March 2007 - Fairwind Yacht Club

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whale on “Lessons Learned: What to Do if Must Evacuate a Yacht.” The program also provides information about required safety equipment, MOB return methods and a round table with the local rescuing agencies; Lifeguards, Harbormaster and Coast Guards. Fairwind plays a leading role in this awardwinning program. I need volunteers to help out. Please email me at dlumian@aol.com if you can help. BBQ SATURDAY, APRIL 7 AFTER WORKDAY Following the first Saturday workday/open house/free sail on April 7 there will be a $5 BBQ at the Marina Venice Yacht Club. It will run from 4 pm to 7 pm and feature hamburgers, hot dogs, salad, etc. Let’s party! AFTER SCHOOL SAILING NEEDS VOLUNTEERS The FYC Junior sailing program resumed after the holidays. Members of the Boys and Girls Club of Venice will be sailing on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after school. This program is volunteer run and needs help. Please contact Captain Adam Colson at adam_colson@yahoo.com. EMAIL LIST We have most members on an email list. This will allow the Club to send you updates and news between newsletters. If you are not receiving emails, please email Jenson Crawford at fleetcaptain@fairwind.org. MAXIMIZING LEARNING EFFICIENCY Ken Murray, Sailing Instructor I just recently completed checking out on the entire small and mid-sized boat fleets, and as I worked through the boats as an instructor, I noticed the way that other instructors and students have approached learning. What I have observed, is that there are some things that really accelerate the learning process, and some of our Club members have made a real science out of this. DRY SAILINGCapt. John Wintrode uses a technique some call “dry sailing” while learning a boat. What he does is go onto the boat and run through the checklist and operations of the boat, including raising and Page 2 lowering the sails, while docked. He runs through every operation that one does under sail, without loosening the dock lines. Even if the boat is not moving, he visualizes the Crew Overboard sequence of “Beam reach, come about to a Broad Reach, up to a Close Reach,” which wires the sequence and the timing of the sequence. After the first lesson on a boat, there is no reason that you cannot spend as much time as you want Dry Sailing a boat. For example, the mainsail on the Catalina 270 (Zephyr) folds down in a different manner than most of the rest of the boats. Once you understand how it works, it is actually very easy to fold this sail on the boom, by yourself. Until you work through it, you will be fighting the sails to lie cleanly. There is no reason that you cannot learn this on your own, doing Dry Sailing! In a couple of hours, running through the boat-specific training list, and the boat log for that boat, you can learn every adjustment of the boat, every maneuver of the boat, where everything on the training list is located, and how to set up, and take down, the boat. The next time you go out with an instructor, you will tremendously accelerate the process! RUNNING THE SYSTEMSInstructor John Stephenson has a great way of evaluating a boat that he is learning. First, he opens every drawer, every cabinet, every box, every compartment… to see what is in it. Many students stick to the checklist, but do not look everywhere. To really master a boat, you need to know everything about it, not just the minimum to take it out. On the midsize boats, I observed John use an interesting technique, where he “runs the systems.” For example, following the path of electricity as it would run along the boat… from the batteries, to the Perko, to the engine, to the various end functions. Likewise, running the plumbing systems, and the fuel systems. This really acquaints one with the way a system is set up. ONCE YOU’VE CHECKED OUT ON A BOAT: By Ken Murray, Sailing Instructor Finally, you’ve checked out on your first boat, or on that next boat in the line of boats of your dreams… what next?? Here at Fairwind, we take you through a comprehensive training program, designed to test you in all facets of a boat’s operation. However, we are not making sure you are an expert on that boat, simply safe
to sail that boat. Once you’ve checked out on the boat, you really need to take the boat out and do some sailing! It is tremendously different to sail a boat on your own, rather than do so under the watchful eye of an instructor (not to mention a heck of a lot less stressful!) I see people check out on one boat, then run to start their training on the next boat. While there are exceptions, generally, this is not the best idea. Since different, even similar, boats operate in very different ways, starting on another boat will really introduce some confusion in boat operations. I would advocate that you really want to gain mastery of the first boat, which simply requires some time on the boat. If, instead of “getting through” a Crew Overboard scenario, you really can do it with grace and proficiency, you will find it much easier to do on any other boat! People often ask, “How can I give back to the Club?” And here is one very useful way: now that you have gotten checked out on the boat, use the boat, but list the reservation as a “crew wanted” sail if you have extra room on the boat, opening it up to some other Club members who can’t yet skipper. You may get some people who are quite experienced, or you may have some people relatively new to sailing. If you get someone junior to you in experience, answer any questions they have, as best as you are able. In reality, this is the way that most people actually learn how to sail. All of us who have some experience on the water, have something to contribute to those less experienced, and that is the beauty of Community Sailing! CRUISING STARTS THIS MONTH! Ken Murray, Cruise Chair We start our cruising program this month, with our Whale Watches out of MDR, and for the first time, out of Oxnard! Fairwind has an active cruising program that consists of sailing to a defined destination, sometimes for the day, and sometimes overnite. Also, we do whale watch trips to observe our large friends! This is a great way to meet other members, and to learn the boats at a more intimate level. Also, you may bring guests that are not Fairwind members, at the same membership price! The 2007 schedule is below (as well as on the Club Calendar). Skippers please note that the first three do (Continued on page 4) FOUND!!! Someone left a GPS aboard the MKIII, might have been there since the King Harbor Dinner Cruise. It works, and seems fairly new. Also someone left a Kodak camera aboard the Hunter "Collective Effort." To identify and claim these items please contact Rear Commodore Susan Bonner (310) 559- 7419. VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH Marty Epstein has won the first of the new "Volunteer of the Month" awards for his outstanding participation in the Fairwind Jr. Sailors program, in conjunction with the Boys & Girls Club of Venice and the L.A. Co. Sheriff's Dept. During this school year, Marty has volunteered many times for the after-school sailing program at Burton Chace Park. He is very patient and nurturing with the children, who are ages 7–12 years old. He demonstrates a genuine concern for the their safety and comfort. He has been conscientious about scheduling himself, and he has shown commitment to the program by driving long distances to help. Thanks so much for all you do, Marty. The after-school sailing program happens on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 3:15--4:45 PM. To volunteer or get information, please contact Capt. Adam Colson, (310) 826-9699, adam_colson@yahoo.com Page 3
Page 1: COME CELEBRATE OPENING DAY SATURDAY
Page 5 and 6: TRUE CONFESSIONS: THE SECRET OF WHY

March 2007 - Fairwind Yacht Club

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