Smooth Sailing - 2015 Nautical Skills Competition a Success

Last weekend, 47 Nautical Science students descended on the Marine Institute to take part in the 2015 Nautical Skills Competition (NCS) – a competition hosted each year by the Company of Master Mariners of Canada NL Division, in collaboration with MI

Friday, January 30, 2015

This year, joining the first, second and third year students were several new Nautical Science applicants (currently high school students) who got to see firsthand some of the activities they would be learning about at the Institute, in the hopes it would solidify their decision to attend MI in the fall.

For the participating MI cadets, they were separated into eight teams and throughout the two days could be found manoeuvring a ship into Port Aux Basques, course planning for a dynamic positioning exercise, completing a cargo calculation and plotting a course for a search and rescue operation.

At the end of the weekend, everyone walked away a winner, having had an opportunity to test their knowledge and skills, focus on what it takes to build a culture of safety and network with Master Mariners in the region. However, only one team walked away with top honours.

Congratulations to Team Six, the Nauti Boys, (Nathan Stanley, Alexander Campbell, Nicholas Greenham, Willam Canning and Tyler Lockyer) for collecting this year’s first prize. Each student on the team received $1000 and the honour of having their name prominently displayed on the Captain Jim Thorpe plaque. Second ($500.00 each) and third prizes ($100.00 each) were awarded to Team 7, the Aquaholics and Team 8, Frigger 8’s, respectively.

But, there’s more. In addition to the participant prizes, three of the high school students planning to attend MI in September received a one-semester tuition voucher which will help them kick-start their MI education.

Further adding to the excitement was a social media element, with three prizes up for grabs. The #NSC2015 Social Media Prizes went to:

Most Tweets @SusieMacNeill

Most Creative @justinwells35

Best Team Tweets #TeamMayDayJuliet

Of course, the event would not have been a success without the support of the Competition’s numerous sponsors, including Kongsberg Maritime, McKeil Marine, Transocean, Virtual Marine Technology Inc., Suncor, Rutter Inc., Oceanex, Newfoundland Transshipment Limited, WrightWay, Atlantic Towing, Fednav Ltd., Secunda Canada LP, Group Ocean, Woodward Group, Canship Ugland, Atlantic Pilotage Authority, Maersk Supply Service, NEAS, Marine Atlantic and the Canadian Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary.

The Company of Master Mariners of Canada (CMMC) is a professional association for those qualified to command. It is a not-for-profit organization established to encourage and maintain high and honourable standards within the nautical profession.