Today was a great day and the kids learned a ton! Throughout the day, we battled spotty storms rolling through Fort Lauderdale. This morning while the kids were outside we had a rainstorm come through with no lightning. All of the kids loved staying outside for this because it was the perfect way to cool off from the heat. Soon after, the sky cleared up and we had sun again!
The Beginner Opti’s and Mercury Mentors joined up together in the morning to do the capsize drill. This is a very important lesson to have before the kids go out sailing. During the capsize drill, there are two opti’s in the water tied up to the floating dock. Two kids will go into the boat at a time to flip it and the coaches are on the dock to help them through it. Flipping the boat is a scary process to some kids. Having a coach teach them the right steps to flip the boat back over makes that scary, nervous feeling go away. Everyone participated and did a great job!
The Green Fleet learned the proper way to rig up a sail. Coach Anna had every green fleeter lay their sail on the ground and go over proper knots to tie their sail ties.
The 420’s went over how to properly rig the boat. A 420 is a bit more complicated then an Opti so it takes a little bit more time to go over everything the kids need to know to set it up. All of the kids also completed their capsize drill and did a great job!
In the afternoon when a thunderstorm keep the sailors from going out, Green Fleet and the 420’s went upstairs with their coaches and learned about proper sail trim while going upwind, downwind, and on a reach. The storm cleared up and gave just the right amount of time to have the Beginner Opti’s get towed by the coach boat to practice their steering. The 420’s and Green fleet however did not get the chance to go out because it would take too much time to rig up all the boats.
