Class Is In Session!

Scott started his marine survey class on January 5th. He was apprehensive, afraid that it wouldn't be challenging, and he might not learn too much. He was pleasantly surprised. He LOVES the class, and learns a lot of new things every day.

The campus is just down the street from us, about 10 minutes by bike. The actual campus, meaning buildings, is relatively small. The bulk of the property is full of boats. There are boats, and more boats, and still more boats, on land and in water. You can even buy one from the school.

The instructor is the regional director of SAMS(Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors)for Florida and the Caribbean. Scott says that he's a great teacher. There are speakers scheduled, as well as days out on boats(here are a few pics of sailboat day). Yesterday, a surveyor stopped in, who was from Towson! In the next few weeks, it'll be all hands on boat work.

Scott's in class from 8:30-3:30 each day, he says that the days fly by. There's a lot of work to do out of class. He spends 3-5 hours a night reading and reviewing surveys that he brings home, and every Monday there is a quiz in class. He'll have to do three surveys for class, in lieu of exams. The final survey will be submitted to SAMS. Their review board reads it, and decides whether you are accepted in or not. We're spending time figuring out how to enter the page bodies into our computer. Scott loves the reading, as it's technical stuff that he's interested in(except for the reading on wooden boats), but wasn't expecting so much of it. An addition to the classwork, Scott will be studying for the ABYC(American Boat and Yacht Council) standards exam, that he'll take on the last day of class. This will allow him to be certified in the standards of ABYC, something that you want as a surveyor. He's also trying to fit in boat projects and fixes, as well as planning our leg to the keys. Busy days!

There are eight students in class, from all over the country: California, Missouri, Maine, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Scott's become pretty good friends with John, from Mass. They are both in the same kind of work, and are both looking to change careers. John is renting a trailer just south of here(cheaper than the dorms). His poor wife is at home, in Mass., in the snow! John came over to pick up Scott on Saturday, and they went to the Stuart Boat Show for the day. They had a good time crawling around boats and taking pictures for class. I'm glad he's found someone to talk about class stuff with, who understands it better than me! :)