Boating back on TAFE agenda

by Tracy Thomas on 8 Oct 2001 Northern Beaches College, widely known in the maritime world as Brookvale TAFE, will re-commence offering Recreational Boating courses
from October 2001.

The college is renowned among recreational boaties for the quality and practicality of its teaching. All teachers are highly experienced mariners
in large and small boats – both power and sail. All are qualified as Australian Yachting Federation Yachtmaster-Offshore Instructors and all
have extensive teaching experience in adult education.

The College will be offering courses in Meteorology, Coastal Navigation and Safety and Sea Survival this year. More exciting courses such as
Celestial Navigation, Seamanship and Basic Sailing will be offered next year.

Meteorology covers the topics necessary to understand weather phenomena, including weather report interpretation, and weather prediction.
Coastal Navigation is a course familiar to all seafarers and will follow the AYF Syllabus. It will qualify the boaties to the AYF Yachtmaster
Offshore level in both the National Powerboat and the National Yacht Cruising Schemes.

Safety and Sea Survival is the new AYF course that is mandatory for a percentage of crew on ocean racing yachts. This was developed
following the coroner’s report into the 1998 Sydney Hobart yacht race. Students will obtain first hand experience in a liferaft and gain sea
survival skills. The course will culminate in a challenging wet drill.

For course information and enrolments please contact the Maritime Team at Northern Beaches College, 154, Old Pittwater Road, Brookvale
NSW 2100. Telephone (02) 9941-5310, 9941-5311, 9941-5232 or 9941-5245; e-mail tracey.thomas@tafensw.edu.au