proficiency

"Can you sail Heron without a permit?" Several have asked us about this. The answer is yes. In Denmark, you do not need any kind of permit to sail a sailboat.

Well yes only if the boat is shorter than 15 meters. If it is longer, you must have a training as a yacht skipper. Similar rules apply in most other countries in Europe. But not on the rivers and canals. If you want to sail on them, you must have a canal certificate no matter how long the boat is. Well yes only if you own the boat. If you rent it, strangely enough, you do not need a channel certificate. 

But since we owned Heron, and wanted to sail on canals and rivers to the Mediterranean, at least one of us had to have a canal certificate.

The certificate was available from the Danish Sailing Union. Courses and exams were online. Easy, flexible and reasonably priced.

MEN

you could only sign up for the course if you had a certificate of proficiency. We did not have that. So we started figuring out how to get one. There were several who offered courses and who also arranged the theoretical and practical exam. Once both had passed, you could have your certificate of competency issued by the Danish Maritime Authority.

On the web we found a great deal. One joined an association. Passed a coastal sailing and guest test, after which you were given access to the course. All online. When you felt sufficiently confident in the material, you could register for the exam yourself with one of the Danish Maritime Authority's censors. 

Price DKK 198 all inclusive. It was furiously cheap.

I both joined the association and immediately started the coastal sailing and guest test. A few hours later I had answered the many questions. I clicked the submit button. It was acknowledged with an email wishing me good luck with passing the tests and ending with a password so I could log in to the course.

I left the computer to Pia. She entered her contact information and spent the rest of the evening answering the over 400 questions.

But the receipt with the friendly mail with congratulations and password did not appear.

The next afternoon she finally got her mail. But what now? It stated that she had cheated and therefore was not eligible for the course. But she could then get her 198 kroner back if she had lost the desire to join the association.

Strange 

There could only be one explanation. She had come to use my login.

She replied to the harsh email that she had inadvertently come to use her husband's login. 

"I therefore hope it is possible to consider the tests passed?" She concluded her email.

But no. No dear mother helped here.

There was nothing to do but spend a few hours taking the two samples again. This time with its own login.

After a few more hours behind the computer, Pia finally received an email with congratulations and password. Now she finally had access to the course as well.

I contacted one of the Danish Maritime Authority's censors and agreed on an exam date. 

In the next month, we plowed our way through the curriculum and solved tasks in sea rules, navigation, sailing planning, meteorology and safety. 

On the day of the exam, we were visited by the censor and were examined in our theoretical and practical skills. We passed and each received proof that we have a permit to operate recreational craft of up to 15 meters in Danish and international waters. We already had the permission to drive a sailboat of up to 15 meters. 

Well, but it could not hurt to also have a proof of it. Without the certificate of competency, we would not have been able to sign up for the course in canal sailing and get a canal certificate. And without it we could not get to the Mediterranean. 

If only we would sail there on Europe's rivers and canals.