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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