more 2nd Session photos & debriefing

Another set of photos of the 2nd session (Monday 10 Mar 2010) has come. These are some good close-up of the action and show some of our individual cadets.
(thanks to Assistant Coach Brett M.)
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On the dock, getting ready (at right & below)...
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Centerboard down, check. Mainsail hoisted, check. Halyard tensioned up? Did you remember to loosen the boom vang before hoisting the mainsail?
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Rigging these boats is not really all that complicated (compared to say, assembling a diesel engine) but there a lot of things to remember!
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Now here is the reward!
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Boat #6 being well sailed. The skipper is sitting on the windward side, far enough forward to keep the stern from dragging, steering with the hiking stick, the boat is balanced (crew in position), sails are trimmed for the point of sail... well, the mainsail could be pulled in -just- a little tighter.
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The basic (first) Baby Duck drill (below). It's obviously called that because the students all follow the coach boat. It also gives a good & easy reference to steer to, good practice for beginning skippers, and keeps control over the point of sail & the turns. Until most of the skippers can make good tacks, there is no point in trying to work on gybes. We will however do the "Baby Duck" on all the different points of sail, and on tacking for the begining skippers.
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Let's give some credit to the poor crew. The crew has many key jobs, including reminding the skipper what he's supposed to be doing. You can rest assured that us coaches will have our eyes on you too. And woe unto the crew who fails in his job of lookout, and lets the skipper run into something like one of the unmarked pilings in our sailing area, or the fish net which was set near our sailing area last Monday (all you crew -did- see that, right?).
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We have a number of already-qualified skippers in the group, and if we can get coordinated & rigged & sailing in good time, these skippers may be able to try an advanced drill or two. The beginning sailors will also have a chance to prove their skills. So we all have something to look forward to on this coming Monday (15 Mar 2010). The weather is predicted to be almost as favorable as this past Monday. Remember we only have ten sessions this spring and so we have to come away from each one with a definite gain!

Assistant Coach Doug King