Wednesday Curriculum

Class 1 Curriculum

Introduction

Give a brief introduction to the sailing program (in the Shore School: 5 minutes).

• Brief History of sailing at MIT
• How the lessons will work
• What to wear
• Other Pavilion activities:
  • Lynx Catboats
  • Windsurfing
  • Lasers
  • Fireflies
  • Moonlight Sails
  • Harbor Trips
  • X Dimension
• Website
  • Calendar of upcoming events

Policies and Procedures

Go over the rules and procedures of the sailing program (in the shore school: 10-15 minutes)

• How to get a sailing card
• How ratings work
  • Swim Rating
  • Provisional Rating
  • Helmsman Rating
  • Ratings for other boats
• Life jackets must be worn at all times in boats
• Guest Policy
  • All persons in small boats must know how to swim
  • Each MIT boat must have at least one person with a sailing card
• Sailing boundaries
  • Don't go under bridges
  • Keep the dock in sight
  • Only land at the MIT dock
  • Avoid shallows near Esplanade
  • Avoid yacht club, community boating.
• Signals
  • Lowering of the red flag or turning on of dock lights is the recall signal
  • If you need help, lower your sail
• Capsizing
  • Stay with the boat!
  • You can try to right the boat or wait for help
  • How to right the boat
• No smoking at the Pavilion or in boats
• No alcohol except at certain pre-registered events. See the website for more info.

Basics of Sailing

Go over the basics of how to sail a sailboat (in the shore school: 10-15 minutes)

Steering

• Steer with tiller: point the boat where you want to go
• Sit opposite the sail on the upwind side of the boat
• Pay attention to the boat's heading to steer a straight course
• Pay attention to wind direction: cannot sail less than 45 degrees into wind
• How to determine direction of wind
• How to get out of irons

Sail Trim

• Let the sail out until it luffs, then pull in just far enough to stop luffing
• Pull the sail all the way in when sailing upwind
• Let the sail out when sailing downwind.
• In gusts, ease out to prevent capsizing

Boat Trim

• Skipper must sit to be able to steer properly: sit on the side
• Crew must move around to keep boat level

Tacking

• Turn upwind until bow crosses through the eye of the wind
• Remember to duck as boom moves across the boat
• Skipper must switch sides (always sits on the windward side)
• If you tack too slowly, you'll get stuck in irons

Jibing

• Turn downwind until stern crosses through the eye of the wind
• Boom can have much more force than during a tack, so remember to duck
• Beware of sailing by-the-lee when sailing downwind

Tour of Pavilion

Dock

• Point out the locations of different boats
  • Techs
  • Lasers
  • Windsurfers
  • Fireflies
  • FJs
  • Lynx Catboats

• Point out the red flag on top of the Pavilion (burgee)
• Point out the shop
• Point out the day lockers
• Bikes go on west roof
• East roof can be rented for parties

Lobby

• Point out two unisex restrooms
• Location and use of sailing cards
• Check with dock staff before taking out boats
• Location and use of lock box (silence cell phones before putting in box!)
• String to use for glasses

Sailing & Rigging Demonstration

Rigging a Tech Dinghy

• Point out locations of life jacket, rudders, sails, & bailers
• Put all four items in a boat
• Tie head of sail to halyard with stunsail tack bend
• Attach clew to boom
• Only raise the sail a foot or so on the dock
• Put boat in water, tie up with bowline
• Don life jacket and step in boat
• Lower centerboat
• Attach rudder
• Raise sail -- make sure it is fully hoisted
• Adjust downhaul
• Tension outhaul to a hand's width
• Vang disabled (attached to boom near mast)

Sailing Demonstration

• Proper position in the boat of skipper
• Do not use tiller extension!
• Check for traffic before launching
• Push off, steer away from dock, trim sail
• Always land pointed into the wind (check flag, observe other boats)
• Exit the boat near the wires and tie up

Reefing Demonstration

• Demonstrate how to reef the sail
• Use of dogbone
• Use of sail envelope

Derigging Demonstration

• Lower sail, remove rudder, raise centerboard, attach centerboard bungee
• Pull boat out and finish unrigging
• Point out the jam cleat at the top of the mast (halyard can become jammed)
• Store the rudder, sails, and reefing gear in the proper place

Knots

• Finish off class with demonstration of knots in the Shore School
  • Bowline
  • Stunsail Tack Bend
  • Mooring Cleat Hitch

• Pass out handouts
• Encourage students to download and read the Sailing Booklet (Sailing and the Tech Dinghy)

Class 2 Curriculum

Rig boats

• Check with students when they arrive at the Pavilion:
  • Have they taken Class 1? (If not, send them to Shore School)
  • Do they have a partner? Pair them up
• Two people per boat, have them get sails, rudders, & life jackets and start rigging
• It helps to have a number of people on the dock to assist with rigging

Lecture and Demonstration

When most of the boats are rigged, gather students together and go over important points:

• Proper position for skipper and crew
• Tiller must be able to move all the way side-to-side
• Do not use tiller extension
• Never drop the tiller
• Crew controls the sheet:
  • Trim directly from the boom
  • Remember to let it out in gusts
  • Let it all the way out when landing
• Remember to switch sides of boat when tacking: skipper always opposite the sail
• Crew must shift weight to keep boat balanced
• Give plenty of room to other boats
• Always land pointed into the wind
• Instructor will demonstrate launch, tacks, jibes, and landing.
  • It helps to have another instructor on the dock to describe the demonstration
• Describe the course the students are going to sail

Reefing

• Demonstrate reefing
• Have all the students put in one or two reefs (depending on the conditions)

Sailing

• Before class, set up a single buoy about 10 boat lengths from the dock, for a beam reach
• Three instructors will assist:
  • One instructor upwind on the dock to help launch
  • One instructor in a motorboat to assist on the water
  • One instructor downwind on the dock to assist with landing
• Students launch one at a time:
  • Skipper gets in first
  • Crew pushes off
• Students sail to the buoy and perform a tack around it
• Students sail back to the dock and land near the third instructor
• Third instructor may wish to use a megaphone to be able to assist landing in a calm voice
• Students will get out of their boats, and walk back to the start
• Dock instructors will control the number of boats on the water
  • Allow fewer boats out at a time in windy conditions
  • Slow down launching of boats if some students are having difficulty
• Dock instructors can also provide pointers to students while they are waiting to launch
• Students should alternate skipper vs. crew each time