I disagree with the motive sometime, but the whole system is backwards so it only makes practical sense to bypass all the nonsense and go right to MOT. Some of that will be changing as the 2010 amendments come into force, but the system doesn’t entirely make sense, and can’t blame SOME Mariners in these cases.
Its hard to blame someone for driving the speed limit, but when the bar is set ridiculously low, and too easy to fake, the license becomes meaningless.
if you were driving down a regular residential street in your town and noticed that the local government had arbitrarily decided to change all of the speed limit signs from “30” to “100” would you go that speed? Would you think it was okay for others to do it because it’s now “legal”? More to the point, would you be okay with sharing the road with others driving at that speed there, even if you wouldn’t?
The Coast Guard should never have opened the door for the 30-Day Wonders, true. But there’s a principle known as self-restraint that can be exercised by anyone, all on their own. People who are too proud or dumb to show a little self-restraint when it’s called for are a danger to everyone around them.
Part of the problem with setting the bar that low is that those that don’t know any better figure it must be fine since the Coast Guard approved it. Trying to talk someone out of it, especially when money is at stake, is nearly impossible. Decking before steering is usually considered an obstacle to be avoided, rather than an important learning position.
Knowing all this, I’ll never accept that route as legitimate, no matter what stamp someone has in their MMC. And I’d certainly never bet my safety, or that of anyone else, on it.
True. It would have been much better if the USCG required an approved training program 90 days long for Mate of Towing.
Master of Towing ought to require at least 180 days sailing as a Mate of Towing on an actual tugboat.
AHTS time should only count for the days actually towing or running anchors (damn few out of the total time onboard).