nautical-related jobs. In its entirety it is a vocational programme to provide competencies and knowledge of seafarers, who hold or want to hold licences for operating vessels in inshore waters. The programme provides participants with deeper learning of the methods, techniques and equipment used on inshore commercial vessels.

The most important values which inform the SSNT programme are the need for the Caribbean to have the human resources that can coexist with its coastal resources. Boat operators in the Caribbean need to work to the highest standards of quality, safety and environmental awareness. Whether the boat is carrying passengers to fishing grounds and scuba diving spots, or carrying chemicals and equipment to an offshore oil platform, a Caribbean boat operator should be able to do both to the same high standards.    

The most important intellectual skills developed in the SSNT Boatmaster programme are being able assess boats, equipment, seafarers and the environment for operational fitness, as well as planning, executing and monitoring basic boat operations in coastal waters. The navigational units in this programme are specifically focused on the Trinidad coastal waters giving students a detailed knowledge. The seamanship units in the programme are focused of the types of operations that occur most frequently in Trinidad waters.

The most useful practical skills, techniques and capabilities developed are: how to prepare an inshore boat for port operations, plan and prepare for maintenance of the inshore vessel’s hull and machinery, carry passengers in accordance with best safety practices and prepare a detailed passage plan between ports in the Caribbean Trading Area.

On completing the SSNT Boatmaster programme, we want students to know and understand how to: maintain a marine safety management system on a boat, ensure operations are completed without negative impacts on the environment, compute compass error and apply it to courses and bearings

On completing the SSNT Boatmaster programme, we want students to be able to: inspect an inshore boat for seaworthiness, take charge of a navigational watch, avoid collisions on vessels in sight of one another, manoeuvre a boat less than 24 metres in length, plot navigation positions and courses on nautical charts, load and unload deck cargo on an inshore boat with due regard to safety and stability, secure deck cargo on an inshore boat with due regard to safety and stability