3rd session, 2nd sail for most

.


Another beautiful day on the river, not as much wind as last time. Today we sailed all 3 Javelins (again with the coaches aboard) and 3 of our FJs. Come on you Javelin sailors, get it in gear!! You should be motivated to learn to sail well enough to not need hints and reminders and a coach sitting right next to you!


This picture is not a good example to follow for sail setting in light wind. As you can see on the water's surface, there -IS- wind. These cadets had a bit of a distraction from working on perfect sailing, though.

One of the privileges of being an advanced sailor is getting to sail the FJs which are much sportier than the Javelins, and picking your crew!



Today's on-water exercise was to demonstrate skipper & crew tasks on all points of sail, tacking, and bringing the boat to a stop. Most sailors also had a chance to experience a GYBE (maneuver) and see the difference between gybing and tacking.

Sailing students need to learn many things. They need to learn the terminology (link to lesson), to begin speaking the "language of the sea." They need to know the major parts of the boat, and how these parts work. They need to know the points of sail (link to lesson) and the basic maneuvers, starting with TACKING.

.

Some things just naturally irritate all the sailing coaches. One is the mistaken idea that pulling the sails in tight will make the boat go fast.


Coach Murphy has obviously gotten these cadets over that mistake. What point of sail are they on?




.

.

One of the lessons we learned today is DON'T LET THE MAIN HALYARD GO UP THE MAST !!!


Every sailing cadet should get their sailing textbook, available from LCDR Tyson. Every sailing cadet should also work on completing their written assignments, due before next Monday. Some hard-working cadets have earned extra credit by turning theirs in early!


And think about Mumfest... we have a sailing event to plan and execute in  just a few more weeks. (link to last years Mumfest) This is the task of the Sailing Squad Commander, and the advanced sailors. Those motivated to 1- get more on-water experience, and 2- demonstrate strong potential to become advanced sailors, should be part of the planning and the event itself.

...posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King