Not-Quite-Final Exam.... sailing practice

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Yesterday was a bit chilly and sunset was earlier than ever (this semester) -BUT- we still need to get in as much sailing time as possible! So we took out the Javelin fleet to demonstrate our skills.

The drill was simple, similar to "The Pipeline" but with only two gates... upwind and downwind. Can you sail well enough to make progress towards a goal directly against the wind? The boat certainly won't do this by itself! To accomplish this, the cadets need to know how to sail close-hauled and how to tack; how to control the boat well enough to steer it through the pairs of buoys forming the gates; not only this but also know the Right-Of-Way Rules and handle their boats accordingly

Here are the 3 Javelins at the downwind gate. One boat is tacking. 


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So, this was a sort of Final Test of practical skills on the water.

Each cadet took a turn as skipper, and in addition to sailing the upwind-downwind gates, they had to demonstrate the ability to stop the boat under control... ie docking.  It's like landing a plane!






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Here are the three Javelins at the upwind gate.

Success! The sailors also demonstrated gybing, sailing on various points of sail including wing-and-wing... and nobody froze, either (of course, it's not all that cold by some standards).

Here's the part where we just show you some nice sailing pictures.

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Right-Of-Way situation!
1st, what Point of Sail are the two boats on? Which tack are they on? What is their relationship to the direction of the wind? Now, if you know all that without having to count up on your fingers & toes, you probably know which boat has the Right-Of-Way... which these two skippers did...





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A race: two sailboats on the water, going in approximately the same direction

Just a hint of autumn color!










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Here we have a not-so-rookie skipper landing a pla... err... sailboat. It's better to come in a little too slow than a LOT too fast!

The coach has done a good job teaching these cadets. We have reached a level of skill where they can assemble & rig the boats, sail the boats under control (which is a bit different than letting the boat go where it wants to), stop when needed, and bring the boats back to the dock safely.



There is always more to learn. Now we can work on communications, weather, navigation, and also continue to work on sailing skills!
Ready?

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...posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King

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