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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SPLASH !! . capsizing, done right!

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Capsizing a sailboat can be a disaster, or it can be part of the fun. The biggest difference is in the skill & confidence of the sailors. "The Capsize Drill" (our lesson) (link)

Thanks to the Twin Rivers YMCA in New Bern, we have the opportunity to practice capsizing in warm water, calm controlled conditions, and make sure our sailors can do it correctly.

Here is one of our advanced sailors, demonstrating how to grasp the centerboard and ensure the boat will not "turtle" (roll all the way bottom-up). He can right the boat easily by pulling down on the tip of the centerboard,  but he waits to make sure everything is ready.

(photo by Mac Paul, thanks!)

The first step is getting the boat into the pool. Unfortunately, the gates and doors are not wide enough to carry the FJ in. Fortunately, if we tip the boat on it's side, it will fit thru!

 As always, Coach Rezab is leading the way and making sure the process goes smoothly.








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Well, we got the boat in, rigged it (a lesson on Boat Parts & Terminology!), and now we're ready. Skipper & crew are in position, the skipper is simulating steering the boat properly (holding the hiking stick).








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Over we go!

At some point, we should practice HIKING in these boats too, but for now we are just flipping it. The job of puling the mast over is one of the perks for our Cadet Sailing Squad Commander.










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OK, so the boat is really capsized. What do we do?

At this point, both crew & skipper are in the water next to the boat.

 The first step is ALWAYS to check each other's safety.
Coach Rezab is waiting to hear both sailors yell out, "Yes, I'm OK!"







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Now we move on to Step 2... getting control of the situation!

The skipper swims around the transom (hint- this skipper is a good swimmer, but it's OK to pull yourself around holding onto the transom) and gets a grip on the senterboard.











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There are good ways to do it, and not so good ways. This is one of the not-so-good ways to hold the centerboard.

With both hands on the same side, it's harder to keep a good grip, and holding the centerboard by the middle does not exert as much leverage on the boat.








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That's better!

Now the skipper holds the tip of the centerboard, and keeps hold of the righting line. Even a slim or petite sailor can pull an FJ right-side up if done correctly!

The crew also has a job to do- ensure the sheets are free, throws the bow line over to use as  a righting line if needed (there are not-so-good ways of doing this too), and prepares to "scoop" into the boat as it comes upright.

 (photo by Mac Paul, thanks!)


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The last step is when the crew helps the skipper back aboard the boat.


Oh wait, one more step:

They pose for a glamor shot!










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Splash !!

We have 14 sailors in the class, and everybody gets a turn to practice.

In fact, we try to give everybody a chance to perform the Capsize Drill as both crew and as skipper.




 

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 This skipper makes the mistake of trying to stay dry. Sorry, not going to happen! This is why we don't take cell phones sailing.

Actually, trying to climb up the boat is a serious mistake. It will pull the boat over "turtle" very quickly and you'll end up in the water anyway. Also, out in the river, it could break the mast against the bottom.






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Around the transom, now  he's got a grip on the centerboard. You can see the crew throwing the bow line up & over; it is important to get it -aft- of the shrouds (standing rigging).

At this point, the situation is under control. Both sailors are OK, it is important that both keep their hold on the boat (drifting away = big problem). In a real capsize, there may be reasons to wait before pulling the boat right-side up.












The boat comes upright, the crew is "scooped" so as to be in position to keep control of the situation. The boat is more stable with the weight of the crew inside, and she can help the skipper climb aboard.

HINT- it is easier to get aboard if the crew lets the boat heel over toward the skipper. Use your skills and the boat's stability to help!






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Here is our Cadet Sailing Commander demonstrating another way to pull the boat upright. You can see how his body weight is further out from the boat, exerting more leverage than he could on the centerboard.

This is another reason why we sail with shoes on, bare feet are slippery on waxed fiberglass.






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posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King


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Sailing class is making good progress. We have covered terminology, rigging, and the basic Points of Sail (link), and we've been out sailing twice in the Javelins. By now, the students should be able to rig up their boats, hoist sails, and should be able to steer a steady course.

We also have work to do- here is the sailing squad moving the FJ hulls. Teamwork is important!











Obviously if we have been out sailing, and came back, then we must have "tacked" a couple of times too.

Our next lesson will be on TACKING (link) and on STOPPING (link). Both skippers and crews will need to know the proper commands and the proper actions; we will be doing sailing drills soon!




















Coach Jackson, Coach Hallquist, and LCDR Tyson are supervising the working party. 












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Putting up the masts on the FJs. This is why we need to know all the details of how the boats are rigged.

Our boats are simple but there are many details which must be exactly correct.








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LCDR Tyson and Head Sailing Coach Jerry Rezab with the advanced sailors, who unfortunately did not get a chance to show off their skills today in the FJs... the time is coming soon!











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Here is Coach Jackson and his beginners preparing to leave the dock.


There was a light breeze, but it was enough to make the boats move along smartly -IF- the sailors got the moves right!






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More work... putting everything away.  The sailing class is labor intensive for both the students and the coaches, but the lessons learned are very important.



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...  Photos by Coach Fred Cornford
...  posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King


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Sailing Class is under way !!

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NJROTC Sailing Class has begun for Spring 2015... yes it's a real class, and yes we have lessons and grades and all that. We also have a lot of fun, and the cadets who stick with it for a few sessions will really go sailing. In fact they will be skippering their own boats soon.







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Today we actually covered several brief lessons- first we learned a few knots (link), then we got on a real boat and practiced some moves.

All of our basic lessons are available on this web site. If you look over to the left, you'll see a column of "Links We Like." This includes some of our sponsors and supporters, and the 4th one down is "Our Sailing Lessons (link)."

These lessons give the basic terminology, most of which we covered today. Do you remember what the HULL (link) is, and the RIG? What are the two types of standing rigging, and what is the difference between a HALYARD and a SHEET (link)?    .  Hint- the "sheet" is not the sail, it is one of the ropes.

This afternoon we worked with both STANDING RIGGING (to make the mast stand up) and RUNNING RIGGING (to hoist & control the sails).




So, if you are a beginner sailor, and you are mystified by these questions, these lessons should help. We will have more next week, and soon we will not only cover REAL SAILING but we will be practicing how to capsize safely!



posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King



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Sailing Wrap-up for 2014

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 Well, the sailing season is over for us... did we learn anything? It looks like some of us are still getting help from a coach in rigging up the boats!

Actually, as you'll see, these cadets learned to sail quite well.





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Here is one of our new sailors skippering an FJ. The boat is moving well (check out that bow wave), looks pretty good.










Actually, SAILING is not over, there is a winter racing series here on the Neuse River. Some of the coaches & students participate, but it's not an NJROTC function.

What's the definition of a race? Two sailboats going in approximately the same direction! Here we see our Sailing Squad Commander demonstrating his advanced sailing skills... it's difficult to pass another boat to leeward, but he does it.







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Now it's time to put the boats away.

Most semester, the cadets are given a work day ("working party" in Navy terminology) to get everything properly stored for the winter. However the onset of cold weather & winter storms got the coaches to act during the week before, and you can see it was not really a day at the beach!





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This semester, we welcome a couple of new coaches. Thanks to these guys, we have a solid fleet and skilled teachers... hey wait where's the boss? Head Coach Rezab is not in this photo!


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Congratulations to the cadets who achieved the Basic Sailing qualification, and are now officially SKIPPERS! This means a lot, not everybody can do it.

... posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King

Sailing the "Baby Ducks" drill

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After learning about all the terminology, the basic parts of the boat, proving able to rig the sails, having the coaches help while learning to steer and trim the sails properly... now we are proving our ability to sail.


We use sailing drills to practice and improve skills, and to demonstrate control of the boat in different circumstances. In order to qualify as a sailor, our cadets must complete 3 sailing drills beyond the simple (and fun!) "Baby Ducks" (link). But you have to start somewhere!








"Baby Ducks" may be simple. Just follow the coach boat flying the "L" flag. It might be simple but it is not easy, we will sail on all points of sail and carry out several maneuvers including TACKING (link). The students try hard to stick as close as possible to Mama Duck, and the coaches can see directly how much they learned. We can even see them improve as we carry out the drill!












As we sail close together, avoiding collisions is very important. The Javelin on the left is tacking but is directly in the way of Coach Jackson's Javelin. Fortunately the cadet skipper on the left  has good control of his vessel and steers downwind to go astern of the one tacking.

This brings up our next major topic, the Right of Way Rules (link).













These cadets have learned well, sailing faster and tacking more efficiently. With such good control of their boat, they should get promoted to sailing FJs soon!








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This skipper and crew are also doing well, at this point we are just sailing for fun... everybody passed the drill!

 Now comes the time to un-rig the boats and put everything away.

What's the name of this rope, the one we use to hoist and lower the sails? No problem, the jib halyard and main halyard. We can even handle cleat hitches (one of the qualifying knots).


We have good weather, a good breeze, and a very good afternoon of sailing.





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

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