Sailing Today!!! Big boats R cool !!!

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So, we are almost finished with the semester. Hopefully we can get one more sailing session, depending on the weather of course.

We have a number of beginners who are -almost- qualified Basic Sailors. To qualify, a cadet must know terminology including basic parts of the boat, all rigging, directions, commands and responses for evolutions, and some general terms. They must be able to rig and unrig the boat without help, or even hints, from a coach. They must be able to sail the boat on all points of sail, carry out all maneuvers including tacking, stopping, and gybing. They must know the right-of-way rules. They must be able to unrig the boat and put all sails & gear away properly. They must undertand and follow safe practices.



They learn most of this from their fellow cadets who have gone on to seek ratings as advanced sailors.



Sailing the big keelboats complicates this. For one thing, we can't expect the cadets to handle engines. And the procedures with roller-furling and winches and depth-sounders are quite different than our small FJs and Javelins; and they never have to carry out a Capsize Drill.

But the basics of sailing do not change, whatever size the vessel.



A big THANK YOU to 'Dutch Wind,' to 'Rampant Lion,' and to 'Allegro' !!!

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



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Sailing cancelled today

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Unfortunately there is a front approaching the New Bern area with threatening weather.

Sailing is cancelled for this afternoon



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Cold but fun.... putting it all into practice

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Ok, we did the classroom lessons, we rigged and practiced with a boat in the parking lot.... we even did capsize drill at the YMCA pool..........

but today we got underway and sailed!

Thanks to Fairfield Harbour resident sailors, who kindly offered their own cruising boats as training platforms, we put it all together: terminology, rigging, knowing the ropes (and the knots), all the Points of Sail, and Tacking!







 Sailing cadets..... and the NJROTC Commanding Officer Ron Fry...... sailing on Coach John Jackson's Georgie Girl.







 All the cadets had a chance to take the helm, to handle sails, and show their knowledge & skill (while learning yet more), out on the Neuse River. In order to pass the Basic Sailing course, they must demonstrate the ability to function as skipper of a small vessel from rigging to getting underway to all normal maneuvers under sail, and then properly putting everything away for next time.

 A smaller crew of cadets on board Peter Budzynkiewicz's Wicked Good. Normally the cadets sail small boats with tillers, and of course without self-tailing winches.

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By now, we need to know all the basic boat parts, basic terminology, and Points of Sail very well.

For example, if we are the skipper of a a boat sailing along on a Broad Reach, on Port Tack, and we intend to turn the boat to starboard, what must we do? What orders do we give the crew? What tasks must the crew perform?

And there is more. For example, the act of TACKING is to go from "close hauled" on either port or starboard tack, thru "in irons" head to wind, and continuing to turn until "close hauled" on the other tack (starboard or port).

But what happens if we turn from a Broad Reach on Port Tack, and we turn to starboard, and continue turning until the sails switch sides and are now on Starboard Tack? We have just GYBED, and this is a maneuver we must know how to do properly because in some ways GYBING is easier than TACKING but it has greater risk.

We must also learn to STOP the boat while under sail!



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Back at the dock, our short afternoon sail over...... looking forward to next week, anyone??

...   posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King

Real Sailboat, Hands-On practice

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This week, our sailing class continued to learn the basics.... and the experienced sailors from last year had a refresher.......


 
We've studied TERMINOLOGY and perhaps begun to learn why special words are important in specialized fields of knowledge, like medicine or aviation or sailing. We should know the names of many parts of the boat (link) itself, as well as knowing PORT from STARBOARD.

 The class has mad good progress, but now let's get real!







This week we had one of our Oday Javelins on the grinder. The class had a chance to put their hands on all the funny-name parts of the boat, and to begin to see how it all works together. Most students had the chance to practice rigging and hoisting the sails.








This is a simple exercise, but we go on the theory that we learn more by doing than by sitting. It's good know the knots, but it's important to know where and when each knot is used, and to practice tying them while standing or perhaps crouching on a real boat.


We also learned some of the picky, finicky, details of rigging a real boat..... for example, the blocks (pulleys) for the jib sheet and main sheet have a ratchet, which must click the right way. This makes the boat -much- easier to sail IF you get it right!






At this point, let's go to our sailing lessons on line (link), or our textbook, or one of the references in
the classroom, and take the next step of learning the Points Of Sail. This is very important. In fact, one of the best things you can do is memorize this diagram.


We still have a lot to cover before we can actually GO SAILING, but we will do so in the next few weeks. We will also practice our Capsize Drill (link) so that we will be prepared for an emergency on the water.

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

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Sailing Class is GO for Spring 2019

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Here is the schedule for our sailing classes this semester:

Feb 25  ...  (class at NBHS)

Mar 3   ... intro classes, location TBD

Mar 11 ... intro classes, location TBD

Mar 18  ... intro classes, location TBD

Mar 25 ... intro classes, location TBD, possible Sailing Practice

Apr 1   ... Sailing Practice, location TBD, weather-dependent

Apr 8   ... Sailing Practice, location TBD, weather-dependent

Apr 15 ... Sailing Practice, location TBD, weather-dependent

Apr 29 ... Sailing Practice, location TBD, weather-dependent

May 6  ... Sailing Practice, location TBD, weather-dependent

May 13 ... Sailing Practice, location TBD, weather-dependent

These are all Monday afternoons. There are only 11 class sessions, so attendance is critical

We will offer advanced sailing topics to the cadets who are already qualified Basic Sailors.

Depending on the weather and class progress, we may get out on the water for sailing practice in March. To get the class out on the water as much as possible is the goal of the program!

The status of the fleet is still a big question mark. We have one undamaged FJ and two Javelins that appear to have suffered minor (if any) damage, and the other two Javelins are repairable. We hope to get the small boat fleet back into action this semester, but we have contingency plans and will definitely get out on the water for sailing!

... Assistant Sailing Coach Douglas King

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