Testimonials

Hey Jim,

 Feedback.   The pack arrived quickly as promised and contained the excellent CD, training charts, plotting tools, training almanac etc.  I took my time and completed a module each month.  Jim responded very quickly to all my emailed questions, mostly the same day, if not by the following day.  Each time Jim has helped with examples which enrich the course.

The CD is easy to follow and I also used an RYA book to give more background reading.  The method really suited me as I’d wanted to do the course when I had time not having to drive out to an evening class. It helps if you have access to a scanner so you can scan the plotting you make – Jim can see what you are doing and make comment.

 Only one minor point to consider;

 when you click on the exercise the link takes you to the top of the questions page.  There is a way to make it jump down to the start of the appropriate set of module questions (I use Firefox – maybe not an issue with IE)

Thanks Jim – it’s been great. Always good to learn something new.

We are off to BVI in 3 weeks to do the practical as I explained (Wife finishing her PADI).

Once again, it’s been a pleasure.

Chris

Hi Jim, have added some more to the attached!  Thank you very much indeed for the course - it's in a very good order, and the DVD is brilliant - especially to refer to things.  I'll certainly be taking it with me when I sail as a reference...  though not relying on it incase I run out of power on the laptop!

Cheers,

Roger

Many Thanks Jim

I did this to both do a Day Skipper and to see if remote learning
would work. I live in the middle of nowhere so travelling to do Day
Skipper up at our nearest sailing centre would be arduous to say the
least - it is the main reason I hadn't done it before. I found the
style of the course a sensible progression (I had previously tried one
of the Day Skipper books but never really had the incentive to follow
through the exercises) and your experienced feedback is first class
and helps get my head around things I would have come a cropper with.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the course and was motivated
enough to spend a couple of hours a night working through and doing
the exercises after work - more so than just doing this from a book.
The mistakes during exercises were invaluable as one learns much
faster through doing and making mistakes than just following
coursework - so the entire process is really very successful and has
altered my perspective on remote learning. A great way to fill in dull
Winter evenings too.

Hiya Jim.
Many thanks for that.
I really enjoyed the course content and the way it was put together and can see that you have worked hard to get the structure right which I thought flowed through well.
Many thanks for your patience on some of my "dorky" answers.
 
Look forward to the cert.
 
Stay Safe
Alan

Many Thanks Jim

I did this to both do a Day Skipper and to see if remote learning
would work. I live in the middle of nowhere so travelling to do Day
Skipper up at our nearest sailing centre would be arduous to say the
least - it is the main reason I hadn't done it before. I found the
style of the course a sensible progression (I had previously tried one
of the Day Skipper books but never really had the incentive to follow
through the exercises) and your experienced feedback is first class
and helps get my head around things I would have come a cropper with.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the course and was motivated
enough to spend a couple of hours a night working through and doing
the exercises after work - more so than just doing this from a book.
The mistakes during exercises were invaluable as one learns much
faster through doing and making mistakes than just following
coursework - so the entire process is really very successful and has
altered my perspective on remote learning. A great way to fill in dull
Winter evenings too. I also found that it really helped in doing the
navigation part of kayaking and helped to really make all that much
clearer. It also refreshed my microlight navigation course from 8
years ago although we tend to use wind more than tide (hopefully).

I am sailing in April (Medway to Tower Bridge up the Thames), May
(Croatia) and July (Channel) which leaves a possibility of doing a
practical course in June (I am on standby for a paddle off St Kilda at
the start of June so if that doesn't come off I could probably make it
sometime in June if you have spaces).

Assuming I scrape through the practical is the next stage to do
Coastal Skipper shorebased?

Thanks again
Mike

Jim,
We found the course really good, it is hard on your own and it takes longer to understand things, but we liked the way you always were there when we called and we didn’t feel that it was a nuisance to call or that you didn’t have the time for us, so that made it easier for us to ask.

We would do a distance learning course again with you, so that is good news!!

Hopefully we may be in contact again later in the year with more requirements

Kind regards

Linda and Andy.

Hi Jim, have added some more to the attached!  Thank you very much indeed for the course - it's in a very good order, and the DVD is brilliant - especially to refer to things.  I'll certainly be taking it with me when I sail as a reference...  though not relying on it incase I run out of power on the laptop!

Cheers,

Roger 

Dear Jim,

I have really enjoyed the course and it has added to my understanding of sailing considerably.  Each time I take to the water I have felt more and more confident as a result of what I’ve learnt.

 I appreciate all the help you have provided and I have always been extremely impressed by the promptness of your replies.  I am only embarrassed that there have been so many times when through lack of attention and from trying to do the work last thing at night and in the early hours, I have offered you some really stupid answers!!
 Nevertheless, many thanks for guiding me through.  I will, next summer, want to do the practical bit, but I expect I’ll look for somewhere in the Solent which is closer to home.  If I can convince my family that they need a couple of days down your way, I shall certainly be in touch.
 Very best wishes to you and yours,

Neil

OK Jim I hope these are the answers your looking for and I would like to thank you, youre course is well set out and I’ve learnt a lot and its not been a slog apart from the computer side that is. Its been very enjoyable and its good the way you mark. You don’t just give the right answers you make the student think where did I go wrong then you learn from your mistakes. Ive been plastering now over 30 years but I still say you are never finished learning and I can still learn something from a lad just out his time. So hopefully you have also learnt something from me?  don’t pick up dead rats. Take care

Excellent, thanks Jim. I finally stopped making silly mistakes in my
plotting!

I'm very pleased with the course. It's been very useful to have your
responses to my coursework within a day, and with the full course pack
supplied and good notes on the CD I had everything I needed. Thank you
very much for your help!

Best wishes,
Dave

I've very much enjoyed the course and have been very impressed by your prompt feedback at each stage. Having struck up a rapport (albeit by email) I'm sorry that I can't come down to Millbrook for my practical

I really thought the course was great. Your course notes are clear, easy to follow and make the subject interesting and enjoyable. You’ve structured it very well with the links etc. I think I made a comment at one point that a question and the related notes were in different (modules – it may have been in the safety / fog section). Also, I found myself struggling a little with the questions on life-jackets (as you could probably tell !). Either I didn’t take it in properly, or the notes could do with a bit more detail – I’ll let you decide.

Excellent, thanks Jim. I finally stopped making silly mistakes in my
plotting!

I'm very pleased with the course. It's been very useful to have your
responses to my coursework within a day, and with the full course pack
supplied and good notes on the CD I had everything I needed. Thank you
very much for your help!

Best wishes,
Dave

Hi Jim,
 Many thanks for corrected exam scripts and for the certificate which arrived yesterday.  Attached are my corrections for you to look over.  A very silly mistake with the EP question – not quite sure what I was thinking – but I hope they’re all right now?

 I’m afraid that some time ago a friend and I booked to do the practical out of Christchurch this weekend and next because we can get there so much more easily than to Cornwall .  However, a couple of other friends and I are talking about doing the yacht master course next year, so we’ll certainly bear you in mind for that.  Finally, very many thanks for your time and support throughout this course.  I have very much enjoyed doing it and look forward to putting it all into practice on the high seas.

 cheers Al

Thanks Jim, and thanks for all the support during the course - you have been most patient with some of my more silly misunderstandings (damn bretton plotter), and my 10 page pilot plans around the Southern Pen. I have happily recommended you to other folk who are similarly transient in their work and home lives and where distance learning is the best option.  

I thought the course was great. The course materials were clear and really did the job. The only suggestion I would make would be to see if you could put some sort of automatic confirmation on receipt of emails.

Thanks, Peter   

 
15 02 08

Sorry its taken a while to respond, I have been away with work but returning to the lovely Devon now, it’s a good feeling to have the Yachtmaster Theory part completed!
Comments on the course - All-in-all fantastic – allows any student to work at their own pace and even with my nocturnal tendencies you had all coursework responded to by the next day. I guess you are more interested in anything which could make it better so I’ll have go – just three small comments:

·         It’s the first time I have done a correspondence course but it does somewhat rely on learn – do – rework which because of the module sizes can be a bit disheartening when you have something consistently wrong across all which would have been better captured earlier. I have been thinking about this comment and the silver lining (in my case deviation) is that you’ll never forget the thing that was wrong!!! Breaking up the modules could help?

·         IRPCS – I found the navigation lights part quite challenging from the examples on the CD and had to go onto the web to find the hovercraft answer on the coursework. Module 5 is already huge, wonder if this could be broken out into a separate section and extended upon?

·         Format – I don’t know if you remember the first time I responded on scraps of paper with a crappy camera – it made your life rather difficult!! It wasn’t intentional, I just didn’t know what you would prefer. I wonder if you were to provide a Word template similar to the one I put together it would provide a common template to receive students answers? Could make marking quicker.

Small beer. Altogether the best way to learn for me and I would have no hesitation in recommending you to anybody, already am! (see above). Good tutoring, quick responses and determined for me to get the right answer, all wholly appreciated. Whats the next course?! (seriously! Who needs evenings anyway!).  Kind Regards,DL

Dear Jim

Many thanks for all your help and advice throughout the course - I have
found it most stimulating and interesting and the CD-rom will be a useful
reference for good. I think you have a good course here, full of detail and
plenty of information with instruction, salted with good humour! Most
important! I was most impressed with your turnround time which gave quick
feedback when I needed it whilst it was still fresh. I hope I might be able
to join you for some practical sailing in the future. The Certificate
arrived today so many thanks for now. We have a cottage in Sennen Cove so
perhaps we might meet when I am down sometime.

Best wishes

Peter 

Jim, I really feel I've achieved something over the past few months, and I'd
like to thank you for the time you've spent on the phone with me, and for the
thorough marking of my exercises, which has helped me understand the finer points
of the course. I'd have no hesitation in recommending you to anyone wishing
to do this course.
I'm off to Greece next month to put into practice some of the theory I've gained
on a friend's 27 footer. No tides out there though, (what a shame!!)
Thanks again,
Richard 

           
Dear Jim

Just a brief note to accompany my exam papers.

Many thanks for the course – I think it was really well put together, and I appreciated your prompt and careful response to my coursework. I’ve also enjoyed ding it, and feel I’ve learnt a lot – I hope my exam papers will prove this to be the case!

As we discussed, I’ll have a think about the 5-day course, and will contact you again if I decide to go for the February course (but confess that I’m also tempted by the prospect of some warmth in the middle of winter!)

Thanks again, and best wishes Michael Reynolds

Jim,

Comments on the course!

I’ve enjoyed it enormously though I don’t know whether my family feel the same sentiment given the time I’ve been shut in my study.

Firstly the pack and the service. It was incredibly efficient; the pack itself was comprehensive and arrived as promised. The marking was astonishing given that I presented you with the most marking over a weekend. Your comments were also rewarding for me to receive as a learner. The CD was easy to read with good diagrams and illustrations. 

Thank you so much Jim – I cannot comment on the promised telephone backup because I never used it – I’ll put the exam question in the post.

John

Jim
Many thanks for everything... your feedback and support has been
top-notch, A1...
proving that even in a distance learning context you can really 'do the
business' completely, and at your own pace... very nice!!!!!!!!!!!

I will definitely recommend your course to friends and family!!!

All the best, and thanks again; for that S.O.G. footnote just for completeness ...

Dear RYA

I recently undertook some tuition both practical and shore based at one of the approved R.Y.A. sailing schools “Top Cat Cruising School” in Millbrook Plymouth.

I write to commend the high standard of this establishment, and commitment of the instructor and principal Mr Jim Duerden. Although an intensive course, Mr Duerden’s attitude made my period of learning an enjoyable one.

On a recent delivery trip from Portsmouth to Bangor (N.I) the knowledge acquired at “Top Cat” was put to the test in a life-threatening situation. In conclusion I can only say that R.Y.A. approved schools like “Top Cat” and instructors of the calibre of Mr Duerden are invaluable.

Yours sincerely Mr Dee Neill

Hi Jim

Thanks for the fabulous weekend on my Day Skipper Course!

Despite atrocious weather we had a great time learnt loads got merry on a few bottles of wine (sorry abut the quality of the Pinotage) and enjoyed the company of you and Greg and Steve. I do hope Greg eventually gets his YM ticket but I do not think his failure was anything to do with your tuition, rather that in no way was he properly prepared in that he had not done any pre-course revision or practice of communication skills that would have underlined his obvious abilities sufficient to convince a Naval Officer/Examiner operating in the Navy’s’ backyard. I did tell him that on Friday night in the bar and he agreed!

I think your course was brilliant and your teaching approach superb. No matter how frustrating our stupid mistakes in very difficult conditions you always were in complete control and never showed any annoyance or anger – a true Pro! Thanks very much. I look forward to my coastal skipper course! In the meantime our bareboat in the BVI awaits and I can’t!

With the best wishes of a successful year, Neil Burman

Dear Jim

I felt I must write if for no other reason to wish you all the best with your new venture. I would like you to know that when I came on my first sailing course with you as a complete novice I did not know quite what to expect. I can only say that the week was the most enjoyable and instructive I could have possibly expected.

I would not hesitate to return to you personally for any future courses/cruises I am lucky enough to undertake.

I am present trying to persuade my wife, Judy, that she would enjoy a week/weekend ‘on board’. If successful I will phone you soon. Please feel free to use my recommendation/comments in any way that you feel will help.

Once again all the best wishes for the future

Yours sincerely Richard J Ward.

Dear Jim

Just a line to let you know that I really enjoyed the Day Skipper Course. Your instructor was very experienced and a damn fine cook.

Everything you advertised was provided. The superb scenery of the Cornish coast, the challenge of entering picturesque harbours by day and night and of course a full range of weather and tides made your location ideal for serious training.

I would recommend the Top Cat Cruising School to anyone who was serious about learning to sail safely.

Thanks again,
R. Rice

Dear Jim

Difficult to put our experience last week into words. Suffice to say we loved and respected Pete, my kids – very hesitant at first and “do we really want to do it” – were completely won over and hooked on sailing (they were also much quicker on the uptake than Rosie and I were – fresh intelligence versus crumbling brains!), and it was FUN (if a bit scary when the wind blew 6/7). Top Cat Cruising School will be endorsed/ recommended by us to all and sundry as worth every half penny.

Back to reality: attached is the last part of Module 5 from a crumbling brain.

Best regards and thanks
David Gist

Thanks Jim

I will also attach a good American website download which I enjoyed playing with for collision regs, the buoys are of course the wrong way round. I will do the Coastal Skipper course after I have some sailing experience – though I’ll continue to read and dream in the meantime. I also hope to find the time to get down to Cornwall for some sailing – after all of this theory I feel I want to see the place in the flesh from the sea! 

Dear Jim,

Further to our telephone conversation, please find enclosed a couple of prints from photos taken on our recent course.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for an excellent course from both the skills learnt and the pure enjoyment of sailing on Southway Twins under your control. As you may recall, I was slightly apprehensive when I first made contact with you due to problems with a form of rheumatic arthritis. However I can confirm that the car journey from Bristol to Plymouth gave me more problems than anything I have undertaken onboard.

I look forward to receiving the Day Skipper Practical Completion certificate and hopefully gaining more experience in the near future.

Again, many thanks and best wishes Paul Thompson.

Hi Jim,

This is to send you a quick thanks for a fantastic 5 days last week. I learnt a tremendous amount not least respect for the elements. I hope this will keep me from making mistakes with serious consequences.

You were asking for feedback and there is a little I can say other than please keep up the good work. Maybe, in retrospect, you, Susan and Andy might have benefited from the sail trim session at the beginning rather than at the end of the week. But then again we needed to make way west and other skills were on the agenda…

All in all, this was some of the most enjoyable sailing I have done and if you need to move the boat or want to take part in a race and need crew – let me know.

Best wishes, Stefan

Ps: maybe you can make instructing a little easier for you with enclosed throat pastilles.

Dear Jim, Many thanks for your excellent course. We both learnt a great deal and enjoyed ourselves. You were an excellent host and tutor. I have sent you my logbook for you to complete.

Once again many thanks Chris and Hannah

Dear Jim

Just a line to say how much we all enjoyed our recent holiday aboard Southway Twins. It was a shame we had so little wind, but how could we complain with all the warmth and sunshine! We thoroughly appreciated having Dave with us – he taught each of us at our own level of experience, was particularly good with the children and fitted easily into the family situation. We would recommend him to any other family wishing to broaden their experience of sailing.

Thank you for a great holiday!

Best wishes, Mike and Joy Irvine

Dear Jim,

Just a note to say thanks for such an enjoyable three days on “Blue Moon”. We had a great time and learned a lot. We appreciated the time you spend talking to us about the pros and cons of the different makes and models. My mother has not been well since we got back so I’ve been caring for her Gloucester. Andrew crewed on a monohull to Steepholm and back yesterday – he’d wished it had been a cat!

With all good wishes Elizabeth and Andrew Smith.

Dear Jim,

Great boat
Great company
Great instruction
Unforgettable holiday

Many thanks Reg and Sheila Chapman
Ps – Reg says great porridge also!!

Hello Jim

Thank you for sending our certificates and the booklet. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and are definitely hooked on catamarans.

Mark worked very hard; he is a very good instructor with plenty of patience and good humour. We wish him good luck on his next trip.

Our only regret is we did not take up sailing 30/40 years ago. Our very best wishes Mary and Reg.