Learning Units

Unit A.1- Parts of a Sailboat including Blades

Unit A.2- Lines and Parts of a Sail including Spars

Unit A.3- Wind and Points of Sail

Unit A.4- Forces on a Sailboat

Unit A.5- Sail Trim and Hiking

Unit A.6- Steering a Sailboat

Unit A.7- Rules of the Road

Unit A.8- Safety

Unit A.9- Capsize Recovery and Bailing

Unit A.10- Boat Maintenance

The content of the sailing course is linked to readings in The Winner’s Guide to Optimist Sailing, Gary Jobson and Jay Kehoe, International Marine, McGraw-Hill, 2004. Integrated with the content related to sailboats and sailing are STEM topics such as forces, mechanical advantage, apparent wind vs true wind, and wind velocity and direction. Practical instruction is provided in tying knots, rigging and derigging a sailboat, capsize recovery, trimming a sail, leaving and returning to a dock, and steering a sailboat. Emphasis will be on safe shore and sailing practices including a clear understanding of the rules of the road.

In advance of solo sailing an Optimist Pram or Sunfish, campers will be given a crewed sailing experience during which each youth will rotate in the roles of helmsman, main sail trimmer, and jib trimmer. As helmsman, campers will steer on various points of sail and execute tacks and jibes.

The camp at Wadill Wildlife Refuge will unfortunately have to be limited to the operation of radio controlled sailboats as a means to experience the practical aspects of steering a sailboat.

The instructors and volunteers from the Pelican Yacht Club will engage with campers as mentors by encouraging questions, reinforcing good performance, and guiding needed improvements.

To promote interactions and teamwork among the campers, they will organized into pairs. In this way, the campers can support and learn from one another. As they grow and hopefully sail in larger boats, understanding the importance of teamwork and executing their particular role on the crew will be vital.