More wind!

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Many sailing classes do not get the experience of sailing in strong wind. This semester, we are getting LOTS of practice in reefing the mainsails, handling the boat in big waves, and the fun of going fast.

In this photo, both skippers are Advanced Sailing cadets... passed basic sailing earlier in their careers! Beginners, step up!! You do not earn a medal for being crew!

 We are getting close to the end of the semester. We have 4 sailing days left, and this leaves little time for practicing sailing drills.



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 Lesson to be learned from this photo- when in doubt, let it out. These cadets are happily sailing along on a broad reach, in other words going down wind, with their sails pulled in too tight. The boat is going slower than it should, and it will be more difficult to steer.








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 Here is a boat being well sailed. Also on a broad reach, the sails are eased out and the boat is tearing along.

Note the helmsman: sitting forward in the boat, using the hiking stick (tiller extension).













Crash crew ready!













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These two boats have just tacked. The white Javelin has her jib trimmed in, and the sail is starting to pull the bow away from the wind as well as pulling the boat forward. In difficult situation, using both sails properly makes it look easy!

A minute or so after this photo, the yellow boat pulled ahead due to her skipper's better steering.



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A good afternoon on the water! Coach Murphy did great at helping our sailors improve their skills.

As always, there is a bit of work to do. Sails rolled and stowed properly, the boat's rigging needs to be secured, rudders taken off and covered, and more.

Yes sailing takes work, but it builds teamwork and leadership to get these tasks accomplished smoothly.


... ... posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King

Sailing... yes we go!

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This Tuesday was cool & breezy. The river was a solid whitecaps, the railroad bridge was a potentially hazardous lee shore. We had a small but well prepared group of cadets, and our small fleet of Javelins went out sailing!






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The advanced cadets usually sail FJs, today they were assigned to take beginners out as crew. Unfortunately the beginners are still not comfortably familiar with the details of rigging & hoisting the sails yet!










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Due to the strong winds, we "reefed" the mainsails as we hoisted them. This makes the task slightly more complex.

"Reefing" a sail is a way of making it smaller.








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The assignment was to carry out The Pipeline (link) sailing drill. This is an exercise in sailing upwind, tacking, and sailing close-hauled.  In this photo, they have completed one round of The Pipeline and are getting ready to start another drill.







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Here we see the coach boat flying the 'L' flag (Lima). Officially this means "come within hailing distance," we use to signal all student boats to come close to the coach boat. It is a good way to start a sailing drill, especially the Baby Ducks drill.








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Great shot of our boats with the historic church steeple in the background.

Even when the wind is strong and the water is choppy, a sailor must be able to keep his vessel under control. He must be able to sail to a destination, to steer handily or to stop at a given spot, and of course always follow the Navigation Rules including right-of-way. Our advanced cadets proved they can do this, our beginner sailors have seen a great example of what it all means. And they have good experience as crew, which is an important part of the job!



... photos courtesy of Coach Fred Cornford
... posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King


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