Day Skipper & Competent Crew

Publisher: Amberley Marine, £39.95
Publication Date: 2003

The RYA’s Tim Bartlett apparently wrote the script for this 78 minute Amberley Marine DVD. The programme is “interactive” in that you can view each section separately. It is divided into 11 sections such as Setting Sails; Starting the engine; Anchoring; Man Overboard, Reefing, etc. Each section deals with the basic techniques in a modern cruising yacht using simple language clearly linked to video footage and graphics (sometimes helpfully overlaid). As a beginners’ introduction this approach tells the story well. But the DVD lacks an educational structure, for example the learning points of each section should be set out at the beginning and then summarised at the end. It is perhaps surprising that a £40 educational product should break this basic educational principal. There are also occasional details which are wrong – the video equivalent of typo’s I suspect. One example was where the voiceover says “Before hoisting the mainsail, the main sheet is slackened off” and the video is of a sheet which is a bit slack but very much still cleated off. Overall this is a visually pleasant rather than an educationally competent attempt to use DVD as a means of learning about sailing. It would be a good DVD to watch before you embark for some practical learning afloat, when it gives a good general feel for what’s involved. Its educational structure needs development for it to be fully useful as a teaching tool. - RC