LE Fletcher v. Young Mem v. Sea School

[RkyMtn Paul]

Pulling the trigger and looking at schools now. I've searched the site here, and have only seen snippets here and there. Seeing as how costs are comparable, I'm looking for those of you that have been to 2 or all 3 for a real comparison. LEF and Young seem the better(plus, get to visit the folks in Jasper, TX), but SS have the room and board (hotels in La booked up with spill crews?). The only thing that I am not looking forward to is the heat and the 110% humidity, even though I grew up in Houston. I'll live with it though. Any solid advice will be greatly appreciated. Figure having good advice in ONE place may help newbs, too.
Man it used to be so much easier getting out. OJT for OS/deckhand. 1 day for lifeboat (TAMU-Galveston). Take the AB test. Voila. Welcome to the life!

[seadawg]

much is dependant on what schools do you need and each schools schedule..IMHO of the 3 you specify overall LE F as #1, YM #2, SS a distant last..there are other resources as well..such as Delgado??

you are right about the spill taking up accomidation..the SS "dorm" has been decribed as "animal house" by serious students and the food was ala karte their "cooking school"??

like most you will most likely go to where ever you can schedule a school..if your budget is at the low end then most likely SS??

CAVEAT EMPTOR AND BEST LUCK!!

[skycowboy]

Having been to Sea School, I can tell you that you could eat yourself to death at that place. Full breakfast with eggs, bacon sausage, grits, pancakes etc, Lunch of Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables. Dinner of Ribs, rice, veggies and desert. Plus they put food in the fridge for you to eat in the middle of the night if you get hungry. The accommodations are no worse then what you would find on board any boat. I was in a 6 man room that only had 3 people in it. When you figure in hotel and meals it is hard to beat Sea School. As any school I look at it as a base line to learn from. You will get what you put into it.

[RkyMtn Paul]

Renewing an old AB/unl. Doing BST and survival craft. Testing at REC for AB. I've seen more of LE F on here than YM. CC is a side bet. Thought I could get more solid reviews from all the experience on here. Thanks seadawg. Paul.

[mike50]

I did my AB,Lifeboat & BST at Young Memorial. The instructors are hard to beat.I stayed at a rooming house in Bayou Vista, about 15 min.from the school, $100 a week,clean but you have to share a bath.Microwave and fridge in the common area.

Mike

[Jemplayer]

I went to Youngs for my Captains license and it was a good school, the only thing I hated was that Morgan city has poor selection to eat. Your choices are fast food, Chinese, or shrimp/crawfish/crab. And I HATE anything that comes out of a shell.

[Tcaptain]

AB, Lifeboat at SeaSchool in Bayou Le Batre, Med Care Provider at LE Fletcher and Bridge Resources Management, Advanced FF at Young Memorial. I've been to them all as well as MPT in Ft Lauderdale and SS in Ft. Lauderdale. I would go to any of them except SS in Ft. Lauderdale where the instructor answered the phone and watched the front desk. Bayou Le Batre has the advantage of free room and board. The dorms were well taken care of and the food was decent to good depending on the cook and your appetite, (no one goes hungry) LE Fletcher for Med Care Provider was horrible. Although a former nurse, my instructor had no business teaching. Asking a bunch of Cajuns to read line for line a EMT/Paramedic textbook including medical jargon actually teaches nothing. I've had better REd Cross one day classes, but I got a certificate and thats the mariner training system in place. It's not what u learn it's the certificates you "buy". Last Young Memorial for Basic and Advanced Firefighter was very good. I don't remember my instructors name but he was very good. I will go back if my schedule will allow.

[RkyMtn Paul]

Cowboy, Mike, Jem, Tcaptain- thanks for the replies. Looks like it comes down to accommodations. How close are they to the schools in LE and Youngs, in case I can't catch a ride with someone. I have to fly into New Orleans and get over there, or der. That is a plus for sea school. I haven't shared a room in years, like 1991 when I worked mud boats for a few months. Will survive though, if needed. Looking forward to some good southern cooking. You know how hard it is to find good seafood in Colorado that doesn't cost a fortune? And I haven't had grits in forever. And catfish? Get outta the way. LOL Anybody else want to chime in?

[mike50]

Try eating at Ryan's on 90,by the Walmart.It's like Golden Corral. Buffet is around $12.

[Deuce]

I did my AB,Lifeboat & BST at Young Memorial. The instructors are hard to beat.I stayed at a rooming house in Bayou Vista, about 15 min.from the school, $100 a week,clean but you have to share a bath.Microwave and fridge in the common area.

Mike

Hey Mike...If you don't mind, what is the name of the place you are speaking of? Also, the room was private right? Is there a desk or a study area? Wifi? Thanks!

[mike50]

Private room,but you share the bath with person next door.The petition walls are insulated, so if your neighbor is very loud you hear everything. For the most of the time it's pretty quite.The lady that owns the place does'nt put with any bull.

[Emills505]

Having been to Sea School, I can tell you that you could eat yourself to death at that place. Full breakfast with eggs, bacon sausage, grits, pancakes etc, Lunch of Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables. Dinner of Ribs, rice, veggies and desert. Plus they put food in the fridge for you to eat in the middle of the night if you get hungry. The accommodations are no worse then what you would find on board any boat. I was in a 6 man room that only had 3 people in it. When you figure in hotel and meals it is hard to beat Sea School. As any school I look at it as a base line to learn from. You will get what you put into it.

BS! AMO never stocked my fridge when I went there for classes, granted that was 8 years ago, but from what I have read, stay away from amo

[skycowboy]

BS! AMO never stocked my fridge

Ok then, nobody said AMO stocks your fridge. Merlot and forum posts never mix...

[seadawg]

merlot??more like madd dawg 20/20!!

[water]

RkyMtnPaul - I've spent the last year knocking off classes at Young Memorial and L E Fletcher.

If you go to Young Memorial, Comfort Inn on MLK Blvd has a rate of $49 per night for YM students, and the rooms are nice. Twin City Motel, just across the street, has been advertising rooms in the mid to upper $30's. Some here didn't find it objectionable, but I'd pay the difference.

You could walk to YM from Comfort Inn - there is a back way now, perhaps a mile or so - rather than the route via the cemetary.

But once you are there, you may find others staying there and catch a ride.

If you go to L E Flethcer, A Chateau on the Bayou is a great place to stay, and there will be other mariners there taking classes at different schools. But you would need a car to get to class.

You can also get groceries at Rouse's, which cuts down on the food expense.

[RkyMtn Paul]

water, info like this is great. It's the little things that you wouldn't think of that can make a selection easier. Any more info guys?

[divedog]

I will give you an update after I do the STCW in BLB next week. From what I have heard it is a great facility. I have gone to Charleston for all of my other courses and found them to be extremley helpful and will do anything they can legally do to get you to pass the class. We had one guy in the Master class that didn't know how to read a chart and by the end of the week he was ready to work for NOAA and make them. Anyone have any pointers for the STCW? Also, will it help get a job down in the Gulf? I have been trying for several weeks but no luck. any suggestions? Maybe I need to go hit the docks one day after class?

[water]

RkyMtn Paul - How's the education experience going?

[RkyMtn Paul]

Young Memorial, first 2 weeks Aug. Missed getting PSC last round, so had to wait. Looking forward to dying in the heat and humidity!!!

[Jemplayer]

Its not to bad, you might get lucky and have a thunderstorm show up like I did and only spend about an hour actually rowing. I was actually disappointed as I like rowing.

The class was one of my favorites, Capt. Torrance is an awesome teacher and knows his shit.