Captain's 'Command And Control' Course 2018

West Nautical hosted its annual ‘Captain’s Command and Control Course’ in association with the South Shields Marine School, Voly, Halcyon, Akzonobel Awlgrip paint factory and St James Place Wealth Management.

The course involved 2 days of immersive bridge simulator training, with a variety of evolving scenarios, which put the 8 Captains through their paces. The primary purpose of the course was to focus on the main industry issues and concerns whilst also building relationships between West Nautical, the sponsors and the Captains. The course focused on senior level training for Captains in their primary function as a navigation and commanding officer on board during emergency situations.

West Nautical along with Kate Gillespie from KG Maritime developed the simulated scenarios making them Superyacht-specific and crew-focused to ensure that the attendees gained as much experience in a realistic environment. Over the two days, the Captains had to deal with a crew stabbing in the Galley, a severe fire in the engine room, missing crew, a sea rescue of immigrants along the Gulf of Suez and mayday distress situations, all with demanding guests on the bridge and whilst dealing with major incidents happening all around them.

Captain Dean Pilatti said, “ The experience of total immersion on the bridge and the scenario roles put together by the management team makes you learn more than you would from a year at sea….If you can do it, do it simple as that, I couldn’t recommend it highly enough”

Captain Alex Whitty said, “I’m amazed this course hasn’t been made compulsory…I’ve never done a simulator course that changes organically throughout each scenario”

This year's scenarios also put West Nautical’s on-shore management team to the test, with the office team playing an integral role, dealing with the captains via telephone and testing their responses as managers.

Captain Michael Ingram said, “Being able to see what the DPA and management company did also give an insight into what they need from us to help them perform their role……There are many useful ideas and suggestions that I have taken from this course. I will be implementing changes on board and making practical use of them.”

The course also involved a presentation by Voly, to educate the Captains on their specialist yacht accountancy software, and also a trip to the Akzonobel AwlGrip paint factory. The group was taken on a tour of the factory and learnt about the management of care and maintenance of the yachts paint surfaces but also how much goes into creating this specialist paint for our industry. Halcyon also provided an insightful talk regarding cybersecurity, its developments and how it affects superyachts and the wider maritime industry. They included helpful advice around digital footprints and protecting yourself from potential online attacks.