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Yachtmaster at 50
Reading your article about the Yachtmaster scheme reminds me that in my loft I have a certificate from the Navy for an Offshore Skipper. It dates from 1969 while I was posted to the Naval College in Dartmouth as a trainee. This was before the RYA did sailing certificates.
My Divisional (section) yacht there was a 1930s ‘Windfall yacht’ (German government training yachts allocated to the victors of the Second World War) of 54ft overall.
After several autumn weekend cruises I was selected to be the Skipper for the following season, so in March I was told that if I navigated the yacht from its winter berth in Plymouth back to Dartmouth, that would count as my Day Skipper certificate. Oh, and sailing the boat alongside a pontoon in
