Captain's Log
Captain's Log
Captain's Log
7 Reasons To Learn How To Sail!
Sailing is an activity that offers countless benefits to those who take the time to learn and practice it. Whether you're a seasoned sailor or just starting out, there are plenty of reasons why you should consider learning to sail. In this post, we'll explore some of the key reasons why sailing is such a rewarding and enjoyable experience.
1. Experience a sense of freedom and independence on the water
One of the most appealing aspects of sailing is the sense of freedom and independence it provides. When you're out on the water, you're in control of your vessel and can navigate your way through the waves and wind as you see fit. This feeling of independence is empowering and can be a great way to escape from the stresses of daily life.
2. Develop a new set of skills and knowledge about navigation and sailing techniques
Sailing is a complex activity that requires a significant amount of skill and knowledge. Learning to sail will allow you to develop a range of new skills, including navigation, sail trim, and steering. You'll also learn about weather patterns, tides, and other factors that can affect your sailing experience. These skills and knowledge will not only enhance your sailing abilities but also your problem-solving skills and ability to make quick decisions.
3. Connect with nature and experience the beauty of the ocean, lakes, or rivers
Sailing is a great way to connect with nature and experience the beauty of the water. Whether you're sailing on the ocean, a lake, or a river, you'll have the opportunity to observe wildlife, enjoy the beauty of the water, and soak up the sun and fresh air. Sailing can also provide a sense of serenity and peace that is difficult to find in other activities.
4. Learn to work effectively as a part of a team, especially when racing or cruising
Sailing is a team sport, and learning to sail will allow you to develop your teamwork and communication skills. Whether you're racing or cruising, you'll need to work together with your crew to ensure the safety and success of your voyage. This requires effective communication, cooperation, and trust, all of which are valuable skills in any aspect of life.
5. Improve your physical fitness, balance, and coordination
Sailing can be a physical activity that requires strength, balance, and coordination. When you're out on the water, you'll be using your core muscles to stabilize yourself and maintain your balance. You'll also be using your arms, legs, and back to trim sails, steer, and perform other tasks. Over time, sailing can improve your physical fitness, balance, and coordination, making you a stronger and more agile person.
6. Expand your social network and meet new people who share a passion for sailing
Want to meet new people? Sailing is a great way to expand your social network. Whether you join a sailing club or take lessons at a sailing school(hopefully *this* sailing school), you'll have the opportunity to connect with others who share your passion for sailing. This can lead to new friendships, sailing partners, and opportunities to sail in different parts of the world.
7. Enjoy the thrill and excitement of mastering the wind and waves
Finally, one of the most rewarding aspects of learning to sail is the thrill and excitement of mastering the wind and waves. When you're out on the water, you'll be constantly challenged by changing weather conditions, shifting winds, tides, currents, and other factors outside your control. Learning to sail and mastering these challenges can be incredibly rewarding and satisfying, and can provide a sense of accomplishment that is difficult to find in other activities.
In conclusion, learning to sail can provide a wide range of benefits, from physical fitness and improved teamwork skills to a sense of freedom and independence on the water. If you're looking for a new challenge and a rewarding way to connect with nature and other people, sailing may be just the thing for you!
No, We’re Still Not Done Preparing - Docking Series
These blog posts assume you will be motoring in and out of the marina, so we need to discuss motors. In this post, I will be referring to the outboard engine on the J/22 and the Marine diesel on the J/30.
In starting an outboard, the first question is whether to use the choke on the initial pulls. My typical technique is to put the throttle in the starting position, then give the motor two pulls while the choke button is in (disengaged). If the motor does not start, I pull the choke button out (engaged), and give the engine two more pulls with the choke button out. I keep alternating (two pulls with the choke button in, two pulls with the choke button out) until the motor starts.
If the motor is flooded (meaning there is too much gas in the cylinder and not enough air), there are two techniques. Some people just let the motor sit for a while, then do a normal start, and this will often work. We impatient types will instead disconnect the fuel hose and try to start the motor with the throttle full open. Once it starts, turn the throttle down and re-connect the fuel hose. If you are quick, the motor won’t stop, and you will look like an outboard motor hero (OMH).
Starting a diesel is a little different. I start the diesel on the J/30 in idle (the throttle lever straight up), but check the manual on the engine, some manufacturers recommend starting the engine with a partially open throttle.
I also like to start the diesel with shore power unplugged. When you start the engine with the boat plugged into shore power, it is really the shore power which is starting the engine, so you have no idea of the condition of the batteries. With shore power unplugged, you get an idea of the condition of the batteries when you start the engine- good info to have, that.
And with the diesel, don’t crank the engine for more than about 3 seconds, and give the engine a rest between crankings. Continuous cranking on the engine is hard on the starter.
Next, shifting. For both types of engines, the idea is to shift slowly and deliberately. A best practice is to say out loud the gear you are in, the word “pause”, and the gear you are shifting in to. So “Neutral”, “Pause”, “Reverse” for instance.
Finally, to shut down a marine diesel, remember this like you remember your wife’s birthday: DO NOT SHUT THE MOTOR DOWN BY SIMPLY TURNING OFF THE KEY. Instead, put the motor idling in neutral, then pull out on the fuel cutoff until the motor completely stops. Then when the motor is completely stopped, push the fuel cutoff button in. NOW it is safe to turn off the key. Turning off the key directly can burn out the diodes in the alternator.
A few more thoughts:
The J/30 has a tachometer which will display how fast the engine is spinning. There is no redline on the face of the tachometer, but I don’t rev that engine past 2,000 RPM.
On the J/22, the outboard motor has separate controls for the throttle (engine speed) and the shifting. With this setup, it is possible to shift the engine while the engine is revving (while the throttle is partially or fully open). NEVER DO THAT. Instead, always shift the outboards on the J/22 with the engine speed down at idle. Shifting while revving is very hard on the engine.
Also, it is not a bad idea to test the motor at the dock, on the mooring lines. So once the motor is warmed up a little, gently put the motor in gear and give the motor maybe half throttle, just to prove that it is running healthy. Do both forward and reverse.
That’s a few things about the motor. I promise that sooner or later this blog post will get out of the slip and into the marina!
Author : Ken Jensen.
Ken has been teaching with VSS since 2004. A native of Minnesota (The Land of 10,000 Lakes!), Ken moved to Colorado in 1995, and took his first class with VSS in 2002. Back in Minnesota, Ken and his dad sailed little dinghies like Sunfish and Sailfish, as well as Hobie cats back when they were the cool new thing. Nowadays Ken teaches most of the VSS classes, but particularly enjoys teaching Docking on the J/30 at Chatfield, where you will find him on most Saturdays.
A Little More Prep Work - Docking Series
Welcome back. Before we get into the nitty-gritty, I want to talk about two ways that we can screw up and one thing to up our game. As you read this, remember, part of the fun of docking is that you have an audience. There are always people sitting on the back of their boats watching. Let’s provoke their envy, not provide their entertainment.
So in that spirit, here are a few of the things that can go wrong, and their preventatives.
One of the first things to avoid is allowing a line to wrap around the propeller. This is easy to do if you let a line dangle near the stern. I know sailors who are adamant about not having any lines in the water once the motor is started. So look not just at mooring lines, but also be aware of the jib or genoa sheets, as well as any other line that can wrap around the propeller or prop shaft. Outcome to this sad scenario might include a bent prop shaft, cracking the fiberglass of the hull at the shaft, and ruining the propeller itself. And of course the chaos in the marina you’ve just created. ‘Nuff said.
The second thing we need to talk about is getting on and off the boat. Believe it or not, this is a skill, and an important one, since getting on and off the boat is one of the more dangerous things you can do on a boat. Really. So we teach a few things.
A) Always use your hands getting on and off.
B) Do not try to get on or off the boat while holding a heavy or bulky item. Hand it a person on the boat/dock, and step on or off unencumbered.
C) If you are stepping onto a wobbly slip, try to place your foot on the center of the slip, not the edges. This will minimize the wobble.
D) If there is a furling line or some line that runs along the toe rail, my practice has been to step on it. When you do this, you run the risk of slipping on the line, so be careful, but I think it is safer than putting your foot near a line and risking being tripped by it.
Finally, one thing to up our game, let’s discuss dinghies. Assuming you have a towable dinghy (not one on davits or stored in a garage in the transom) you have a few option on what to do with it in the marina.
A) If the dinghy is inflatable, the best thing to do with it is deflate it and store it on the foredeck. I know you’re not going to do that.
B) You can raft the dinghy to the sailboat. (Rafting boats means the boats are tied together side by side.) If you have the room in the marina, this is a great solution, but remember to use both breast lines to hold the dinghy to the sailboat and spring lines to keep it from moving back and forth. You don’t want the dinghy moving against the hull of the sailboat.
C) Most likely, however, you will be simply towing the dinghy. If you do this, remember to tie the dinghy as close as possible to the stern, so that it can’t swing and hit things. It is a first class mistake to be in the marina with a dinghy trailing 10 or 15 feet behind the stern.
Next post: Motors- your best friend that seems to hate you.
Author : Ken Jensen.
Ken has been teaching with VSS since 2004. A native of Minnesota (The Land of 10,000 Lakes!), Ken moved to Colorado in 1995, and took his first class with VSS in 2002. Back in Minnesota, Ken and his dad sailed little dinghies like Sunfish and Sailfish, as well as Hobie cats back when they were the cool new thing. Nowadays Ken teaches most of the VSS classes, but particularly enjoys teaching Docking on the J/30 at Chatfield, where you will find him on most Saturdays.
Introduction to the Exciting Skill of Docking Sailboats
If you’re like me, you love sailing, you love sailboats, and want to develop the skills of sailing. And one of the most important skills in sailing is docking. I am one of the instructors at Victoria Sailing School, and I teach the docking class on the J/30 at Chatfield.
This is the first in a series of blog posts I will be writing on docking. Most of the points covered in these posts will apply to almost any boat, with a few specific pointers on the two models of boat in Victoria Sailing School’s fleet, the J/22 and the J/30.
In this blog post, I will be discussing the very basics. Future posts will cover specific situations.
My philosophy on docking is really an extension of our philosophy on sailing in general: good docking is 95% preparation and 5% execution. In this blog post I will discuss the ways to prepare for a successful docking.
First of all, we assume that you have the basics for any sailing excursion- hat, sunscreen, water, etc. For docking we also recommend having a clipboard with a blank paper, a marker or pen, and ideally a chart of the marina.
Next, before the motor is even started, it is a good idea to have a strong grasp of the following skills. In no particular order:
One skill we emphasize is the ability to make a simple micro-plan and communicating it clearly. By micro-plan we mean something that might be as simple a plan to just get the boat out of the slip and into the channel, or a plan to spring the bow off the dock. Creating and communicating these simple plans can greatly cut down on the chaos.
A related skill is the ability to create positions or roles, and assign people to them. For instance, in docking the J/30, we typically have someone at the helm, two people on the dock handling mooring lines, and one person acting as the dangler, dangling a fender on the starboard side, protecting the hull from the dock.
Another skill is simply how to hold a boat at the dock. We recommend two wraps of the mooring line around the cleat, setting up to tie a cleat hitch. (And by the way, being able to tie a proper cleat hitch is one of THE cornerstone skills of sailing. Walk up and down the docks, properly tied cleat hitches are very rare.)
The ability to toss a line a line can be handy. And there is a technique for this. Make sure the end of the line is secured, and a knot in the end being tossed makes it easier for the recipient. Then coil the line, and split the coils into each hand. Toss the coils in your primary hand first, followed quickly by the coils in your weak hand. If you do this right the first time. You don’t have to toss a line that has fallen in the water. Your friends and family will appreciate this!
More docking posts coming soon!
Author : Ken Jensen.
Ken has been teaching with VSS since 2004. A native of Minnesota (The Land of 10,000 Lakes!), Ken moved to Colorado in 1995, and took his first class with VSS in 2002. Back in Minnesota, Ken and his dad sailed little dinghies like Sunfish and Sailfish, as well as Hobie cats back when they were the cool new thing. Nowadays Ken teaches most of the VSS classes, but particularly enjoys teaching Docking on the J/30 at Chatfield, where you will find him on most Saturdays.
Why You Should Sail Dinghies
Most people who know our school, will recognize our world class J/22 boats before anything else. These boats are amazingly fast, but simple enough to learn how to sail on. The J/22 is also known as a fixed keel mono hull sailboat. Those of you who can remember back to ASA101 theory, will recall that there are 3 major distinctions between sailboats. There are dinghies, keelboats, and catamarans. Today I want to talk about the differences between keelboats and dinghies and more importantly, why you should learn to sail dinghies, even if you already know how to sail!
To begin, we must talk about the safety and stability of keelboats. No matter the size or weight of the boat, a keelboat will always right itself after being knocked down (or broached). Barring the boat taking on water, or someone holding the mast down, a keelboat will always come back upright if you wait long enough. This is why we love teaching on the J/22’s, they have a fixed lead keel that weighs 700lbs. Remember those old inflatable clown punching bags? They operate on the same principle, a bunch of weight in the bottom keeps the clown upright. The boats are fast and safe, and as long as you manage to stay in the boat it will always come back up (take a look at our last entry for more information).
Keelboats are typically bigger, and drier than dinghies. You can have a larger crew (or friends and family) on board and you can explore oceans with them. But, the bigger the boat, the less ‘feel’ you get for how the wind and waves affect you. I use the term ‘feel’ loosely, it can be on bigger boats. There are phenomenal sailors all over the world that exclusively sail on big boats, and that takes a lot of training. My argument for dinghy sailing is that for people who are just starting out, or people who want to get a better understanding of how sailboats move through the water and interact with the wind.
There is no better way to learn this than on a dinghy. Depending on the size of the boat you will be single handed or double-handed at most. This creates a very easy cause and effect chain for you to explore. On bigger boats, there are other crew members contributing to the speed and heel of the boat. On a dinghy, it’s just you. Move the tiller slightly to leeward? The boat heads up. No wondering if someone else affecting the balance or trim of the boat. Ease the main sheet? The boat will start to fall off slightly (assuming your have a jib up). There is no better way to really learn the intricacies of sail trim than when you are alone on a dinghy.
Dinghy sailing is also much more exciting (in my opinion). You are right down at water level, getting sopped with waves as you crash through them on a close-hauled course. You get wet, you get a workout, and you have fun! Having to use your body weight to keep the boat upright is a workout. Hiking out of the boat will test your core strength and your mental strength. All the while keeping a 360-degree field of awareness for wind gusts, waves, other boats, and of course shore. Being so intimate with all these details will give you a fresh perspective on sailing. Over the years I have had many students be skeptical of dinghy sailing.
“I don’t want to get wet! What happens if I capsize?”
My answer is always the same. So what? You will get wet, and you will capsize, that is the point of dinghy sailing. The first thing we teach beginners is capsizing, so that the fear is gone and they have learned the worst thing that can happen to them. No other boat will let you know right away if you make a mistake, a dinghy will let you know by flipping over. You get real time feedback from the boat on how well you are sailing. Plus, learning to dry capsize is a great challenge!
Finally, racing in dinghies is much more accessible to most people. Sailing and racing keelboats can be very cost prohibitive and tough to break into. While dinghies are much cheaper to rent and own! There are also multiple world class dinghies that have fleets all over the world. Everything from the classic Laser, to 420’s and Finns, to our very own Topaz’s! Having access to these boats and learning to race on them will take your sailing skills to the next level. A lot of sailors know how to get around on the water; but learning to race will teach you to get from point A to B as efficiently as possible. You will need to combine sail trim, boat balance, tactics and so much more!
Interested in learning more about dinghies? Join us this summer as we introduce our ASA110 – Small Sailboat Sailing Course!
Prepping For Mountain Gusts
Disclaimer : This post is not meant to be a hard and fast guide for dealing with gusts! There are many other things that go into dealing with gusty mountain winds, the most important of which is sailor ability. Please remember that your confidence and ability play an important role in being able to sail in difficult conditions.
Believe it or not, Colorado is one of the hardest places to learn how to sail. Learning about the weather and wind patterns in Colorado is probably the most important step to mastering sailing in the Rockies. Weather plays a huge factor in staying safe on a sailboat and knowing how it affects us while sailing will turn a novice sailor into an experienced one. During the summer, Colorado has hot days with very little wind, and stormy evenings with incredible wind spikes and thunderstorms. It’s those wind spikes or gusts that can turn a pleasant outing into a horrible one in seconds. So, what can we do to prepare for these inevitable gusts?
First, we need to look at the general wind patterns for Denver, CO. In the Spring and Fall months we get an average wind speed of about 8.3mph. During the hot summer months that average wind speed drops to 6.9mph. Now that might not seem like a huge difference; but remember that average, means half the time the wind speed is below that mark. We also need to keep in mind the max wind speed during the Spring, Summer, and Fall. Looking at data from Climatology Reports (http://www.thorntonweather.com/denver-climatology.php) we find that during the summer months the maximum wind gust also drops. The average max wind speed stays about the same throughout all the seasons, but we get higher wind speed maxes (around 45mph) during the spring and fall months. Why is this important? In order to prep for wind gusts, we must first understand when they are likely to happen so that we can be prepared for such an outcome before it happens. Keep in mind that these re averages and generalizations, the wind gusts in Colorado can strike even during the hot summer months, especially when there is a thunderstorm on the way.
Now that we know when to expect gusts (unfortunately all the time), we need to know how to prepare! Just like any other sport or skill, you need to practice. The easiest way to prepare is to reef, and reef fast. If you don’t know how fast you can reef your boat, you should time yourself, with a crew and by yourself. If you can’t reef in under a minute you may have some trouble avoiding knock downs when the wind picks up. The gusts don’t come with any warning, by the time you see it, it may already be too late. Look at the wind forecast before leaving the dock, know what you will be sailing in that day. If the forecast calls for gusts, start with a reefed mainsail, or furled genoa. As you get comfortable, you can always shake the reef!
Sail trim is very important when sailing through a gust. Adjusting your trim to avoid knockdowns will be your best ally. As the wind picks up, especially while sailing upwind, you will want to tighten the outhaul, cunningham, backstay, traveller and boomvang. All those adjustments will flatten your mainsail and not allow it to draw as much power. Remember the flatter a sail, the less power it will generate. As you increase draft, you will increase power. For your Jib or Genoa, you will want to pull the blocks aft, this will tighten the bottom of the sail and again, reduce sail power. Adjusting your sail trim allows your boat to remain balanced. Ideally, we have a perfectly balanced boat, if you were to let go of the steering the boat would continue straight. We aim for a slight weather helm, as a perfectly balanced boat is very hard to achieve.
Boat balance is also achieved by shifting body weight side to side, and forward and aft. We don’t want to put a bunch of weight too far forward or aft, as it will bury the bow or give us lee helm. As much as we can, we want to center the weight of the crew around the keel or beam of the boat, this means the skipper is sitting in front of the traveler while steering. On a J/22 we don’t want to have any crew behind the traveler, especially while battling gusty conditions. We also want to have crew on the high side, or windward side of the boat. A flat boat is much easier to control than a boat heeling over. The combination of windward weight and proper sail trim will allow us to drive through the gusts.
Our final adjustment for sailing through gusts, is to literally sail the puffs. As the gust comes, we want to aim the bow into the wind and ride the gust upwind. As our boat turns into the wind (just before stalling) it will flatten out and allow us to keep control. As the gust wanes, we fall off again to pick up speed. The goal is to keep the boat on the same degree of heel throughout all the gusts, heading up and bearing away through each puff. A great racer will be able to pick out the puffs and drive their boat through them without losing any speed or control. Remember, if you can’t control the tiller with only 2 fingers, you are not balanced and out of control (on a J/22 that is).
Gusts are an integral part of sailing in Colorado. Knowing when they strike and how to adjust will help sailors navigate and even enjoy gusts. Practicing reefing and knowing when to reef (early and often), will also go a long way in building confidence through gusty weather. Remember, if you can’t control your boat, you have too much sail up. Reef, get comfortable, and maybe next time you won’t need to reef. Knowing what all the sail trim lines accomplish is also very important, look out over the next few weeks as we will talk about what each line does! For now, remember that on a keelboat if you do get knocked, just wait for the boat to right itself, and don’t forget to close the hatches!
Why Kids Should Learn to Sail
There is no other sport in the world that will give your children as much preparation, knowledge, and opportunities in life like sailing. Imagine your children crossing oceans and getting paid to do it! Sailing teaches important life skills, such as awareness, patience, and respect. Learning to sail can also lead to meeting and becoming friends with yacht owners, which is a great network to have.
Every parent wants to see their children succeed. Teaching them skills such as cooking, cleaning, and money handling are great ways to set them up for life. But sports, music, and art also play a huge role in shaping a child’s future. We believe that sailing can be a unique and significant factor in shaping your child’s future. Learning to sail is straight forward; learn how the wind interacts with the sail and away you go. But mastering sailing takes a great amount of patience. Everything from parts of the boat, to weather patterns, to sail trim must be taught. Learning the small intricacies of sail trim can take years of practice. Tell me, do you know what a leech line is, and what it does? Or what the traveler does to the sail shape, and how that affects your angle of attack? Learning these small adjustments not only takes patience, but it also teaches awareness.
No other sport teaches people to think in a 360-degree circle. Sailors must be aware of their surroundings all the time. What’s ahead, astern, to port and starboard. We can’t forget what is above and below the boat as well. No other activity requires this much awareness. This type of awareness will help children when it comes to learning how to drive, manage a school or work load, even with future relationships. It will also instill a sense of community, most sailors rely on each other, and when help is needed there are always enough hands.
Sailing also teaches us respect. Respect for the wind and how it can change at any given moment and force us to adjust our course. It teaches respect for other people’s equipment. Whether that be the boat you chartered for the day, or for other boats on the water. We must take care to avoid crashing and breaking expensive equipment. Sailors also learn to respect the earth. Water is a precious resource; we cannot taint it with garbage or allow pollution to destroy our favorite sailing spot. Sailors learn to take care of the environment, for they spend an awful lot of time enjoying what it has to offer. Respect is a universal language, learning respect early will only set you up to achieve great things in the future.
Teaching your children to sail will also set them up with a huge networking advantage in the future. Imagine, if you will, your kid goes to college on the coast. My piece of advice would be this:
Find the local yacht club and go down there on Wednesday evening. Wednesday’s are for racing at most yacht clubs. Jump on a boat and show up, every Wednesday for 4 years. Mingle with the yacht club members, become friends with them and their kids. After 4 years you’ll have job offers lined up from every member. You’ve just proven that you are reliable, teachable, and willing to work. Think about the type of people who belong to yacht clubs. What kind of job offers do you think you’ll be getting?
How does that sound? It sounds like an investment in learning to sail at a young age can lead to many benefits. Those benefits include, learning patience, awareness and respect. They also include a built-in networking system, a system that can lead to professional success for life. To me, there is no better opportunity in the world than learning how to sail.
Want to learn more about youth sailing programs? Check out our sister company Colorado Watersports (www.coloradowatersports.com). We offer weeklong summer camps for kids to learn how to sail! Opportunities to sail in the CSYC Youth Regatta (www.CSYC.org) in the summer, and eventually learn to sail bigger keelboats (www.victoriasailingschool.com).
The Case for Celestial Navigation
The only people that still talk about why Celestial Navigation is needed are grizzled old sailors, and us. We still talk about it because, the old tried and true method of navigation can’t let you down. It is a great way to learn and enjoy a new skill while sailing and gives you a backup plan in the worst case scenario.
The first argument that comes to mind is, what if your GPS fails? This is a reality that cannot be ignored. Saltwater and electronics get along like pigs in mud. On a boat we marry expensive electronics and saltwater together. Not only do you need to worry about keeping your equipment dry and clean, you also need to make sure they stay charged. If your generator or engine stops working due to bad fuel, lack of compression, electrical gremlins or any other myriad of reasons, you lose access to your GPS. Now what?
At this point you might be thinking ‘Yeah well I don’t have time to learn about Celestial Navigation’. Celestial Navigation is easier to learn and understand than most people think. You need a pencil, paper, a sextant, an Almanac, and a watch. And of course, your pick of celestial bodies. Dive in and learn a skill that helped old world conquerors cross oceans without any electronic guidance. Just a belief that the sun, moon, and stars would guide them safely home. As a sailor, you chose to avoid commercialized ways of travel, to get away from it all. So why not jump in all the way and really escape it? Learn a technique that will make you more confident on the seas, but also put you in the upper echelon of sailors! How many sailors do you really know that can whip out a sextant and plot your course? At worst you’ll learn a beautiful new skill, at best you’ll save your boat and crew from disaster someday.
Finally, the worst-case scenario. Your GPS is hacked or spoofed. I know this may seem like an out of this world problem, but it is happening with more and more frequency. Just this year, a flight from Hong Kong to Manila lost their GPS systems and the pilots were told to find the runway with their eyes (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gps-is-easy-to-hack-and-the-u-s-has-no-backup/). Do you think you could find land without destroying your boat if you didn’t have GPS? There have been over 50 cases of jammed GPS signals at Manila airport alone. So why does everyone rely on a system that can be so easily overridden? Even the US Navy has gone back to teaching Celestial Navigation to it’s cadets (http://www.astronomy.com/news/2016/09/celestial-navigation-is-returning-to-the-naval-academy-cirriculum). Take a page from the Navy’s book and learn to have a backup. Any prudent sailor should always make sure to collect and learn all the possible resources needed to make their journey a safe one.
Check out our video below on the basics of time and how important it becomes when navigating using celestial bodies
https://vimeo.com/120118011
Learn more about Celestial Navigation with Victoria Sailing School’s ASA107 (Celestial Navigation) and ASA117 (Celestial Endorsement) classes. Our online classes can be taken from anywhere, at any time. We have live webinars starting in February every year, but students can also follow the course on their own time any time of year.
