About the Course
One Week Sessions: Monday ‐ Friday | 9am ‐ 3pm
It's never too early to get on the water! The Great Whites class is a beginner optimist class designed for kids aged 7-11 and does not require sailing experience. Meant to be a fun group experience, it enables kids to get a taste of sailing in one week of instruction. Students will become familiar with water safety on the docks and in an optimist trainer, while learning what it feels like to be on the water. Over the week the students will be introduced to the different parts of the boat, knots, rigging and steering. One step at a time this is an important one to take in a nurturing environment with friendly and patient instructors.
This course will teach the basics of rigging a boat, basic boat handling, sailing fundamentals, seamanship (knots, weather, etc.), sportsmanship, and water safety. Instruction is done in Optimists with two sailors/boat.
The goals of this class are to be able to:
● Rig and de‐rig an Optimist
● Know the points of sail
● Label all the parts of the boat
● Be comfortable steering the boat and trimming the sail
● Leave the dock and return
● Tack and gybe safely
● Capsize and recover
● Know starboard vs. port and windward vs. leeward
● Know how to tie knots (figure‐8, square, bowline
