Sailing Today..... yes, finally!

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This afternoon was beautiful, sunny, not too hot, there was even some wind! After weeks of bad weather, we were really glad to get out on the water and see how much we remember about SAILING.







For the first time this year, the advanced sailors took out the FJs and had some fun in the "sports car" boats. A few of the less-experienced were nervous at first, but all had a good time and everybody gained some good practice.

At the far left, you can see the cupola of the old Post Office in historic New Bern,  with some of our boats and cadets sailing...... the one coming towards the camera very fast is an FJ


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Here is the single most important thing to understand about sailing: the Points of Sail, which is really just a way of describing and defining the angle of the boat to the wind.

 The coaches were a little disappointed that the cadets are still weak on this, let's make we master this diagram..... it's simple, really!








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Here's two of the advanced cadets finding the excitment in sailing an FJ. They are preparing to gybe, just as a gust hits.

HINT: it is easier to steer downwind in strong winds when the vang is tight

Standing up in the boat is often a "show-off" move but it is also a good way to capsize, or fall overboard. In this case, the boat is trying to swerve one way while the skipper is trying to steer another way, and the crew cannot decide whether to hike out to flatten the boat or to wrestle with the jib sheets. 

 A close call? Not really, the two boats passed with a safe distance apart, and both were under good steering control the whole time.

In the event that the boats were coming too close, which one would have Right-Of-Way? (link) This is still a topic to be covered in this spring's sailing class!

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Two beginners with Coach Jackson..... each took a turn as "skipper" this time, and did well.

Can you tell what "Point of Sail" this boat is on? You can see by the wake that they are moving along nicely, so the sails are set or trimmed correctly......







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Here's an FJ zooming by a Javelin, as well it should. For one thing the FJ skipper is one of our best sailors and has some racing experience.

 We encourage sailors to move into the FJs as soon as they can, because these boats are not just faster, but they are more responsive (better feedback for learning) and with only two people, the cadet sailors gain much more experience quickly.





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Three beginners with Coach Hittner.

Are they ready to take command of the boat on their own, next week? That's what we are working toward.




 ...  written & posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King



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