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Crews
The emphasis has again focussed on the importance that the Directors place on having appropriately qualified people in charge of the boats. All of our Skippers have now obtained their Helmsman’s Certificates or hold a higher qualification and it is our firm intention to ensure that all of the Skippers have an appropriate qualification.
As in all walks of life qualifications and certification of ability are becoming more and more a requirement of operation and insurance and to this end the Seagull Trust has instituted a training and certification scheme for our boat skippers, under the auspices of the Royal Yachting Association. Under a recent E. U. Directive it is now a requirement that all of our Skippers have to hold a qualification approved by the Marine and Coastguard Agency. Some of our skippers are professional ship captains and seamen, many of them holding recognised Master Mariner Certificates of Competency, however the majority are volunteers and it is to these people that we give a formal training. Captain Gordon Daly, one of our Trustees, has completed the RYA Inland Waterways Helmsmans Instructors Course and as Principal of our own RYA Training Centre he, assisted by the Chairman of the Kirkintilloch Branch, Hamish Nicoll, who is also a certificated RYA IWHC instructor, run courses for the Seagull Trust volunteers. The RYA have reviewed our facilities, and our Falkirk, Ratho and Kirkintilloch Branches are now R.Y.A. Recognised Training Centres, where Capt. Daly and Mr. Nicoll conduct the courses with the skippers using their own canal boats on their own stretches of canal. The course covers all aspects of cruising on inland waterways including boat handling, mooring, using locks, bridges etc., all of which is applicable to our operations. Whilst this was not a requirement until recently, the fact that we have been conducting these courses for some years signals to our clients, and canal users in general, that we are “professional” in our outlook and aim to provide a safe and secure environment for passengers. These courses can only be conducted with volunteers of the Seagull Trust, they are not available to outside individuals.
As always we are very grateful to all of the crew members for the time and dedication they put into their tasks and the additional time to take training. All of this ensures that our passengers can relax and have a happy and enjoyable experience knowing that they are in safe hands.
Seagull Trust Cruises is always looking for volunteers, so if you live in, or adjacent to, the area of any of our Branches and feel you can give some of your free time to help disabled people, please contact one of the Local Committee Members detailed on the Branch pages, or the address above, for more information
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