Deepbluesea Opiniones 2

The teacher (Gonzalo) was very good and I learned allot from him. Really enjoyed the course and would really recommend this service.

Avoid this company!! I enrolled for their RYA Yachtmaster Offshore theory course taking place 2nd half November 2024. I also booked a following week for practical at sea. My choice of maritime school was based on a article serie in a Swedish sailing magazine, an unfortunate decision it turned out.

A) Deep Blue Sea Training DBST didn't provide any deeper information about what magnitude of preparation was needed before entering the theory course. "This course provides theory knowledge to the standard required for the Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Offshore practical exams." Since I am an experienced sailor with a range of navigational certs, I felt convinced the course should be manageable to me. However, their claim about the course is very false and I pulled out before entering the second week of practical at sea. Instead the theory course is just a very brief opportunity to polish off the knowledge you should have gained on your own. That message was never aired from DBST. For me, this course is not a teaching class, it is just a way for DBST to earn extra money from unsecure students who think they will be sufficiently prepared for the exam by attanding this course. Nothing can be more wrong!

B) DBST is very poor in their communication to students. E.g. only ten days prior to course start they issued a list of material for the preparation. Material to be ordered from UK which would have taken at least two weeks for delivery since UK is outside EU. Enquiries in mails sent to the office are, if ever attended, replied on after a very long time.

C) DBST is very focused on earning money, as soon as you ask for something not according to the administration rules they charge you money. When I called for a meeting with them on the fourth day of the course, explaining my concerns that I was far from being prepared for the exam in two days, and the reasons to it, the immediate response was that I couldn't move the second week of practical. Instead, if I pulled out now I would lose the 1200 € I had paid for the practical week. "You can read about the terms on our webpage", I was told.

D) The theory teacher we hade was a person probably with a lot of experience but with an awful lack of pedagogical skills which added to my decision to pull out from the theoretical exam. He also showed a few terrible examples of not knowing his stuff, e.g. light characters and frequency of tidal LAT and HAT. Too much of ad hoc jumping back and fourth in the agenda also added to the unstructured way of executing a theoretical week.

E) When I had a meeting with DBST the second last day of the course, airing my concerns that I didn't learn enough in the course and hence my chances to succeed in the exam were bad, they refused to move my practical week until a later date. I had paid 1200€ and I wouldn't not be given those back if pulling out now. I had paid extra for being able to do such alterations in the education but my concerns were not aired early enough, they said.

F) Trying to save some of the lost money, and after having returned home after the first week, I managed to purchase an online theoretical course (issued by Skippers Online) through DBST so that I could prepare at home before entering a new practical week during spring 2025. I paid DBST almost 400€, they confirmed payment received and then they never came back (!!), meaning I couldn't do the online course. I waited for two weeks constantly seeking contact with DBST but in vain. They took my money (again) and refuse answering my mails, phone calls and SMS. (Eventually Skippers Online helped my out and gave me access to the online course, without any further payment. Thank you!)

G) The staff in the office is very "unsecure" and can't give answers if the question raised doesn't deal with their administration. E.g. I tried to get a confirmation on if my VHF certificate was valid according to RYA. DBST couldn't confirm this and advised me to contact RYA my self.

Do your self a favour, never consider this company in your plans for maritime education!