what does it take to get your ’6-pack captain’s license’?

A six pack is basically apiece of paper that folks get in a classroom on a multiple choice questionnaire, they lie about their sea time and abilities, and pay some school that will guarantee, that fees paid you will have a license to kill and call yourself a “captain “, what a load of bull !! excuse my French. Having been and still certified as an RYA ocean Master, and delivered boats worldwide, not just down the waterway in the US, and have a quarter of a million miles under my belt, after taking on board 2 Six pack licensed captains on board that could not navigate or steer a compass course, to me it ain’t worth nothing until you have the experience and knowledge that you ARE comfortable taking other people’s lives and YOURS into your own hands, are you comfortable with all the working systems, engines, generators, navigation is of the utmost importance, can you differ between variation and deviation on a chart, do you know what a DR is? can you navigate by sextant if all other systems fails, do you know what a directional finder is? can you read a CHART ? Know the difference between PAN PAN or MAYDAY, Wanting to be one is easy, being one is different if you understand what you are doing and feel a 100 % confident with your skills, that is why in the real world, you have to basically go through the steps, and learn every aspect of the industry, the boats operational systems, Navigation and what to do if you’re up shit creek, if you have to ask, yes I’ve been up shit creek, spent 10 days in a life raft and the coasties thought a sail boat only did four to five knots, under bare poles I was surfing at 12 to 15 knots with a sea anchor, was found 3 hours before they called off the search. Thanks should be given to NOAA and their fine predictions, back then we had the old EPIRB”S not the 406 and no GPS, lasted only a few hours, so sat there and nearly died, with no food and no water as we were thrown out of the raft before the ballast could fill up, tore the roof and the goods we had on board, it is terribly hard to swim up a seventy foot wave in your foul weather gear, but am still here, and do not wish that on my worst enemy, so think carefully before you do it, be comfortable with yourself before you put someone else’s in jeopardy, And yours !! Best of luck to ya !