 |
|||||||
 |
|||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Course Descriptions
Safety is a primary concern. Please see the FAQ page for detailed information about our Safety Plan, and swimming competency requirements and instructor certifications.
Our Courses:
Learn to Sail: An introduction to basic sailing skills. Learn more below.
Single-handed Racing: An introduction to basic racing skills. Learn more below.
Double-handed Sailing: An advance "Double-handed Sailing" class. Learn more below.
Adventure Sailing: A week-long exploration of various areas of the Pudget Sound. Learn more below.
Learn to Sail Program:
The class is designed for children with little or no experience sailing a single person dinghy as well as those younger sailors who want to reinforce their sailing skills. The instructors strive to provide a safe, fun experience for all. Students learn basic dinghy sailing skills and seamanship:
- Common sailing knots
- Parts of the boat
- Right-of-way rules
- Basic tacking and gybing, basic sail trim and proper boat handling
- How to recover from a capsize
Capsizing is a normal part of sailing small boats. The students' boats are “self-rescuing” which is a sailing term for floating without filling up with water, even when capsized. On the first day of camp, students are taught to stay with their boat, right it and re-board. Please see our FAQs page and our video for details on the Capsize Drill.
Single-handed Racing:
Students who have completed the Learn to Sail class (or an equivalent) to the instructors’ satisfaction may enroll in Single-handed Racing.
The program teaches sailors the skills and rules of single-handed dinghy racing. Experienced instructors provide both classroom and on-the-water training to improve speed, racing strategy, and boat-handling. Sailors also expand their knowledge seamanship, proper rigging, knot tying, and racing rules. The program emphasizes safety, with instructors and safety monitors supervising activities. Sailors practice on race courses in different wind conditions, gaining experience while instructors help explain and resolve/enforce racing rules.
We will review and repeat the capsize drill from the Learn to Sail class, as with increased speed and maneuverability of dinghy racing, there is a greater chance of capsizing. We will ensure the campers are well-versed in recovery techniques.
Double-handed Sailing:
This class is designed for children who have completed the “Learn to Sail" (or an equivalent) course. Students will learn how to sail larger and faster boats as both skipper and crew. The focus is on boat handling, sail trimming, and working as a team. Students will gain skills and confidence to continue sailing with a school racing team.
We do a capsize drill on Monday morning to acquaint sailors with the particular issues involved with righting this larger boat and the fact they are working with a partner which is new to their prior experience. We sail across the bay from PYC and also north and south out in the open water of the bay most days of the week.
Adventure Sailing:
The "Adventure Sailing" class offers your child the opportunity to sail and explore outside of Liberty Bay into more open waters such as Port Madison and Manzanita Bay on Bainbridge Island, and the Port of Brownsville. It offers an introduction to the cruising aspects of sailing. In previous years, the Adventure Sail Camp week we sail out of Liberty Bay through Agate Pass into Port Madison on Bainbridge Island which is quite an "adventure", tide critical, sometimes we have to tow the boats. We sail out of Pt. Madison for the next couple of days, then back to PYC on Thursday. Friday, usually, one of our club members hosts the camp kids on their large sailboat to learn about sailing with a wheel versus a tiller, raising sails with winches, trimming big sails, etc.