8th session, 2 much 2 sail

OK another day when there was TOO MUCH wind. But we had a constructive session at Bridgeton Harbor; getting some solid details in place and getting a few qualifications signed off.

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For example, we have worked a bit on the skill of bringing a sailboat with no brakes up to a dock without breakage. However, sometimes it is also challenging to sail away from a dock. Here's the theory...

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And here's the real world!

This is a great sequence to learn from. First, if you're learning to sail, you can see how sailboats don't always do what you want, or what you expect. You can see how that as the boat is cast off, it begins to move forward, then refuses to turn further and begins backing up. Look for the brief interval where the boat is sliding sideways, the centerboard has no effectiveness.



Head Coach Rezab quickly and decisively applies corrective action (steering in reverse) which also teaches us something about leadership.

Normally, we'd rather have still photos (much quicker to display) but as of right now, all we have is video.

So here is the main portion of Coach Rezab's sail. He & crew Coach Hittner perform a tack close to the camera; this is done from a reach (point of sail) to a reach because of constraints on space... not hitting the dock at 20 knots is a goal... but later they show some good tacks going close-hauled upwind between the docks. Here, it is very important to have good helm control, tacking from a close-hauled course to a close-hauled course. Turning the boat too far will give away distance already gained towards the goal upwind, turning the boat too little will leave the sails luffing & the boat will stall & slide sideways, or even stop & make sternway (again).


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Last, we have a video of Head Coach Rezab docking the boat under challenging circumstance. Notice how the boat makes leeway as it slows, looks almost like it is skidding sideways as the centerboard loses effectiveness.


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We have 2 sailing sessions left for the spring. With any luck, we'll have a good breeze & get a chance to practice some of what we've learned; then after that comes our regatta on Saturday May 15; then after that comes the summer sailing sessions (July). A lot to look forward to!

posted by Assistant Coach Doug King

Thanks to Coach Brian O'Flanagan for the video

6th session revisited... more capsize drill, pics + video

Our capsize drill session on Monday was probably the most-taped and most-photographed event outside of Hollywood. There have been 3 batches of photos handed over, and we have video of every cadet team capsizing & recovering the boat. We don't have room for all this on the web site! But we will put up a few more, along with some instructive discussion (you can't get away from it).

Cadets C_ H_ (crew) and C_ T_ (skipper) find out how far you really have heel an FJ before it will capsize (right). These boats "feel" tippy, and they heel to 20 or 30 degrees (the boat at right is heeling to about 25) quickly & easily. But it takes much more than that to pull them all the way over! And this boat has taken on water, it's stability is suffering from the free surface effect.



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Here's another pic showing the FJ heeling even further. We're looking at it somewhat from the side, but it still appears to have tipped beyond 45 degrees... you can see the splashes where the skipper & crew fell out of the cockpit, no doubt convinced it was OVER. But the boat pulled itself upright immediately after this pic was taken.

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On second glance, it also looks like these guys are about to lose their paddle!
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The above video features cadets N_ & W_, view is from the deck side. They (like so many others) underestimate what it takes to capsize the boat... it dumps them out & rocks back upright... but they go on to perform quite well on all other counts. We get a good close-up of crew Cadet N_ making a good throw-able coil out of the righting line, and accurately lobbing it over the up-side gunwhale. We can't see skipper Cadet C_ but he is very prompt in getting into action with the centerboard & righting line, you can see the line go taut & the boat start rotating upright.

Here's an important point- several teams did not work together on doing the 'scoop' to get the crew aboard. Most did not communicate (difficult in the noisy pool environment, it's true... but won't exactly be quiet in a storm out on the river), and this led to bad timing and worse technique. Some crews were a detriment to the skipper's efforts, pulling back against the boat to hold it capsized. Others scooped into the boat causing no difficulty.


Photo (right) of Head Coach Rezab showing how it's done... correctly, that is... pressure still on the centerboard, holding tension on the righting line. Cadet Fouts has done a good job getting in towards the center of the boat & staying low.

Another important point along the same lines... the purpose of the 'scoop' is to have a person aboard to take control of the boat! Remember, you just capsized... persumably, conditions are difficult, windy or choppy... and the boat will require active measures to tame it.

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Now that we've beaten the subject of CAPSIZING totally to death & beyond, how about one more video...


This last video shows Cadets C_ & C_. They make one very serious... potentially deadly, in fact... mistake at the beginning, and then perform efficiently and flawlessly from then on. We are viewing from the hull/centerboard side, so the video does not show C_ as crew, but you can see the results: righting line comes hurtling over the gunwhale; as the boat comes upright he is low & to the middle of the boat having done a perfect 'scoop' and he then both helps the skipper and moves to take control of the boat.

THINGS WE LEARNED-

... FJs are not as tippy as many think (however, you should not stand on, or try to walk across, the foredeck of one)

... Centerboards have several purposes

... Even without the mainsail attached, the boom is something to watch out for

... We can handle a capsize -IF- we keep the drill procedure in mind & work together

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(photo at right) Cadet F_ as crew, assisting Sailing Squad XO C_ (as skipper) climbing aboard over the transom after successfully demonstrating an alternate righting procedure for a capsized FJ.


Coach King Says- any cadet who wants the entire video of 12 Apr 2010's capsize drill may have it for the asking. It contains at least some footage of every capsize done by every cadet present. It's about 40 minutes, unedited.

Thanks again to Coach Brian O'Flanagan for shooting the video
Thanks also to Mr. Herm Schiller for some of the still photos

posted by Assistant Coach Doug King

6th session... Capsize Drill in the YMCA Pool

Well, almost all the Sailing Squad passed the capsize drill. There were a few cadets absent, but they will get a chance to prove their skill on capsizing... or rather, dealing with a capsize and righting the boat... later on.

This is a big step forward which will enable us to sail in stronger winds, and since we've had one sailing session cancelled due because of this, we will be able to SAIL MORE!

This session started out with Head Coach Jerry Rezab demonstrating a few do's and don'ts with a capsized FJ, and Cadet K_ F_ as crew. Cadet F_ is a freshman but a returning sailor from last fall semester and one of the more experienced in the NJROTC Sailing Squad. Cadet F_ got the most practice, completing 3 capsize drills including 1 as skipper.

This photo (left) shows Head Coach Rezab why it's normally a bad idea to stand up in an FJ.


Now for some video. Unfortunately, due to the terrible acoustics of the pool dome and high background noise, we can't hear any of the discussion... or shrieking... during the capsize drills even though ALL were captured on tape.

In the next video (below), we see another returning sailor M_ M_ teamed with E_ M_. A little nervous, maybe? They couldn't wait for the mast to hit the water before jumping ship! This is why we drill under the most controlled & benign circumstances possible, to reinforce good practice... stay with the boat! During this session, we demonstrated just how far over an FJ (and most other sailboats behave similarly) will heel before capsizing, so hitting the 'EJECT' button prematurely is not a good idea.

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Another thing we learned is that it's not as easy as it sounds to untangle ropes in the bottom of a turned-over FJ, and rig the correct one as a righting line, coil it & toss it over the up-side gunwhale to the skipper ... who is waiting patiently, holding the centerboard.
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Now in the next video (below) we see the capsize drill from the skipper's side. This team showed that improvising to solve problems is one of the best skills to have. The video also shows why the skipper has to be patient. Sometimes it seems like the boat is NEVER going to come back right-side up, but if you keep hanging on, it does.


Final Observation... if your skipper is Cadet G_, don't even bother trying to help him aboard because he's the fastest out of the water we've ever seen.
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Here's a pic (right) of Cadets K_ F_ (skipper) and J_ P_ (crew) after Coach King demonstrated why you don't stand on the foredeck of an FJ.

No skipper/crew team performed the capsize drill flawlessly. In general, there was too much prompting needed. Remember, you will need to be able to handle a capsized sailboat on your own, in rough weather; maybe improvising your way thru unforseen difficulties and possible gear breakage. This session was a good first step though, and everybody did many things right... nobody panicked, nobody tried to climb the cockpit, no skippers bounced on the centerboard, nobody broke anything. Everybody saw some of the difficulties, and handled it.

More videos to be posted later!

posted by Assistant Coach Doug King

Thanks to Coach Brian O'Flanagan for the video

Spring Break 2010 ... notable weather

While we're on the subject of weather, here's something that happened on Saturday Apr 3.



Fog is relatively common in the spring & autumn. It's not very common to see dense fog hiding the town on a sunny morning with a steady breeze.








The railroad bridge just disappears into a cloud!


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