Charles has an excellent classroom facility just across from the slipway, so no time is wasted on the course. He has catering facilities in-house, so again, no wandering off. This means that you get the best use of time possible.
The weather was fairly poor with rain and strong breezes, running into gales. Luckily the wind was from the shore for most of the time, so the sea state was OK, just. We had a lot of fun and I certainly learned a lot from the two days. Perhaps most of all, I realised just how much more work I need to do!
Hirta the 850 was a blessing. She kept us warm and dry and felt stable and secure at all times. She has an excellent turn of speed from her twin Suzi 150s, making over 40kts loaded. Charles has her perfectly rigged for this type of work. He can fit two extra navigation stations for students, making her perfect for three on an advanced course. The nav. stations have working GPS and VHF over the chart tables. These can be removed easily and the base turned back into a pod seat. The four aft pods have clever lift off bases that can come away to clear space for cargo/equipment.
The boat/canopy works so well, that even in a horrible F7 hooley, I was able to grab a bit of video on my phone.
The center runs a comprehensive range of RYA courses and other specialities. Charles is a patient but thorough instructor. I'd recommend him to anyone. He also runs island/coast trips for hikers and bikers, so keep him in mind if you want to take a walk on the wild side...
Thanks for everything Charles!
)
Cait
