5 Reasons your kid should sail (and nto just for kids!)

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Learning how to sail helps kids develop confidence and coordination. Photo by Allen Clark / PhotoBoat.com
 

Vol. 1, No. 11

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  1. Self-Confidence.  There is simply nothing like being able to pilot your own craft at the age of 9 years old.  Riding a bike is one thing.  Skillfully steering and docking a sailboat is quite another.  All of my athletic endeavors helped to shape my sense of self as a kid, but sailing was without a doubt the most instrumental.   I have not only noticed this in myself; during my ten years as a sailing instructor, I have seen it again and again in my students.
  2. Spatial awareness.  When kids learn how to navigate a boat through narrow spaces and tight turns—how to avoid collisions, coast to a dock with finesse, or squeeze into a packed starting line at a regatta—they develop a spatial awareness that will bring them prowess all activities that involve coordination.  Like driving, for instance.
  3. Sense of direction.  When I was 10 years old, I would sail all week with my class, and then go out on weekends by myself.  I would pack a lunch and take my Optimist out for a couple of hours to explore.  I believe that it was on those trips that I began to develop a good sense of direction.  Noticing which direction I had come from, picking out landmarks, and knowing how to get back became a regular part of my stream of consciousness.  That awareness is crucial to having a sense of direction.
  4. Weather knowledge.  Do you know from which direction thunder storms normally come?  Do you know what the water temperature normally is on Long Island Sound in May?  If your child is a sailor, he or she will know.   Weather knowledge will come in handy both on-the-water and on land.
  5. Shipshape habits.  Sailing students learn how to properly rig and unrig a boat.  Kids learn to put things away in the right place, and keep them tidy while on the water.  That’s a skill no mom or dad can argue with.  Longshore Sailing School even has a shipshape award for every class to encourage the behavior.   

So if your kids haven’t tried sailing, have them give it a try. 

-DC

Seven Steps to Safer Navigation Under Sail!

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Sailing navigation begins with the process of interpretation of what you see and how that will affect your small sailboat and her crew now and in the future.  Keep sailing safer when you make most of your navigation preparations dockside before you cast off that first line.
 
Follow these seven simple sailing tips to keep your small sailboat and her crew in safe water this season. Grab a set of colored pencils or highlighters and mark or highlight your chart for safer, easier navigation this sailing season.


1.    Mark Shoals and Set the Alarm!

Use a dark blue pencil to mark any shoal within one to two miles of your sailing tracks. Set your depth sounder alarm to trigger when you sail within a mile or so of any of these shoals. This will give you more time to change course toward deeper water for sailing safety. 

2.    Look for Ranges (Transits) for "Bulls-eye" Navigation.

Use ranges (also called "transits")--two objects that line up with one another--to keep in the center of a channel.  Look on your nautical chart and see if you can find two charted objects that line up with the channel. Ranges (transits) make sailing easier and safer no matter where you sail!

3.    Draw in Danger Bearings to Boost Safety.

Use your magenta or crimson colored pencil to mark wrecks that you will pass close to as you sail along your sailing track.  Realize that wrecks can shift position after storms or in strong currents. So, that charted position may or may not be accurate on an older uncorrected chart. Keep a safe distance away to avoid damage to hull, keel, rudder, propeller or propeller shaft.

4.    Circle Emergency Anchorages to Stand Out.

Use green colored pencil to draw an anchor symbol surrounded by a circle, marking emergency anchorages. If you lose engine power in a narrow channel or you need to "pull off the road" when sailing along the coast, an emergency anchorage that's already marked and highlighted provides a super fast sailing solution day or night.

5.   Darken the Lat/Long Scales for Faster Plotting.

Do you find the Latitude and Longitude scales difficult to read in low light conditions? Use a fine tip laundry marking pen (waterproof) to darken the scales on the right, left, top, and bottom of your nautical chart. Now those scales will stand out to make plotting and orientation faster and easier!

6.   Make a Customized Distance Scale.

Make your own distance scales for each chart. Draw a vertical or horizontal line and mark off miles and tenths.  Use your laundry marker to make it stand out. Tape over the scale to protect it. Now you have an easy to use, easy to find scale that will make plotting faster and easier.

7.   Form a "Box of Protection" Around Sailing Courses.
 
Imagine that your sailing track lies inside a four sided rectangular shaped structure. Each side lies about two to three miles away from any point of the sailing track. Now, scan out to that distance from each side of this virtual "box of safety". Do you see any rocks, wrecks, obstructions? How about notes that tell you of tide rips, breakers, or rip currents?  Highlight any features that will help keep your small sailboat and sailing crew safe and sound.

Warm Regards,

Captain John

Author of "Seamanship Secrets"

Website: http://SkipperTips.com

"Be the Skipper You Want to Be!"

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Teens up from Wellington

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Students come to us from all over New Zealand and Overseas to start or get their watersports fix. This week teenagers from Wellington and palmy north joined us. Their progression has been fantastic. The sailors can now sail the omega all over the Harbour, trapezeing on the way, crew 3 sail reaching and chase each other around in the single handed topaz. After just a few hours a newbie windsurfer can expect to have the skills to windsurf back and forth from the beach. As with yesterday many people learn the basics so easily that we move onto some freestyle fun. Drop me a line to plan in some watersports to your next holiday, if you live in the area then lets get you out enjoying the Harbour all summer.