WELCOME TO MMCA
The Bar Has Been Raised !
YOUR HOME TO FIND
MMCA CERTIFIED CAPTAINS, CREW AND EMPLOYERS.
MMCA membership skyrockets as the public gets educated.
MMCA members now in High Demand !
Captain's call for an end to "paper captains".
Not All Captain's Are The Same.
MMCA member Captain's
ARE the Best of the Best.
They ARE the elite professional Captain's.
Next time you take a charter boat, ask for an
MMCA certified Captain.
Captain's Apply For Jobs, MMCA Captain's Are Hired
GOT QUESTIONS?
GET INSTANT ANSWERS FROM THE PRO'S. NO NEED TO WORRY ANYMORE ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT
YOUR GETTING THE RIGHT ANSWER!
AND IT'S FREE!
DUE TO HIGH DEMAND FOR CORRECT ANSWERS TO SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, WE HAVE CREATED "Instant Answers" IN AN EMAIL LINK TO
ANSWER ALL YOUR QUESTIONS WHETHER THEY ARE ABOUT;
HOW TO GET A LICENSE, WHO NEEDS A LICENSE,
ARE THERE WOMEN GROUPS, WHAT DOES MY BOAT NEED, WHERE CAN I GET ONLINE CLASSES.
WE GET TO KNOW OUR SITE VISITORS AND WE WANT TO SERVE YOU SO, CLICK THE LINK BELOW AND SEND US ANY QUESTION.
ALL QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED BY USCG APPROVED INSTRUCTORS AND MASTER CAPTAIN'S SO, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY
ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOUR GETTING
THE RIGHT ANSWER.
JUST ONE MORE SERVICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
EMAIL US YOUR QUESTION- MOST ANSWERED IN 24 HOURS
So, Your Going On A Charter Boat !
How many times have you and your family jumped on a charter boat on your day off without a
thought to how trained the Captain is or what the safety record is of that Captain?
Well, we believe
that the public should have some basic knowledge before boarding. Hopefully, this will enable you
to know what questions to ask and what to look for.
Would you believe that there are MANY Captain's in the Tampa Bay area that:
Who Have nearly killed someone and the NEXT day they are back
operating just as negligently as before.
Others who can not plot a course on a chart,
who can't navigate without GPS, who can not
read a chart, who can not read the weather, who are operating illegally with simply a certification
from a school and not a USCG license, and others who can not properly run a man overboard drill.
Hard to believe?
Well, recently we asked an instructor and well respected Captain what the biggest
problems were. Their answer is below.
Often, Captain's who are prudent and safe are penalized either by the employer or their own peers for
not running a charter when they know it isn't safe. They are often denied jobs because they refuse to
run under manned vessels or vessels that should not be run do to some obvious safety concern.
We believe that NONE of this is acceptable and we are changing the standard.
The old picture of the unprofessional, unskilled drunk Captain who states;
"Ah, don't worry about it, it will be ok, we don't
need this or that". Is going out of style.
MMCA is putting in end to the unprofessional Captain who does not take his job and responsibility
to public safety seriously.
The Merchant Marine Captain's Association is out to change the minimum required from Captain's.
Take a glance at what are Captains have to do to even become a member, and what standards we require
they keep. All this is located in our "Ethics" document below the common questions.
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What training does the average Captain have to have?
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There are 2 types of Captains. One is called a "six pack" Captain. They are limited
to taking six or fewer passengers. We only deal with Master Captains who are not limited
to passenger counts.
A master captain must sit twelve days in class and pass a multiple choice test. Then
Next, they must have a drug test. They have a background check done.
It breaks down like this, they do not need ANY commercial experience. They do not have
to prove proficiency with GAPS, Radar, Compass, or any other navigational equipment.
They are not tested on their helm experience. They don't even have to know what a cleat is.
We call these "paper captains".
MMCA requires that they must have 2 years COMMERCIAL experience with VERIFIABLE time behind the
wheel, we check their vessel, they must have a clean safety record and before they are given the
status of "expert navigator" we test their navigational skills ON THE WATER, we check their skills
with GPS,Radar,AIS,Gyro's and all other equipment on their vessel. We train them in man overboard
and fire drills. We require that they have a clean reputation and a recommendation from other Captain's
have seen them operating.
Thats why many Captain's apply for membership but only the best of the best are chosen.
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What is the biggest concern out there today from other Captains ?
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The biggest concern is these "paper Captain's".Those like the ones described above who have NO HELM time
no real skill in navigating and yet are able to carry passengers. Some of the other big concerns are the fact
that many people are attending "Captain's school" simply, so they can hang a piece of paper on the
wall that says they are a "Captain".
This severely degrades our profession and the public image of real Captain's.
The biggest concern is Captain's who once having finished class where they spent TWO days
plotting to pass a test and never looked at a chart again. These same Captain's are out there now
carrying passengers for hire. Yet, they have no real experience in the Gulf or in navigation.
If they lost their GPS they would have no idea how to chart their way home.
In our opinion, one of the main definitions of a Captain is their ability to navigate no matter what.
Our members that obtain "Expert Navigator" status are very skilled navigators. You could put them
out in the middle grounds of the gulf, take away their compass and all their electronics and they could
still get their people home, as many are trained in Celestial Navigation.
Believe it or not many Captain's and we do mean MANY, can not read a chart, they can't plot.
They are not certified in the equipment on their vessel such as radar. This means they are not
qualified to operate the vessel they are on because no prudent Captain would operate a
vessel that had equipment he was not trained to use.
Some of the other BIG concerns, is Captain's that dump sewage 100 YARDS from shore without a thought.
Also, of concern is Captain's who do not man their vessels according to U.S. Coast Guard requirements
because its more economical NOT do so.
There are Captain's who drink while driving, who are on drugs because the drug test
are so incredibly infrequent. We have Captain's that overload their vessels risking capsizing,
crews with virtually no training because the fire drills and man overboard drills are either not done
or are done in such a manner that the drill is pointless.
We have Captain's that don't carry the proper number of life jackets, or who do not carry an EPIRB
even though they are often required to. We have Captain's that would find it difficult to hail a
mayday, others who do not maintain their vessels either because the employer won't pay for repairs
or the Captain is not prudent enough. They often do not check fluids before leaving the dock
including fuel.
We have parasail Captain's that fly in winds that are much to high to be called "safe".
We have parasail Captain's who can have an incident with passengers where they nearly killed
someone and yet the next day they are out flying in the SAME reckless manner.
All of these things not only effect the public perception of Captain's but it definitely
effects public safety.
The MMCA was born out of the professional Captain's who have had enough of the unprofessional
ones. Plain and simple.
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So, how do I know the quality of the Captain I am with ?
Can't I just ask the employer or the Captain?
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Well, thats assuming you think that the employer is going to willingly tell you; "Yeah, we take short cuts, we
only maintain the boat if it dies out in the gulf and our Captain has had several incidents but
he works for a lot less, so we can charge you less".
One of the first thing a passenger can do BEFORE booking a trip is ask if the Captain is an MMCA member.
Unfortunately, outside of that, there is really no other way to know. Not all Captain's are the same
and right now until things change, just because they have a license does not mean that they
are someone I would trust my families life with. Now , you see the reason for MMCA.
The other thing they might do is ask for the Captain's Coast Guard License number and call
the regional exam center in Miami and ask them if they Captain has a valid license with any incidents.
However, its a busy place and getting through maybe quite difficult.
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Passengers don't need to wonder anymore about the safety record of the Captain they are riding with,
just look for the MMCA LOGOS AND PATCH.
It is really hard for the general public to know who they are riding with. If you ask the Captain, he of
course is going to brag about their experience whether they have it or not.
No employer is going to
tell a prospective employer that their Captain is a very lax Captain with a few incidents.
This is one of the main reasons for MMCA. We encourage all Captain's to apply for membership. However,
we are very selective as we try to set high standards to ensure public safety. So not all, in fact, many
Captain's may not be accepted.
Code Of Ethics Document
We encourage you to ask for an MMCA member, the more the public ask for this standard of quality
the more the Captains will do their best to meet it.
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If you wear this patch then the public knows that you have proven your skills and professionalism.
Only worn by the Best of The Best
  
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