Transcript Document

Learn to Sail
Yachting New Zealand
(Insert your Club logo here)
Meet the Crew
(Edit as Necessary)
 The Commodore is the most senior person in the Committee
that runs this voluntary organisation. His/Her name is……….
 Learn to Sail is run by………… His/Her job is to deal with all
the administration but not the stuff on the water. That is done
by:
 The Instructors, who are……… You will normally see them
wearing an Instructor Cap.
 Safety Boats are looked after by……..
Introduction
 This club is affiliated to Yachting New Zealand. It is a
voluntary organisation like many other sports clubs, day
to day administration and running of training, competition
and social events run by members with a minimum of
employed staff.
 While the club is able to access external Community
Funds and Gaming Trusts for equipment, the running is
paid for by revenue from hall hire (functions), the bar and
membership fees.
 We see it as our role to support sailing within a National
framework, and to introduce as many people as we can
to the sport we love.
Overview
 We are here to help you help your children get the
most out of the sport and to develop general life
skills. We as individuals can do a lot of the work, but
to be truly effective, we as holders of the knowledge
can only do the job of teaching your children if we
and you operate as a team in a Club environment.
This talk is about how you can help do your part.
Agenda
 What is Learn to Sail?
 Club equipment
 Benefits of sailing for
your child
 When and what boat
to buy
 How parents can help
 Timetable
 Hydration and snacks
 Non Sailing days
 Clothing
 Costs
 Safety standards
 Sport for Life
What is Learn to Sail?
 We use the Learn to Sail Syllabus that has been
developed by Yachting New Zealand over many years to
provide a fun and safe learning environment.
 Your children will learn how to sail a boat safely and
competently in moderate conditions. On bad weather
days land teaching modules will replace sailing on the
water.
 12 Sessions of 2 hours each will be run weekly, plus a
“Summer Camp” at the club in January. (Edit as necessary)
Benefits of sailing for your child
 Sailing is a sport like any other. Sport promotes a healthy body,
provides a break from school routines and gives opportunities to
make new friends.
 Any sport represents a challenge – a new thing to learn and master.
Meeting the challenge helps develop brain neural pathways.
Success in meeting the challenge develops confidence and Personal
Development.
 Your child will learn organisational and risk management skills useful
in their day to day life now and as an adult.
 Later on they will learn to race. Racing puts pressure on knowledge
and cements the learning process.
How parents can help
• Help your child
• Set your goals realistically, and for the benefit of your child. Don’t put
pressure on the child to “win” until they have learned how to “do” properly.
• Be organised (snack before leaving home, sailing clothing packed and in the
car the night before) and punctual, so your child is in the right frame of mind
to learn and enjoy.
• Be knowledgeable - read and ask the Instructors questions.
• Help get the Boat out of storage and put away at the end of the session, and
get it rigged before lesson time.
• In summary, set a good example for the life skills you want them to learn.
Help the Group
• Learn how to get the safety boats out of storage and
launched when it is time to sail, and put away at the end
of the session.
• Those of you that have boating experience, whether in
powerboats or sailing have extremely valuable skills and
can really make a difference. Not only can you help the
group function better, you can help transfer skills to those
without experience.
• Help tidy up.
Hydration and Snacks
 Just like in the classroom at school, your child will learn quicker and
concentrate for longer if the body and brain are supplied with the right
amount of energy (fed, but not stuffed).
 The body can only convert food to energy and clear waste products
from using muscles if it has enough water.
 The best food is a bun, pasta or fruit, not chocolate or lollies.
 The best drink is water.
 Snack and drink straight after school, and bring a spare snack and a
drink for straight after sailing.
Clothing
 The object is to make sure the sailor is warm but not too hot. Bring
plenty of layers. Don’t put them on until the boat is rigged and ready
to go. It is always colder on the water than on land so don’t make
the sailor sweat while getting rigged.
 Make up a gear list and pack into a plastic bin or gear bag the night
before.
 Hot weather: Sunblock, hat with a peak & sun glasses
 Cold Weather: warm hat, extra layers
 Buy a personal buoyancy aid now.
Personal Buoyancy Aid (PBA)
 A Lifejacket is designed to provide a high level of buoyancy to a fully
clothed person at sea in all conditions.
 A Personal Buoyancy Aid is a slimmer version that is adequate for small
boat sailing and permits freedom of movement. A full lifejacket restricts
movement and can be uncomfortable, thus slowing the sailors learning
and reducing enjoyment. We recommend the use of PBAs.
 No one sails without
one!
Safety Standards 1
As in any sport there are risks that can
be mitigated by using the right
equipment and procedures.
To participate in the course your child
should be able to swim 50m in light
clothing and a PBA/Lifejacket, and feel
comfortable in deep water. This shows
that your child is not afraid of the water,
although he/she won’t actually be
expected to swim that far.
No one is allowed to leave the shore in
his or her yacht until told to do so by the
instructor.
Capsizing is Normal
The golden rule in a capsize is to stay with the boat. Your
child will be made to capsize during the course and learn to
right the boat, and have fun doing it.
Safety Standards 2
•Club Instructors have all passed a course in yacht instructing.
•There will be a maximum of 6 skippers to each Instructor who will
be out on the water in an inflatable safety boat.
•PBAs/Lifejackets will be worn at all times on the water.
•Sailors (and parents) will obey Instructors without discussion until
after the event in question has been resolved. Safety is achieved
through Instructors experience and training and not through
parental or student negotiations.
Club Equipment
 The Club (Your Club) owns equipment (Your Equipment) which is there
for the safety of your child. Treat it as your own.
 Learn to Sail boats – lift them onto trollies carefully, give yourself plenty
of space to rig up so you don’t hit other boats or people, help your child
launch and retrieve. If an accident happens, notify an Instructor so the
damage can be fixed.
 Rescue Boats – help launch and retrieve them. Offer to go out in them
so you learn how to operate them. Do the training course the club runs.
When and What Boat to buy
 Opinions vary from club to club, but here are some guidelines:
 Learn to Sail Level 1 – use a club supplied boat if available, if not, buy a
cheap wooden boat that you don’t mind if it gets bumped by other boats
 Learn to Sail Level 2 – buy wooden boat if not already bought at Level 1.
 Learn to race – buy an old second hand fibreglass boat that is faster
than LTS boats, but you don’t mind the occasional mild bump or scrape.
Bumps will happen so don’t go wild with your money and then get upset
when it gets damaged.
 Replace any really tired kit once racing gets serious.
 Top level competition – buy new or nearly new
Timetable
(Edit as necessary)
 Here is a sample timetable. Refer to your joining
instructions from the Learn to Sail Coordinator for
actual times and adapt for your distance to the club:
 3.30 back from school. Snack, drink. Change out of
school uniform. Check all gear in in the car
 3.45 Homework/reading/TV – rest time, no running
around.
 4.30 Leave home
 4.40 Get to club – rig boat.
 4.50 Get dressed.
 5.00 Ready to take instruction
 6.45 Boats off the water. Pack up own boat. Help
put rescue boats away. Put on dry clothes.
 7.00 Leave for home
Non Sailing Days
 When the weather is beyond the sailor’s capabilities, or there is no
wind at all, please still turn up. There is essential land based tuition
that needs to be covered in order to pass up to the next grade.
Costs
 For your first year you should budget on a Learn to
Sail fee (varies club to club), PBA/lifejacket $50-$100,
sailing clothes $200, and if your sailor shows
commitment and wants to progress from Level 1 to
Level 2, $500-$1,000 for a wooden Optimist.
Sport for Life
 Sailing is a sport that carries many
people through to retirement age.
This is just the first step.
 And if you are not a sailor yourself,
it is never to late to start.
 Many parents learned to sail after their children.
 Sailing is universal, and you will have something in common
with sailors from all around the world.
Where does this lead to?
Single Handed
Immediate Progression:
Level 2 Learn to Sail,
Learn to Race,
Green Fleet then
Open Fleet in Optimists.
Sailors either move on from the Optimist when they get too heavy
(about 50kg) or when they are too old (15 years). The Opti has a sail
area of 2.5 square metres.
Club Racing
Regatta Racing
(Source: Andrew Brown)
Time to Move on
 Sailors have to move on from the Optimist when they get
too heavy (about 50kg) or when they are too old (15
years).
 It is a good idea to run an overlap period sailing a P
Class in the first part of the last season you expect to be
in the Opti. The track record of many of today’s top youth
sailors shows this is a real headstart to youth class
success.
 There is debate over the value of the P Class, but
evidence seems to show that those who skip the P are at
a disadvantage in the youth classes.
P Class
(45kg to 60kg, sail area 3.5 sq.m.) (overlaps with
the end of time in the Opti),
(Source: oceanphotography.co.nz)
2 Handed Learn to Sail
Mistral
Sunburst
Starling (55kg to 70 kg, sail area
4.5 sq.m)
(Source: John van der Kaay)
(Source: Murray de Lues)
Splash
(60kg to 75kg – sail area 5.5 sq.m)
(Source: Murray deLues)
Laser
(75kg to 85 kg, sail area 5.7 sq.m.)
(source: John Van der Kaay)
Single Handed Skiff or Foil boat
(Source: subzero images)
(Source: Murray deLues)
Finn 90kg+ Mens heavy singlehanded
Olympic Class
(Source: Dan Slater)
Windsurfing
(Source: Andrew Brown)
Barbara Kendall
(Source: Barbara Kendall MBE)
Teams Racing in 2 handed boats
Great fun for the kids and they learn to operate as a
team, not just as individuals.
(Source: David Pierce)
Further down the line…
Multi Handed
 2 handed fleet racing in traditional spinnaker boats ,
starting with the 420, international youth 2 handed class
(Source: Andrew Brown)
…progressing to high performance
boats such as the 470 - Mens 2
handed Olympic class
(Source: Andrew Brown)
Modern high performance skiffs with
Gennaker (29er, Javelin)
29er
Javelin
49er Mens 2 handed High Performance
Olympic Class
(Source: Dan Slater)
18ft Skiff
(Source: Murray deLues)
Catamarans such as Paper Tiger,
Hobie and Tornado
(Source: David Pierce)
(Source: Jill Nickerson)
Crewing in keelboats.
(Source: Murray deLues)
Americas Cup
 Appreciation of an outdoor sport in which New
Zealand leads the world
(Source: Chris Cameron/ ETNZ)
Even sailing for another team….
Most of the crew here are Kiwis!
(Source: BMWOracle Racing/Gilles Martin-Raget)
Sailing Seascape
ISAF
Olympics
Racing Rules of Sailing
America’s Cup
Olympic Team
Louis Vuitton Cup
YNZ
World Match Racing Tour
ISAF Sailing World Cup
Umpires
ISAF World Teams
Racing Champs
Olympic Squad
Race Officers
Sail Auckland
Coaches
NZ Match Racing Champs
National Championships
Sailing Committees
YNZ HP Academy
Governor's Cup
ISAF Youth Worlds
RNZYS & RPNYC
Youth Programmes
Regional Yachting Ass.
Members
Sail
for
Life
Junior Class Worlds
Trans Atlantic
Optimist
Sydney Hobart
Congressional Cup
SailSafe
South Pacific Cruising
South Pacific Cup
Overseas Deliveries
Auckland Fiji Race
Overseas Charters
Hauraki Gulf
Coastal Classic
Secondary Schools/Open Teams Racing
Windsurfer
NZ Schools
Waterwise
Atlantic Rally
for Cruisers
Harbour Racing
Club Regattas
Tanner & Tauranga Cups
Optimist Greens
Families
Cape Horn
Vendee Globe
YNZ Youth Squad
Youth Sail
Classes
Round the World
World Championships
Judges
Clubs
Volvo Ocean
Race
Learn to Sail
Club Racing
Starling Nationals & Match Racing
Two Handed Classes
Sailing...Have a Go!
Sailing Schools
Day Sailing
Mucking about
In boats
NCEA
In the Long Term
 Career opportunities as coaches
or in the boat construction
industry
 Most importantly the development
of individual decision making
capability, learning team skills,
personal confidence, social
contacts around the country and
organisational skills
Further Reading
 The companion text to this module is “How to be a
Succesful Optiparent” by David Pierce. This will guide
you from starting sailing through to the time to move to
the next class.
 “Dinghy Sailing – The Essential guide to equipment and
techniques” by Sarah Ell. Good introduction for non
sailing parents.
 “Optimist Racing Guide” by Roger Kitchen. Easy to
follow no nonsense guide to learning to race. Well
illustrated.
Summary
 Sailing has a wide range of benefits for children.
 The success and enjoyment your child gets out of
the sport depends directly on your effort both as a
supporter of your sailor and as a club member
helping each other.
 Sailing is fun and safe while carried out in a
controlled environment with experienced sailors who
are only too willing to share their sport.
Any Questions?
 Please feel free to ask – there are no dumb
questions!
(Source: David Pierce)
Thank You for Coming!
 Thank you for your time. Please remember to put
those time entries in your diaries and go shopping
for a lifejacket and a few extra layers of warm
clothing.
(Source: Murray de Lues)