Offshore Sailing Course

This is the outline for the offshore sailing course, January 2013.

Session 1: Introduction

10jan2013 - mwall

 - outline of the course
 - experiences of each person in the course
 - types of boats - hulls, keels, sail plan, instruments
 - difference between racing, cruising, offshore racing, day sailing
 - season plan for x-dimension - races, crew requirements, crew selection
- boat
 - day sail boats vs racing boats vs offshore
 - hulls and keels
 - sail plans
 - skills needed for each type of racing
 - preparation needed for each type of racing

Session 2: Yacht Preparation

15jan2013 - mwall

- boat - enumerate variants, highlight x-dim, what fails, what spares to keep
 - steering mechanisms
 - engine
 - electrical systems
 - navigation systems
 - freshwater
 - septic
 - standing rigging
 - running rigging
- what tools are critical

Session 3: Life Aboard

17jan2013 - gigi, keith

- cooking
 - meal planning - examples of good, bad; sample meal plan for bvi
 - provisioning
 - how much per person?
 - how to cook with propane
 - living with limited refrigeration
- watch systems
- sleeping
- seasickness
- communications
 - into/out of port/harboar
 - with coast guard
 - with other vessels
 - during races
 - within the boat communication (e.g. skipper to foredeck when mooring)

Session 4: Weather

22jan2013 - steve

Session 5: Seamanship and Safety

24jan2013 - keith, scott

Session 6: Racing

29jan2013 - fran, mlindblad

Session 7: Navigation

31jan2013 - steve

things to include in the course

safety

- how to deploy life raft
- types of life rafts
- how to heave to
- how/when to use sea anchor
- flares and when to use them
- epirb

life aboard

- how to deal with seasickness - different methods, what works, what does not
- cooking
  - sample meals (e.g. menu for a week in the bvi)
  - equipment - refrigeration
  - what food works, what does not
- provisioning

ports

- coming in to a new harbor/marina
- departure
- gunkholing

how to prepare for a trip

- day sail
- week-long cruise
- harbor race
- near-shore race
- off-shore race

racing

- rules
- tactics
- overview of various races we know we will do: halifax, figawi, wed evenings

weather

- general principles - wind before, wind after
- high pressure vs low pressure
- tracking the barometer
- clouds
- waves and wind - how much wind for x wave height, when whitecaps
- weather tracking services
- near-shore vs offshore
- contingencies

navigation

clothing and gear

- gloves
- spot locator, beacons
- personal floatation devices
- knives, other tools
- foul weather gear

first aid

- cpr
- broken bones
- breathing
- blood loss
- body temperature

boat locator site (eis info)

for each thing, enumerate general types, highlight x-dim specifics

seamanship/safety

- rules of the road and unwritten addendums
- lights and sound signals
- radio procedure
- federally required and recommended safety equipment, PFDs, etc.
- anchoring, med moor, appropriate ground tackle for holding grounds
- tides
- various knots
- COB of conscious/unconscious crew, spiral search procedure
- stages and treatment of hypothermia / heat exhaustion / heatstroke
- seasickness
- rafting at anchor
- towing a dinghy
- heavy weather and survival sailing, use of sea anchor, warps, etc.
- heaving to
- procedure in fog
- distress signals
- use of jibe preventer
- slab and furler reefing
- running aground, kedging
- docking in various wind conditions; use of docklines
- dangers of a lee shore
- correct winch operation, clearing an override
- safe galley procedure
- firefighting, likely sources of fire, use of bilge blower
- calculating range under power
- when to refuel; how much to leave in tank
- where/how to empty holding tank
- DC batteries, charging
- location/purpose of thru-hulls, seacocks, bungs
- procedure when flooding / holed
- procedure when propeller fouled
- procedure when engine fails in various situations
- procedure when stay or rig compromised or lost
- procedure when cable steering lost / emergency tiller
- life rafts, how attached to vessel and deployed, hydrostatic release
- sailing a compass course
- dealing with novice crew
- rendering assistance to vessels in distress
- clearing customs, flag etiquette, courtesy flags, Q flag, etc.
- shore power cables
- purpose of EPIRB / PLB / AIS transmitter
- use of radar, radar reflector
- use of harness / tether / jack line
- preparing for a sea-tow
- preparing to be rescued by a helicopter