Guidance on becoming a Sunstar Club Coxswain

You should inform the Boat Officer (BO) or Diving Officer (DO) of your wish to become a Cox. The best way to do the assessment is to use an existing Club trip but this will depend on the Cox in charge. You can also gain experience of using the club boat by assisting existing Cox's on club trips. Working in pairs will lighten the load and make it fun. Existing Cox's will only be too happy to have your assistance so get in touch with them and offer to help organise a trip.

The route to gaining a club Cox qualification will depend on your qualifications and experience. You are likely to fit into one of the categories listed below. If you don't then speak to the Boat Officer or Diving Officer.

a) "I have no experience or qualification of handling a boat"

You should attend a boat handling course, gain a minimum of 4 hours of actual boat handling experience on the club boat after the course and then go for a Club Cox assessment (by the club) or apply for a Diver Cox assessment (via BSAC).

b) "I am already qualified with BSAC or under another agency"

You should present your qualification(s) to the BO/DO. If your qualifications are accepted you will be expected to demonstrate all of the skills listed in the Club Cox assessment document before being approved to use the club boat. If your qualifications are not acceptable then the route will be as described in (a) above.

c) "I am an experienced boat user but have no formal qualifications"

This will depend entirely on the kind of experience you have which may range from using a sailing boat to a very large vessel. You will be expected to fully demonstrate the skills set out in the Club Cox assessment document. If you have never used a powerboat then the route will be the same as for (a) above.

d) "I am qualified (BSAC or other agency) but have not used a boat for over a year"

Gain experience on the club boat and then apply for a Club or Diver Cox assessment.

If you do an assessment and the assessor requires you to brush up some aspects you should gain further experience and then go back to the same assessor for completion of the assessment. If this is not possible you should present the Club Coxswain assessment sheet to the new assessor. The assessor can cover minor points by questioning the candidate during the debriefing session.

To summarise you need to:

• Have a recognised qualification or appropriate experience
• Gain experience of using the club boat
• Be assessed (Club Cox or Diver Cox)

The above should cover the majority of scenarios that we need to deal with most of the time. It is not the intention of this document to describe every possible scenario or result that the assessment is likely to encounter. The aim is to provide guidance.

A log sheet, a passage planning sheetand a club cox assessment sheet are available.