Following the storm-tossed voyage of Liquid Vortex, the sailing school boat rescued by the RNLI, in which the qualifications of various crew members were heavily criticised on Yachting Monthly’s forum, the RYA is asking what YOU want from training courses.

Do yachtsmen prefer to learn online or in the classroom? Does the syllabus need changing on some courses, or is the format of instruction outdated?

A spokeswoman said: ‘The RYA would like to hear your views on what you want from RYA courses. From what you think about current RYA courses to what you would like to see offered in the future and what type of course format you prefer. So shape your learning by helping to shape RYA training courses at http://www.ryainteractive.org. The survey is anonymous and is open until the end of April 2012.’
 
Richard Falk RYA Training Manager explains “We’re always looking at ways to improve the courses that we offer, and to ensure that we are delivering courses which suit people’s needs and which are delivered in a format that works for them. The best way for us to ensure that we are doing this is to listen, which is what the survey is all about.
 
“The survey has been running since the beginning of January and it has been really interesting reading the responses that we have received to date.
 
“For instance, over 50% of the people who have completed the survey so far have said that they would prefer to take a practical course over a short, intense period of 3-5 days rather than a modular course taught over a longer period of time. Whilst we may think something like this is what people want, the only way we can be sure is to hear it directly from the customer.