Windy & Rough Again... real sailing

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There seems to be a weather pattern this spring, every Monday afternoon the wind picks up and the river kicks up. After lots of practice on everything we need to do, there is nothing left but to go sailing. So, that's what we do... sail!

But first, we have to rig up the boats. Work before fun! This class is a bit slower than some we've had in the past, many are struggling with the terminology and the parts of the boat. However, we're improving!

Here is the Table of Contents (link) for our sailing lessons. Most of the class would benefit from a little browsing here.


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"Which one is the halyard and which one is the sheet?" By now, all sailing cadets should know this basic stuff, we've been studying it for 8 weeks!

To be fair, one of the students in this photo is an advanced sailor helping out, not a struggling beginner.





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These cadets are all beginners, and they were the quickest to get rigged up. Here they are investing the saved time by practicing a few moves on the boat. Usually the reward for being the first to rig up is MORE SAILING but conditions today were too rough.







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We also had Coach Mike Murphy (link) bring his own boat, a Montgomery 15 cruiser. Another advanced sailor is showing his ability as skipper, with a beginner as crew. Coach Murphy is on board, just ducked out of sight the moment this photo was taken.








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We took turns sailing the Javelins, here is Coach Hittner steering while two beginners handle the sheets and get the feel of the boat moving in 15 ~ 18 knot winds.









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Taking turns sailing Coach Murphy's boat also. These two are both beginners, doing well for their first time.











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Here we are at the dock, switching out crews. There are several safety rules to keep in mind when handling boats around the dock, and on a windy, choppy day like today, they are not just theory!








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Coach Murphy's boat has a ballasted keel and is more stable than the Javelins, which in turn are much more stable than the FJs. It takes practice! Here is Coach Hittner correcting the steering of a beginner.

"Don't look at the tiller, look where you're going!" 








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THIS is more like it!

After all, today was our first actual real-life sail. With such a strong wind and rough water, mistakes could be very costly and/or painful. However, everything went quite smoothly, we only made some small errors and hopefully learned... like this time!






Approx half the photos in this posting were taken by NJROTC cadets

   ... posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King




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