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Me and the Busa have been on holiday at Lakes Entrance for 4 weeks while I'm teaching on my leave at the maritime college.
Pissed down for 4 weeks non stop.
Did get one run, but it cost me 3 points and a cash contribution to the Texas Rangers.
And stuffed the fork seals cos I tied down too much.
But it was kind of nice to see the Busa parked in the school workshop during the day. Got lots of attention and comments from the kids passing through doing coxswain and Master 5 courses.
So, out on a commercial tug for the day tomorrow so everyone can impress me with their skills on the sticks. 150 tonne lethal weapon for some of them! Usually some of them succesfully scare the shit out of me; no brakes on a ship!
Then two days of orals with the examiner coming down from Melbourne. Hopefully all 10 will pass as Master 4, and not stuff up my 100% pass rate - 7 years, 150+ candidates! I can do no more.
One water cop, 3 customs patrol boat drivers, and 7 Fishermen - fingers crossed! Master 4 is not an easy one to get.
Eaten every (gummy) shark I could find. Now less of em to eat me.
Then head home on Friday, and back to work out of Mackay on Wednesday for 4 weeks.
Be nice to get back to work and put the feet up. Brain is hurting.

Support the TAFE - what ever your skills are, take pride in them, and pass them on!

What? No pics?

is there a time served prerequisite for the master courses? I like boats just cant afford my own and no one would let me go near there own hahaha.

The school hired this little tug for the day for $1500. The owner provided an engineer and I'm the driver. I get the guys to berth and unberth the tug but using voice commands, not just pulling the levers (which is easy!).
"starboard 10, midships, slow ahead port engine, half astern starboard engine" etc. They are all pretty cocky about their driving skills until they try this. Its not something they will use, but does stretch their brains a bit. There's always a few scary moments when someone freezes and forgets what to do! Long day for me! Pub looks pretty good! Oral exams with government examiners today and tomorrow, then home for a few days. You must have a Master 5 before you can do Master 4. Coxswain is the first one to get and there are days to accrue between each level. I get a kick out of helping the guys, especially the professional fishermen who are great seaman, but just need a hand with the bookwork and studies, which can be a bit tough when you've been a long time out of a classroom!

looks like fun! Plus i like that area of Vic.