Chilly but beautiful afternoon... OK lets go sailing !!!

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Today's weather felt warm & sunny, until you got out on the water (which quite recently had a skim of ice on it). Then the breeze turned cold, especially if you got wet, which a few of us did.

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Remember last week, we did not quite get all the work done? Well, this is one reason why we have coaches, to pick up the slack. Here is our Head Coach Jerry Rezab (driving) and new guy Coach Chris Davies launching one of the Javelins.











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Meanwhile Coach Mike Murphy is motoring another Javelin over to the dock, ready to sail. No the motor will be removed before the cadets get aboard. No cheating!

If you'd like to know more about our sailing coaches, check here (link).

We had 18 cadets out on the water today... good thing we have all these many boats! Maybe we could use a few more !!!

The beginners went out in the Javelins, with coaches aboard helping. After all, for most of them, it was their first day ever sailing. The more experienced (and brave?) cadets went sailed the FJs.

This photo shows one of our best skippers steering an FJ on a CLOSE-HAULED (link) course.

This boat is Close-Hauled on Port Tack. You can see that the mainsail sheet has been pulled in rather tight, the end of the boom is over the corner of the transom. The jib sheet is pulled in to match the main. Although at the instant this photo was snapped, he looked around at the camera, but he has been focusing on steering the boat on a tight angle to wind while keeping it moving... yes it's trucking, look at the wake!

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  This particular young skipper went on to show exactly why we consider him one of the best in our program. He made a textbook landing in a fairly difficult situation. (1st photo)

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2nd photo of a properly executed landing under sail.   .   .

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The wind is blowing onto the shore at an angle, and several other boats are landing at the same time.

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Approaching the beach, the smart skipper turns toward the wind slightly and eases the sails out to slow down... or even come to a stop... allowing the other boats to complete their landing and make an opening at the beach. Then the boat turns toward the beach and the crew prepares to let the centerboard up. Then the boat turns toward the wind and eases sails again to slow down just where the water gets shallow and the centerboard must be raised a little. The skipper hhthe turn, the centerboard is then fully raised, the skipper pulls the rudder up too, the boat moves gently sideways up to the beach

Wait a minute... didn't we have 4 FJs sailing today? We sure did! Where is the fourth one? Why, it's tied to the dock where it was towed after a capsize, and the sailors are warming up because they wanted to learn about HYPOTHERMIA.

Just kidding. They got a chill but not hypothermic. Fortunately the coaches were ready for a rescue, with big fluffy warm towels to wrap up in. However, all sailing cadets will need to learn the material about hypothermia (not by experiencing it, please) such as how to recognize it, what the effects are, and what to do about it.

..... posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King

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Getting it all together, learning as we go

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Here we go... getting started pulling the New Bern NJROTC's fleet out of it's winter sleep.

We have some work to do before we can turn this (1st pic) into THIS (2nd pic)

  This work takes 2 forms, we need to get the boats ready to sail by putting the masts up, attaching the rigging properly, getting them ready to launch... we need to work on getting the SAILORS ready too, by learning terminology and skills.

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 Bridgeton Harbor Marina provides an excellent venue for the boats and for learning to sail. The coaches are equally important. Here is Coach Mark Hittner with some of the advanced sailing cadets, most with a year's experience, on getting the FJs ready.

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Coach Mike Murphy is working with the beginner sailors on the 3 Oday Javelins, which are not much bigger but heavier and more stable. 

The Javelins are kept on trailers during the winter, and moored in a slip for the sailing season. The Flying Juniors (FJs) are kept on shore, the cadets carry them and use a dolly to launch them at the Bridgeton Harbor beach every sailing session.

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 Now this Javelin has the mast up, stays pinned, the boom rigged, and the students have learned the names and functions of many of these parts of the boat while they are doing the work.

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 This has done some traveling... at Twin Rivers YMCA pool for last weeks lesson on capsizing... and now we are rigging it again for sailing.

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 It takes some muscle, but more skill and knowledge, to get these small boats masts up and put in place correctly. These cadets have done this a few times, and know the basics well. But there is always more to learn. The geometry of where the mast is stepped and how it is rakes, which the stays control, strongly affects how efficiently this boat will perform when sailing.

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Head Sailing Coach Jerry Rezab has been in charge of this program since before 2008. It was a going concern when he joined, but he made it much more vital and exciting using smaller more responsive boats, acquiring a fleet and and all the needed gear to sail, and recruiting volunteer coaches with the expertise and the personality to make it happen.

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... photos by Fred Cornford

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OK let's get this party started... work + land lesson

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This afternoon the cadets got their hands on their boats and started getting them assembled for sailing. The boats are unrigged and disassembled for the winter, and we need to get the masts up, the standing rigging adjusted & fastened, and if we get them cleaned up a bit that would be nice too.



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Work is off to a slow start... that's OK we'll get it done






The New Bern NJROTC is lucky in having this fleet, we have been donated 6 Flying Juniors (called "FJs" and they're the standard high school and college racing sailboat) and 3 Oday Javelins, which we bought new sails for last fall.







Step 1- carry the stored parts of the boat from the shed to the launch area. At the same time, we are (hopefully) learning terminology for parts of the boat... what's the name of this thing again?  






Although we have a good-sized class for this spring semester... 22 students... there enough masts and booms and rudders and boxes of rope so every cadet got to carry something, some made 2 trips. Obviously it takes TEAMWORK or we could not do it. And all these hands and all this material needs to be organized, maybe LEADERSHIP plays a small part too. 

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The advanced students worked on the FJs, they are stored upside-down over the winter. The hull (wait, what is that funny word -link-)  makes a nice roof for animals, another lesson is to always be careful! 


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Meanwhile the beginners are working on the Javelins with Coach Murphy










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Everybody gets a turn climbing into the boat, but it takes teamwork to get the masts up and rigged.





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 It's shocking to think how quickly this sailing class goes by. We've had 2 sessions, so it is more than 10% done. We have barely scratched the surface. The beginner sailors have made a good start on learning the names of basic parts of the boat, and they are beginning to see how it goes together. But the whole point of this class is SAIL, to have the on-water skills of making the boat do what it is supposed to. 

We don't drift along with the wind, we make the wind takes us where we want to go!

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 Our new coach, Chris Davies, is helping one of the advanced cadets "remember" how to tie a bowline.




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These guys look like boat-rigging pros! 






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Okay, we haven't -quite- gotten all the rigging work done, but it was a windy chilly day... most of the cadets found out how difficult it is to work shackles and cotter rings... with cold numb fingers. We did not go out on the water, or get wet. Think how much worse that would be!

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Taking a short break to warm up. Coach Murphy teaches a little about how to properly handle ropes... a neat coil is not as easy as it looks. Meanwhile, these advanced cadets are recalling the lessons on hypothermia!




We have our first written assignment out, if you get it done early then go ahead and turn it in. This class has to move along if these beginners are going to be skippering their own boats within a few sessions! We are also planning to take the advanced sailors further this semester, with some new challenges.

... photos by Chris Davies
... posted by Assistant Sailing Coach Douglas King


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Starting out with a SPLASH

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Our first class was held yesterday afternoon... capsize drill at the Twin Rivers YMCA pool, which is still under it's winter "bubble" roof. This is a great training exercise, and we really appreciate the opportunity to get in out of the weather and get an early start on our sailing practice


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The first job is to carry the boat inside. The FJs are heavy, but manageable with a team effort. Unfortunately us coaches were too busy to get any photos of this process.


The advanced cadets have the task of setting up the mast and rigging.





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Meanwhile the beginners were passing their swim test.

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After a winter break from sailing, do we remember how all this stuff works? What does that green rope do? A few moments of hesitating, then our first skipper and crew set out to try the Capsize Drill







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 Successfully capsized!
 The first priority is safety- the skipper and crew must check on each other. We want to hear you yell out "ARE YOU OK?"

Remember, if you can yell that means your head is above water... which is a good thing...




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 Step 2 is a bit more complicated, which is why we practice. The skipper and crew must get control of the boat. This means ensuring that it will not drift away from them, and that it will not turn "turtle" with the mast pointing down.


The skipper swims around the stern of the boat to grab the centerboard, preventing the boat from turtling.



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Still on Step 2...
The skipper has a firm grip on the centerboard, and waits for the crew to be ready to pull the boat rightside-up. Remember, if the boat capsized it is probably due to strong winds or some other challenging conditions, so they must be prepared to keep control of the boat once it is upright. This is why sailing requires a high level of teamwork!





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  Step 3... right the boat, crew gets aboard using the "scoop" method. He must be careful to not pull against the skipper, but use a quick pull and a strong swimmer's kick to get inside the boat as it comes up.

Having the weight of a person inside the boat helps hold it stable, and eliminates the chance that a strong wind will blow it out of control or away from the skipper and crew in the water.






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In this program, we also sail Oday Javelins, which are heavy and stable. You can walk across their foredeck.

Not so the FJs! Here's why...





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 Sailing is an excellent demonstration that brains are better than brawn. Here one of the physically smallest cadets is preparing to pull the boat upright

In a situation like this, using the bow-line as a righting assistance line is important.



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 Determination! She is pulling steadily and the boat is stating to come up.












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 Crew is doing "The Scoop," skipper slipped out of place a little but the boat is on it's way



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A little further, crew is almost inside, skipper is regaining the right position and still determined to keep control of the boat.

From this angle, the boat will often come upright on it's own. They feel tippy but are surprisingly stable.








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Success! Now comes the last part, the crew helps the skipper aboard. This can be easier if the crew lets the boat heel toward the skipper, which makes the gun'l lower to climb over.








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Brief review- what did we learn? Some names of boat parts, how to get in or out, remember to watch the boom, and of course the 3 steps of the Capsize Drill...


We also made a big step in learning that we can control the boat even when things go wrong!


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... posted by Assistant Sailing Coach Douglas King

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Schedule Update!

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Feb 10, Mon...  CAPSIZE DRILL, Twin Rivers YMCA (link)  3pm ~ 5:30 (1500 ~ 1730)

Feb 17, Mon... "ground school" Bridgeton 1500 ~ 1700 (weather permitting)

Feb 24, Mon... Sailing (weather permitting) Bridgeton 1500 ~ 1700

Mar 3, Mon... 1500 ~ 1700

Mar 10, Mon... now we'll be on Daylight Savings Time, 1500 ~ 1730

Mar 15, Sat... 9am ~ 12pm (0900 ~ 1200)

Mar 17, Mon ... 1500 ~ 1730

Mar 24, Mon... 1500 ~ 1730

Mar 31, Mon...

Apr 5, Sat... 0900 ~ 1200

Apr 7, Mon... 1500 ~ 1730

Apr 21, Mon...

Apr 26, Sat... Applebee's Flapjack Fundraiser breakfast  7am ~ 10am

Apr 28, Mon...

May 5, Mon...

May 12, Mon...

May 19 , Mon...

Awards Banquet, May 23...

Please note that we are starting off with the ever popular CAPSIZE DRILL (link). The beginners will have a lot of new info thrown at them, but it's also a lot of fun (true for the advanced cadets also!)

Make sure you get the permission forms filled out, see Top or Commander!

... ... Assistant Sailing Coach Douglas King 

Snow? Sailing? Yes, now and not long from now...

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We do in fact have "winter" here although it's certainly different from what other places must deal with. It's not unusual to have snow during a New Bern winter, but it rarely sticks and even more rarely sticks around. Ice is a bigger concern.







Our "hotrod" 5O5 was tucked into it's cover and well taken care of. We hope all the students and their families came thru the storm safely too.










It might seem odd to be planning our sailing classes in the midst of all this snow & ice... it will be gone soon and we DO have class beginning in February. The first class will be at the high school, hopefully with a real boat for practice, then we will have a combined "ground school" and work session out at Bridgeton Harbor to get the boats rigged up, the Javelins launched, and ready to SAIL.



Might not be a bad idea for those thinking about taking BASIC SAILING this spring to take a look at tour on-line lessons (link), or our advanced & Blue Book sailors to review just a bit.

See you all soon!     .     .     .  Assistant Sailing Coach Douglas King