New (to us) Boat... big THANK YOU

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We have had some very generous people donate boats to our fleet... in fact this is how we acquired most of them! Most recently we were given a 5O5 class sloop (link to international 5O5 racing association) which is quite a hot-rod... it is as much of a step above the Flying Juniors as the FJs are above the Javelins.

Not to say that the Javelins are bad boats, in fact they are great for learning. They are reassuringly stable, they sail well if handled properly, and they are very strongly built. However they are like family station wagons when the FJs are the sports cars... and the 5O5 is quite a bit faster and more responsive yet, although it is also a strongly-built boat. It will take attention to detail and proper skills (ie doing it the way the coaches teach it) to keep the 5O5 upright and moving... and if it's moving, it's not going slow!


Well, rank hath it's priviledges, so the Sailing Squad CO was the first cadet to sail the new boat... of course he had a check-ride with Coach King first, which he passed with flying colors. Then the "Racing Team" with experience in FJs and Lasers took full control of New Bern NJROTC's 5O5. They found that the boat is very responsive with quick (instant!) but precise steering, and just a slight adjustment of the sheets make the boat either accelerate or wallow... and they also found that the boat is more stable than the FJ  BUT it sure helps to be respond quickly when that big mainsail start to heel the boat!


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Sailing a boat like this is a lot of fun, and it's a good test of skill. All the cadets did a good job today, while there was a few sloppy moments, most of the tacks & gybes were good. It made us coaches feel good that our work was not being wasted!

So, if the 5O5 (link to info) is supposed to have a SPINNAKER and a TRAPEZE, where are the pics of our cadets using them? Well, this is a complicated boat and we have simplified it for cadet use... the trapeze has been taken off (learn to HIKE!) and the spinnaker was not available this first time... this was a test sail, what do you expect? At a point in the near future, we hope to carry out spinnaker practice in this boat. It looks like this level of performance encourages the cadets to learn & to stay attentive, so the plan is to rig the spinnaker for future sessions.

Meanwhile, lets look at some more pics of the cadets SAILING

Here is one of the 'old salts' skippering with a 1st-semester sailor as crew. Maybe it's a newbie thing, maybe it's a leadership thing, but this crew has obviously not been motivate to HIKE... get your feet under the straps and get your body mass OUT






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Getting ready to fly the "Go Home" signal... after almost 2 hours of sailing, everybody has had a turn with the new boat although a few did not want to skipper the boat... it is definitely a handful and can be intimidating... but everybody got a chance to practice their knowledge & skills.

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The boat is held with the BOW into the wind while rigging or un-rigging. The new boat is a bit more complicated but the basics never change!

...posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King