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

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

 

Vol. 1, No. 11

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

How to Patch a RIB tube

This is so worth doing properly to avoiding constant pumping every time you use your boat.

http://youtu.be/OncFphHZ6oM

Life Jackets on all boats under 6m

This is to advise – in case you haven’t already heard – that Waikato Regional Council adopted their new navigation safety bylaw yesterday.

The key change is that it is now compulsory to wear a PFD (lifejacket) in vessels 6 metres or less while underway, in the Waikato Region.

The area covered by Waikato Regional Council includes all of the Coromandel Peninsula and the Mercury Islands, Slipper Island etc.  This means, amongst other things, that whenever you go ashore in your dinghy, in this area, you will need to be WEARING (not just carrying) a lifejacket.

For any more information, please contact the Waikato Regional Council’s Navigation Safety team on 0800 800 401.

Coach Interview - Peter Head

Owner Operator of Elements Watersports. Peter is also a Yachting New Zealand Course Facilitator. Many of you coaches will have been taught by Peter in becoming a Learn to Sail Coach, qualified powerboat driver or windsurfer. I caught up with Peter to ask him about the changing environments we face as coaches and what makes a good coach.

Q - How did you get into coaching and how long have you been involved?

A - 20 odd years ago I trained as an instructor after leaving school, 4-5 years teaching during the British summers , and the winters studying Coaching and Maritime Management at  college and then  Southampton University. After that I headed off around the world working in various sides of the watersports industry. 

Q - How many days a year are you on the water and what do you spend most time doing/teaching?

A - I spend most of my time delivering sailing, windsurfing and powerboating courses. This is a mix of taster, entry level through to instructor and commercial boat courses in Tauranga and around the New Zealand.

Q - You are involved in coaching and Instructing windsurfing and Sailing, what main differences do you come across, and how do you adapt your style?

A - With the right boats and weather it is easy to get people sailing around under control, the challenge is then to get them to recognise there is more to it and so much more they can do,  places they can go with it. It’s also straight forward to get a windsurfer up and going on beginner kit, but  they soon realise that they are a long way off doing the windsurfing secene on a windy day locally or on video clips.  I tend to teach windsurfing more from a board, when students see it being done right next to them then they have no excuses but to give it a go.

Q - What do you find the best way of delivering skills are? Are you using more video, hands on?

A - The more practical and  hands on the tuition is, the more students tend to enjoy it and want to come back for more. The ease of taking and sharing photo’s and video has made it so much easier to get students to coach themselves.

Q - What is the best way for young coaches wanting to get into coaching as a job?

A - Sailors and windsurfers can make coaching into a career, get into a YNZ Coach Course, get to as many locations as possible. Explor and apply different forms of learning.  Making watersports a career can be accelerated by Taking a Coaching or Sports Management course at University or one of the outdoor Polytechnics around the country. There is plenty of work out there for those that want to take Watersports professionally.

Q - As a YNZ facilitator, what skills make a young coach stand out?

A - Sailors with empathy for their students tend to remember what it was like to learn and be able to work out the best key points for the student at the time. Having new (young and older) blood getting into sailing is important for fresh ideas and energy to keep sailing strong.

Q - What do you never go on the water without?

A - A plan.

Q - Strangest thing you have ever seen coaching on the water?

A - Some crazy DIY inventions and additions to boats, defying normal design, stability and often common sense!  They always smile and wave.

“Safety - not a gadget but a state of mind”

Learn from accidents and develop a safety mindset.

In recent times there have been a number of recreational boating accidents that have made the headlines.

There are a number that specifically come to mind. First is the Gairloch tragedy in which three young children drowned.

Second the mother and daughter who died on board a motorboat on Lake Windermere from carbon monoxide poisoning, and most recently the Padstow RIB accident in which a father and daughter lost their lives and other family members were seriously injured.

So what went wrong?

It is a striking fact that the majority of watersport activities are safe, but what is immediately clear in these cases is that quite unexpectedly what should have been a fun, rewarding and enjoyable day out ended in tragic circumstances and inconsolable grief for family, friends and loved ones.

So what went wrong? Clearly, until any formal examination and investigation is complete in each case we will not know for sure.

Even then in some instances, such as that of Ouzo in which three men lost their lives in August 2006, mystery may continue to surround an accident and what exactly happened may never be known.

Speculation; positive or negative?

What is equally clear is that in the flurry of media interest that followed all of these accidents, the absence of concrete facts has never prevented a considerable amount of speculation and guesswork as to why each incident happened.

There is something unsavoury about the self-appointed experts who are lined up to give their opinions in the aftermath of a fatal accident.

However, having listened to the speculation, I am not sure now that speculation is a bad thing if it reduces complacency and gets us all thinking about hazards and dangers.

In particular, those risks which we can do something about by taking sensible seamanlike precautions.

I have just witnessed a woman verbally berating her partner for not wearing a kill cord when they are out on their powerboat! They are both consciously aware that there is no room for complacency and that using a kill cord is a sensible thing to do, irrespective of the outcome of the Padstow case.

Our own attitude to safety on the water

I am the first to admit that it is not always easy to identify hazards and how we could be vulnerable to events that might go badly wrong.

That is why there is great merit in learning lessons from others if it gets us thinking about our own attitudes and behaviour when out on the water.

The RYA’s key safety messages are aimed at providing simple safety information based on gaining knowledge and skills, looking after yourself, having a plan and ensuring you can communicate in case of an emergency.

I am sure that everyone who reads this article will think carefully about wearing an appropriate lifejacket or buoyancy aid dependant on what type of boating they are doing, but do we give equal thought to checking the forecast before setting off for the day?

Does someone know where we are going and when we will be back?

Do we continue to think about these things when moored for the night if we are using the dinghy to go ashore? Kill cords and lifejackets should not be considered as optional extras on the way back from the pub.

You can read more about your safety on the water in Safety Information

How we can reduce the risk to ourselves

Safe behaviour and practice ultimately protects life and equipment and is vital for the enjoyment of recreational boating at every level that it takes place.

The RYA recognises that realistically, we can never eliminate danger completely; nevertheless, we continue to promote and to supplement personal knowledge, skills and experience and to build on the RYA ethos of self-reliance and responsibility for safety on board.

It would therefore be foolish and complacent not to add to this learning from accidents, it would be equally foolish for any of us not to consider the issues that arise in media speculation and to ask ourselves if there are things that we could usefully do to reduce the risk to ourselves.

Stuart Carruthers, RYA Cruising Manager

Quote: "safety not a gadget but a state of mind" Eleanor Everet, safety expert.

Night cruising

What was a simple journey arriving takes on a whole new tone when you are ready to go home. The sun has gone down and the landscape looks very different. What to do. With such beautiful evenings recently my husband and I have taken to leaving our son with the babysitter more regularly and setting off up our local river for a cruise – usually with a meal at a waterside hostelry in mind. Of course the going and the coming back; when the light is dim or has gone, are always different journeys which is ultimately part of the charm but they each demand different preparation and skills. Pre-planning Pilotage Plan [http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectionImages/cruising/n2.jpg] · Before you set out for the evening make a quick pilot plan of the key features that are likely to visible on your way back in the dark. It’s worth doing this even if you are familiar with the journey. · Make a note of features and lights that will be visible at night. As well as areas of danger such as unlit marks, shallow areas and moorings. Try not use buildings or lights ashore unless you are 100% certain that they will be visible and identifiable at night. · If you are travelling along a quiet river then you are probably not going to have a lot of lights that you utilize for transits but using clearing lines, waypoints and routes at night are valid techniques for avoiding shallow areas. Plus don’t forget to use your depth sounder. [http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectionImages/cruising/transit.jpg] Clearing lines: Like during daylight use these to identify areas of danger or safe water.

[http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectionImages/cruising/clearing.jpg] Transits: Line up two lights to use as a heading to follow or to identify turn points. These are known as ‘leading lights’.

Boat preparation Have torches ready. I always take a large powerful torch to light up buoys and withies and moored boats. Although the buoys and withies may not be lit they are often marked with retro reflective tape. I have a smaller torch for reading my passage plan. You can cover the torch with a piece of material to dim the glare or just colour the lens in with a red felt tip. It takes about 15-30 minutes for your night vision to kick in properly. So dim the instrument and equipment lights to preserve your night vision, and use red lights where possible. On the move · Wear lifejackets and ensure they have lights fitted. · Ensure you all have warm clothing – it can be colder at night. Maintain a good lookout – look out for mooring buoys, lobster pots etc. [*] If you are buoy hopping then never drive directly at the buoy, choose a point offset well to one side – staying away from hard objects always make sense! [*] Ensure that you always know where you are! For more information on boating at night and further pilotage techniques useful to you if you are in open water then see the RYA Powerboat Handboat: The RYA’s Complete Guide to Powerboating. The Editor Contact Ushttp://www.rya.org.uk/contactus/Pages/default.aspx Article Published: February 01, 2011 15:34