RYA compeition winners enjoy a day of personal motorboat tuition 

A chance to practise boat handling with an expert...

Kate and Adrian Parkhouse from Eastbourne were the lucky winners of the RYA’s prize draw competition to win a day’s personal tuition with RYA Instructor Jon Mendez owner of Mendez Marine and author of the RYA Day Skipper Handbook Motor, which was launched at the London Boat Show in January.  

Adrian and Kate, who have a 25ft Doral called ‘Slip Jig’ which they keep at Sovereign Harbour in Eastbourne, were delighted that Jon was able to join them on their boat to make the most of the day’s tuition.  

“We gave a lot of thought to what we wanted to concentrate on during the day” explained Adrian. “We are still very much novices in the boating world, and although we both gained our Day Skipper/ ICC qualifications a couple of years ago, we still consider ourselves very inexperienced, especially in less-than-perfect conditions, having never intentionally ventured to sea in more than a Force 3 to 4 or if the words "Moderate" or worse appeared in the sea conditions part of the forecast.  

“We decided, therefore, that it would be good if we could concentrate on handling the boat at sea in roughish conditions, and berthing etc. in strong winds.”  

Weather doesn't disappoint!

Luckily the weather didn’t disappoint as the morning dawned in true British Summer fashion with Force 5 to 6 winds!  “These were conditions in which we would normally definitely stay tied to the berth, and put the kettle on”, explained Kate. 

“However Jon's calm confident manner soon had us locking-out into Eastbourne Bay.”  

The sea conditions were not actually as bad as first feared be, but were ideal for what Adrian and Kate hoped to achieve from the day. With the benefit of a strong wind with tide, they spent over an hour learning how to achieve a comfortable ride using throttle, power trim and trim tabs, both "with" and against the tide.  

Pontoon bashing

“On our return to the relative shelter of the marina, we spent a long time "pontoon bashing", continued Adrian.  “Jon taught us the techniques for berthing, and leaving, in strong winds which were either blowing the boat on to the pontoon, or off it.

Later, safely back on the berth (and somewhat drier!) over a cup of coffee and a late lunch, Jon was more than happy for both of us to fire questions at him on all aspects of boating.  

“It was a very enjoyable and interesting day, in which we both learned a great deal. As in his book, Jon explained everything in a clear, friendly and easy to understand way, and his enthusiasm for boating was obvious. We were very grateful for this opportunity to spend a day with such a professional instructor, and such a pleasant, interesting man. Despite getting wet and cold, we spent a lot of the day laughing!!” concluded Kate.  

Jon Mendez who provided the day’s training commented:  “It was a pleasure to meet Kate and Adrian and we had a nice breezy day to practise some more advanced boat handling so that they gained a bit of extra confidence of what their boat is capable of!”  

You can purchase a copy of RYA Day Skipper Handbook Motor written by Jon Mendez through the RYA shop at www.rya.org.uk/shop