Crew Rating
Contents
Purpose
The purpose of the Crew Rating is to allow a sailor to demonstrate a mastery of nautical terminology, seamanship knowledge, line-handling, and marlinspike skills that can be used on a wide variety of boats at and beyond MIT.
History
The Original Crew Rating was a pre-requisite for obtaining a Helmsman Rating at MIT. In the 1990s, this fell out of practice and since then, the Crew Rating test is rarely given.
Proposal for New Crew Rating
It has been proposed that the Crew Rating return as a mechanism for MIT sailors to learn and demonstrate advanced nautical skills and knowledge. In particular, it has been suggested that this rating should encompass skills that are especially applicable to sailing outside of the Charles River, such as on harbor trips in the Lynx Catboats, or on bluewater sailboats such as Nevermore.
In addition, it has been suggested that a new Crew rating would be a stepping stone for sailors to work towards becoming a bluewater skipper.
If you have specific thoughts about this rating, please discuss them in the Talk:Crew Rating section.
One Crew Ratings
One idea is to have a single new Crew rating that is applicable to skills need on harbor trips in smaller boats, such as the Lynx Catboats, as well as skill needed on larger boats such as Nevermore.
Two Crew Ratings
An alternate idea would be to have separate "Harbor Trip Crew" and "Bluewater Crew" ratings.
Several Crew Ratings
A third idea would be to have a myriad of new Crew ratings, each of which would focus on a specific set of skills or knowlege, such as:
- Advanced knots and line handling
- Mooring and anchoring
- Navigation and chart reading
- Advanced navigation rules
- Nautical terminology and boat parts
- Engine maintenance
- Advanced sail trim
- GPS usage
If you have opinions about these possibilities, please discuss them in the Talk:Crew Rating section.
