Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2010 | Page 77

on the water

Island Life - August/September 2010

Tim Griffin of East Cowes-based Griffin

a shopping trolley! And of course there are

Marine Services, is a man with a mission.

no brakes. Suddenly you think ‘how do I stop

He wants all power boat users to be aware

this thing’ and we make sure you do know

of the perils that can be thrown up by the

how.

unforgiving sea, and know just how to deal
with them when the need arises.
Tim offers courses on all forms of power

“With a motor cruiser you need one hand
on the steering wheel and one hand on each
of the two throttles – basically you need

boats, from jet skis and RIBS to palatial

to be an octopus, or come on a course and

24-metre motor cruisers. We asked him to

learn how to do it calmly and sensibly.”

explain why he feels courses are so important

Another vital factor, according to Tim, is

to anyone venturing out on the high seas

being aware what the wind and the tide

in any form of the boats their companies

will try to do to you, and trying to make

embrace.

the elements your friends. He continued:

Although he covers all ranges of courses,

“Any fool can drive a boat in a straight line

we asked Tim to specifically elaborate on the

or around a corner, but the thing about

top-end Motor Cruiser market. He said: “The

these courses is that you receive a basic

courses available fall into the categories of

understanding, and are not going to cause

helmsman, a two-day course; day skipper, a

chaos and mayhem to other boat users.

four-day course; coastal skipper which is a

“You also need the understanding of

five day course, and after that you can get

charts to know where the rocks, deep water,

your certificate for coastal skipper, yacht

shipping lanes and the like are. Depending

master coastal and yacht master offshore.

on where you are in the Solent you have

“We also run navigation and theory

to give vessels of more than 150 metres in

courses, because it is not just about driving

length a clearance of 1,000 metres ahead

a boat, you need to know about navigation

and 100 metres either side.”

– the rules of the road so to speak. And then

The Royal Yachting Association courses

there is VHF and first aid. We are almost like

cater for motor cruisers up to 24 metres,

a One Stop Shop.”

with Tim’s own training vessel half that

The helmsman course is basically an

length. He says: “I wouldn’t advise anyone

introduction to boating, making users safe

who wins the lottery to go out and buy a

in familiar waters by day. As Tim pointed

24mt boat - that’s nearly 80ft. The thing

out: “The most difficult part of driving a

with a smaller boat is that you will use it

boat is getting it off the pontoon without

more. It is lovely to have a huge ‘gin palace’

hitting anything. Then after a play out in the

but it does restrict you in places you can go

sunshine, you have to put the boat back on

with it. About 30ft is a nice size, but when

to the pontoon without hitting anything.

you start getting up to 50ft you do start

“And of course you have to remember a
boat does not drive like a car – it drives like
Visit our new website - www.visitislandlife.com

running out of places to take it.”
Basically the helmsman course is fine for
77