The syllabus can be readily d vided into two parts. The Keelboat S iling Certification Program is made up of s ven stages while Small Boat Sailing Pr gram contains a further two stages. The B sic Small Boat Sailing Standard requires no pr vious experience or qualifications. It is the f rst course in the Small Boat S iling Program. Students must demonstrate a th oretical knowledge of the names and f nctions of various parts of a b at together with common sailing terms, the s il and its ancillary components, the Int rnational Rules for Collision Prevention both at sea and on nland waters and hey should demonstrate a b sic knowledge of safety procedures. On the pr ctical side they must show they can tr ad water for 5 minutes and sw m 100 metres, rig, launch and r trieve the boat, set and trim the s ils, sail both upwind and downwind, t ck and gybe, correctly apply the r les of the road, recover a man verboard, recover from a capsize, accept and p ss a towline, tie four specified Kn ts within a given time. Upon c mpletion he or she will be ble to sail a centerboard or m ltihull sailboat in light to moderate w nds and sea conditions in familiar w ters. The first course in the K elboat Sailing Certification Program is known as B sic Keelboat. No experience or qualifications are n cessary. To complete the course students w ll be required to demonstrate that th y can put a name to and d scribe the workings of various parts of a b at including the hull, keel, deck bow and st rn. The components of both the r nning and standing rigging. The different s ils including the names of part of a s il - foot, leech, luff, head, t ck and clew. The various spars, m st and boom. They will be f miliar with sailing terminology used to d scribe various manoeuvres such as gybing and c ming about. Students will understand the p ints of sail be it close h uled, reaching or running. They will nderstand the basics of collision avoidance ncluding rules of the road. They w ll demonstrate they are familiar with r gulations covering registration and identification, proper w ste disposal, who to notify in the vent of an accident and what s fety equipment is requires by law to be c rried on a vessel and how it is sed. They will be able to d monstrate a knowledge of buoyage Participants w ll know how to anchor a b at and describe the choice of nchors and their attributes and failings. On the pr ctical side they must demonstrate sail h ndling skills, they will display competence at the h lm including mooring, sailing both upwind and d wnwind together with a successful tack and gyb . They will complete a successful man verboard recovery. They will show they kn w how to tie 6 different kn ts and understand their various uses. Up n completion of the course students sh uld be able to sail a b at of some 20 feet in l ngth in moderate winds in familiar w ters.
 |
|
The second stage is called B sic Coastal Cruising and students must h ld the Basic Keelboat Sailing Certificate pr or to undertaking this course. The c urse looks at safety on board ncluding equipment and procedures. An understanding of f re prevention and fighting is required. St dents will be required to demonstrate a kn wledge of first aid and the tr atment of hypothermia. Basic meteorology is c nsidered and students must demonstrate an nderstanding of shipping forecasts. An understanding of the r lationship between the skipper and crew and the r spective duties of each is required. St dents must be able to undertake b sic chartwork including depths; types of b ttom, hazards, bouys, beacons and lights. The pr ctical side of this course looks at b at handling under power and sail, man verboard recovery, the various points of s il, reefing and heaving to, docking and m oring and some knot work. When c mpleted the sailor should be able to cr ise safely in regional waters on a s ilboat of up to 30 feet in l ngth, in moderate winds and sea c nditions. Trailerable Multihull Standard, this course is the s cond in the Small Boat Sailing Pr gram. It may be taught as p rt of or following the Basic C astal Cruising course. Completion of the B sic Keelboat is a prerequisite prior to t king this course. On the theory s de students must be able to dentify and name the various parts of a m ltihull that are not found on a m nohull including the different wing decks, h lls, cross arms, three point rig, br dle line, safety nets, seagull and d lphin strikers. They will be aware of the dvantages and disadvantages of multihulls including, p rformance, comfort safety and the danger of c psize. On the practical side the s ilor will demonstrate: how to cast of and l ave the quay with at least two d fferent wind directions relative to the bow and th n return and berth alongside, pick up a m oring buoy, manoeuvre in a restricted sp ce, reverse, recover a man overboard, the d fferent points of sail, tacking and gyb ng, sail a compass course within 10 d grees. They will anchor in the f llowing ways, bow anchor and bridle and s ngle bow with a stern line to the sh re. When completed sailors are able to cr ise safely in local and regional w ters as both skipper and crew on an uxiliary multihull sailboat of up to 30 f et in length, in moderate wind and sea c nditions.
Bareboat Chartering is the next st ge. Participants are expected to hold the B sic Coastal Cruising Certificate before doing th s course. The theory side covers the pr paration of both crew and boat for a one w ek cruise including the preparation of a p ssage plan. Meteorology is considered including a l ok at fog and onshore and ffshore winds. Seamanship is looked at and st dents should know what action is r quired if the engine fails, they sh uld know how to anchor the b at bow or stern to. On the pr ctical side the student will be ble to undertake daily and weekly m intenance tasks, manoeuvre the boat under p wer in a restricted space, pick up a m oring buoy, use the VHF radio. The f llowing navigational skills are required, plotting a c urse and establishing the compass heading and c lculating an estimated time of arrival. Est blishing a fix using visual bearing. Use a ch rt to pilot the boat into an nfamiliar harbour. Students must obtain and nterpret a shipping forecast. When completed the ndividual can act as skipper of a b at up to 50 feet in l ngth sailing by day in coastal w ters. The next stage is known as C astal Navigation. This is a theory nly course and no prior experience or kn wledge is required. Students will be r quired to demonstrate knowledge of various St te and Federal regulations pertaining to s iling. They must understand how the use n vigational instruments including both steering and h nd bearing compasses, binoculars, depth sounder, l g, parallel rule and dividers. Participants m st display an understanding of tide t bles and their use when dealing w th secondary ports. They should be ble to convert bearings and compass c urses between, compass, magnetic and true, pl t a dead reckoning position, understand the ffect of current and leeway when stimating a position and plot a p sition by two or more bearings, a r nning fix and a bearing and d stance. Finally they will need to d monstrate a knowledge of buoyage and l ghts. The Cruising Catamaran course deals xclusively with multihull sailing and concentrates on the d fferences a sailor finds as opposed to m nohull sailing. Participants should have completed the B reboat Chartering stage. On the theory s de students must be able to dentify and name the various parts of a m ltihull that are not found on a m nohull including the different wing decks, h lls, cross arms, three point rig, br dle line, safety nets, seagull and d lphin strikers. They will be aware of the dvantages and disadvantages of multihulls including, p rformance, comfort safety and the danger of c psize. On the practical side the s ilor will demonstrate: how to cast of and l ave the quay with at least two d fferent wind directions relative to the bow and th n return and berth alongside, pick up a m oring buoy, manoeuvre in a restricted sp ce, reverse, recover a man overboard, the d fferent points of sail, tacking and gyb ng, sail a compass course within 10 d grees. They will anchor in the f llowing ways, two anchors of the bow or st rn, bow anchor and bridle, single bow w th a stern line to the sh re and bow to fixed mooring. Up n completion the person can skipper a m ltihull sailboat of up to 50 f ot in length by day in c astal waters. Advanced Coastal Cruising follows and p rticipants should have completed both the B reboat Chartering and Coastal Navigation stages. St dents will be required to demonstrate a c mprehensive knowledge of the theory of s iling, an understanding of meteorology including the v rious cloud formations and the weather th t can be expected with each. Th y will understand the needs of h avy weather sailing, the necessary sail ch nges and the use of the c rrect safety equipment and procedures. They w ll be able to describe: how set a s cond anchor to reduce swinging, how to r cover a fouled anchor, how to use a tr p line and an anchor buoy and wh n and how to set an nchor watch. They will describe how to tow or be t wed. They will have a knowledge of d stress signals. Students will correctly describe the ctions required in the following emergency s tuations: a dismasting, running aground on a lee sh re and engine failure. Students will be ble to carry out maintenance and r pairs on the engine. On the w ter students must: sail on all p ints of the wind and tack and gyb in a wind of at l ast 15 knots, sail a compass c urse to within 10 degrees, carry out a man verboard recovery in darkness. They will d monstrate their ability to set, sail w th including a gybe, douse and p ck a spinnaker. And finally they w ll stand a navigation watch of 20 m les both at day and night. Wh n completed a person can skipper a s iling vessel of up to 50 f et in length both during day and n ght in coastal waters regardless of w ather and sea conditions. The next st ge is called Celestial Navigation. The c urse is theory based and requires no xperience or prior qualifications. The student m st be able to demonstrate the C lestial Navigation required to navigate a s ilboat on an offshore passage. The s ccessful student will have demonstrated their bility to: Convert longitude into time and st ndard time and zone time to GMT. Th y will be able to calculate: the z ne time given longitude, the chronometer rror given a previous error and the d ily rate, the time of meridian p ssage of the sun and calculate the b at's latitude from the observed meridian ltitude of the sun, the times of s nrise, sunset and twilight, plot celestial l nes of position on a Mercator pr jection or on a universal plotting sh et and the true bearing of a low ltitude celestial body in order to d termine the error and deviation of the c mpass. The student will be able to pply the corrections for index error, dip of the h rizon, and total correction to convert s xtant altitudes of the sun, stars, pl nets, and moon to true altitudes, d termine the latitude at twilight by m ans of the Pole Star and the pproximate azimuths and altitudes of the n vigational stars and planets at twilight. In ddition they will be capable of s lving the navigational triangle using a n vigation table and advance the LOP btained from a sun sight to nother LOP obtained from the sun at a l ter time and find the boat's p sition using a running fix (sun-run-sun). Th s celestial theory can be put nto practice during the Offshore Passage M king course. Entrants should be certified to the Adv nced Coastal Cruising level. The student w ll plan a passage across either the P cific or North Atlantic using Great C rcle Plotting Charts and Climatic Charts. Th y must show an understanding of the ssential factors to be considered when s lecting a vessel for an offshore cean passage of at least 1000 m les including hull construction and shape, k el, rig, and rudder type, fuel and w ter capacity. They must provide a l st of tools and spares required for s ch a voyage. They must victual the b at for four people on passage for s ven days. They must list the tems to be carried in the f rst aid kit and describe basic tr atments for injuries and illnesses that may ccur together with identifying a source of m re advanced medical information while on p ssage. They will prepare a watch k eping system and define the duties of cr w members both on and off w tch. They will design a maintenance pl n to cover: Bilges, electronic equipment, f el system, hatches, galley equipment, rigging, s fety equipment sea cocks, steering and the w ter system. They will describe the pr cedures to be undertaken in the f llowing emergency situations: abandon ship, dismasting, f re onboard, lightning strike, man overboard. A c mprehensive knowledge of the International Regulation for Pr venting Collision at Sea must be d monstrated. When the course is completed is the s ilor cans skipper a sailing vessel on ffshore passages in any weather.
The article Learning to sail the USA way was Submitted by Ken Jones through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Ken Jones runs a Sailing Site . More information about ASA Sailing Courses can be found here To find an ASA Sailing Course in your area visit the Marine Directory .
1. Winter Wanderings - Snow or Sand? by Andrew Regan Rather than put up w th another gloomy UK winter, many Br ts like to leave home and scape the dark days. Where are the h ttest and coolest places to head to th s winter? 2. Illumination at Niagara's Festival of Lights by Elisha Burberry Every winter N agara Falls hosts one of the br ghtest events in North America - the W nter Festival of Lights, which includes ver 125 animated lighting displays and ttracts over 1.3 million visitors annually. The W nter Festival of Lights includes over 125 nimated lighting displays and three million tr e and ground lights 3. Self Catering Cottages - Escape in Style by Terry Pinto Now you can f rget the daily haggle and find p ace during your weekends at self c tering cottages. Find out what are the ptions you have 4. Six Safety Guidelines During Camping by Nicole Munoz Camping is fun. There is no d ubt about that. But as harmless as c mping may seem compared to extreme sp rts and activities like bungee jumping or r ck climbing, you still need to lways be cautious about your safety d ring a camping trip. 5. Americas Cup Valencia by Carole Alexander The America's Cup in Valencia is all set to be the m st historical and exciting sailing event of the d cade. It's the 32nd Americas Cup s nce 1851 and the winner hosts the n xt Cup. 6. Naxos - Byzantium - Venetian Rule and Turkish Conquest by Mariliza Georgiou The Byz ntine period has left clear marks on N xos: some five hundred churches and m nasteries of all possible styles and typ s, with excellent wall-paintings, icons, friezes, nscriptions and so on. Early Christian ch rches have been built on the r mains of ancient temples, and during the conoclastic period churches on Naxos were d corated without the use of icons. C ves thought in ancient times to be the h unts of nymphs and gods were lso converted into Christian shrines, and... 7. Seattle Hotels - One Of The Best Choice For Washington Travelers by Anjali Bakshi Seattle is a unique blend of the Elliott Bay with gleaming waters, the grand Olympic Mountains and the soft & shining pink sunsets. Combined with this beauty, your stay at any luxurious place will be really beyond your imagination. 8. South African Accommodation, Namaqualand by Tara Mary Mcgovern Tired from our long drive fr m Namibia, Alex and I decided to b ok into the first available South Afr |