Saturday Morning Dinghy Lessons May 24 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM

[cscn...@cal-sailing.org]

Lessons are from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM

I, Owen, will be lessons coordinator.

When you come for lessons, sign up on the sheet in the clubhouse. It can take up to two hours on a busy day to get a lesson, so please come early and be prepared to wait. You could complete volunteer hours while you wait, participate in a shore lesson, or just hang out and enjoy the view.

See the end of this announcement for wind, tides, and the FAQ.

Ground School rocks: Skippers - think about doing Ground School if there are a lot of students waiting for lessons. If you go out on the water, you help 2 or 3 of them at most. If you do a Ground School, you help all of them. and some things are better learned on land. You could do a rigging lesson, go over knots, points of sail, man-overboard, etc. You can find a Ground School manual here. There is also a binder in the Clubhouse with this information.

Reminder for Skippers about boat breakages: Please be diligent in getting any issues you discover or happen while you sail your boat taken care of. Skippers, you could make repair of problems you get across a teaching opportunity as an integral part of sailing. If you cannot perform the required repair(s) or don’t know how to, at least make sure the first vice-commodores are notified, even if the issue you discover did not happen while you sailed the boat. To do so you can email firstvice AT cal-sailing.org

Please arrive a half hour before lessons start to help launch boats or to help orient new members.

Volunteers are always appreciated, and there is always something to do at CSC!!!

- Owen
Saturday Lessons Coordinator

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Tide Information (No Low Water Problems)

Sunrise 05:50
Low tide -0.5 at 04:20
High tide 4.7 at 10:49
Low tide 1.8 at 15:50
High tide 6.9 at 22:09
Sunset 20:21

Current XWeather Forecast for Friday May 23

Today

High temperature 58°

Partly Cloudy from 5 AM until 9 AM.
Mostly Sunny from 9 AM until 4 PM.
Sunny from 4 PM until 5 PM.
Mostly Sunny from 5 PM until 9 PM.
Mostly Clear from 9 PM until 10 PM.
Partly Cloudy after 10 PM.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 3 PM UNTIL 9 PM

Morning: Wind 10 kt SW gusting to 13 kt
Afternoon: Wind 13 kt WSW gusting to 15 kt

Tomorrow

High temperature 58°

Partly Cloudy until 11 AM.
Mostly Sunny from 11 AM until 9 PM.

Morning: Wind 9 kt S gusting to 10 kt
Afternoon: Wind 9 kt SSW gusting to 15 kt

You can also monitor the South Basin web cam, with current wind conditions and weather and tide forecasts at: the Club status page

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Lessons on Demand
If you can't make the normal lessons time or if you want additional instruction, you may be able to take advantage of our Lessons on Demand program, where a small number of instructors make themselves available outside of normal lessons. Details are here.

Questions and Answers:

Q: How do I get a sailing lesson?
A: If you are a member, go to Cal-Sailing during lessons time, go in the clubhouse and sign in on the Sailboat Lesson sheet. If you are not yet a member, talk with the dayleader on duty about signing up. Lessons are Saturday mornings 10am to 1pm, Monday and Thursday afternoons beginning at 1pm (ending time depends on sunset).

Q: Can I bring my cell phone with me when I go sailing?
A: No, because your cell phone gets very, very nervous at the thought of getting wet – especially with salt water. It’s best to leave your cell phone and other electronics in your car or in the clubhouse (but, be kind and make sure your phone is on silent mode if you leave it in the clubhouse).

Q: What should I wear?
A: Wear clothes that can get wet – so wear synthetic gym clothes and try not to wear cotton. Some dinghy sailors like to wear wetsuits (put the wetsuit on over a swimsuit). Other sailors like to put on foul weather gear (it’s kinda like rain gear) over their clothing. Cal Sailing has wetsuits and foul weather gear for you to wear.

Q: What about a life jacket?
A: Cal Sailing provides Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) for you to wear. In fact, you are required to wear a PFD before boarding any boat.

Q: I wear glasses. What should I do?
A: When you’re sailing, it can get windy and you can be splashed with water. Sometimes, your glasses can get knocked off your face. If you have to wear prescription glasses, please get Croakies (available at Big 5 Sporting Goods) to keep the glasses safely on your face. Please note: cheap sunglasses never fall off your face.

Q: How long is each lesson?
A: You’ll be out on the water for about an hour. Each boat holds about 4 people – one instructor and 2 or 3 students. During the hour lesson, the instructor tries to give each student a turn at steering the boat for about 20 minutes. When you're steering the boat, the instruction is focused on what you, individually, need to advance in your sailing. But you'll learn even when you're not steering. There are things the non-steering crew needs to do, and you'll find that you learn from watching others sail.

Q: How do I get the most out of the sailing lessons?
A: If you’re new to sailing, make sure to let your instructor know that you’re not familiar with boats. If you get a bit nervous, make sure to tell your instructor so that he or she can arrange the lesson to your level. If you’ve been on a few lessons and are feeling more confident, decide on a skill that you want to practice, and let your instructor know what your goals are.

Q: What are some of the basic sailing skills I need to know to earn my Junior Skipper rating?
A: You’ll need to know wind direction (which way is the wind blowing?), rigging, knots (figure 8, bowline, half hitches, and some others), steering a straight course, leaving the dock, sailing backward, slow sailing, tacking, sail trim, heave to, points of sail, jibing, capsize recovery, man overboard recovery, sailing in circles, docking, balance, unrigging, right-of-way rules. There's a lot of detail on the web site.

Q: What can I do if I arrive at the Club and there is no wind?
A: There are plenty of things you can do besides hanging out around the club house. You can take the written test if you did not pass it yet. You can have a skipper help you practice rigging a boat, with or without putting it in the water. You can look at whether you can fix issues on the boats with a skipper who knows how to do that. If you don’t feel handy for boat repairs, you can ask the dayleader to assign you a task around the club grounds and you get volunteer hours. Low wind is also a good time to learn capsize recovery.

Q: What should I bring when I come to Cal Sailing?
A: A complete change of clothes, extra shoes, a towel, sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, snacks, drink, money for food (they sell lunch and snacks at the bait shop across the street).

Q: What about shoes? A: Please wear water shoes or other shoes that won't be damaged by water. Your shoes are going to get wet. Please do not wear flip flops because you need to be able to have a good foothold. It’s best to wear shoes that have a non-slip sole.

Q: What if I have specific concerns or specific goals I’m trying to achieve? A: Every Saturday morning, there’s a sailing lesson coordinator. If you have any concerns, questions, or want to provide feedback, please let the lesson coordinator know. The coordinator is familiar with the sailing instructors and can help match you with the instructor best suited to your situation. On other days, tell your instructor.

Q: What else would help me make progress as a sailor?
A: Crew for Sunday morning or Thursday evening races! It’s great fun! Check the website for upcoming cruises and go on a cruise. Help out with Open Houses. Help skippers rig boats for lessons. Chat with other CSC folks Saturday or weekday afternoons and get invited to go out sailing. The more you put into CSC, the more you'll get out of it.

Q: Anything else?
A: Have fun

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A: Easy. Refer to the info at the bottom of this message.