Galway Bay Sailing Club

Course Outline

To introduce you to the thrills and spills of sailing with spinnakers and trapezes.

You will be expected to have completed or have experience equivalent to the Improving Skills course. Sailors should also have logged a minimum of 20hrs experience as helm.

For this course you will be using sailing dinghies and/or catamarans equipped with spinnakers and trapezes. Boats used for spinnaker or trapeze may be different types.

Prerequisites:

• Completion of the Improving Skills course or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 20 hours of logged sailing experience.

Assessment:
Continuous assessment throughout the course, potentially including practical evaluations and brief written or oral tests to gauge understanding.

Duration

5 days from the indicated start date, 9:30 to 4:30

Objective

By the end of this course the participant should have learnt:

Rigging

• Identify parts of both asymmetric and conventional spinnakers.
• Rig spinnakers on the boats used during the course.
• Set up and check trapeze wires.
• Fit and adjust trapeze harnesses for optimal performance.

Spinnaker Handling

• Launching, flying, gybing, and recovering both asymmetric and conventional spinnakers in light wind conditions.
• Utilize guy and sheet to effectively position and fill the spinnaker.
• Demonstrate appropriate courses to steer when using spinnaker

Trapeze Techniques

• Adjust trapeze height optimally from within the boat.
• Utilize the trapeze effectively when crewing to balance the boat and maximize speed.

Safety Procedures

• Understand how to avoid entrapment during capsizes or inversions and the appropriate actions to take if such situations occur.
• Recover a boat that has capsized with the spinnaker deployed.
• Execute man overboard recovery procedures in moderate to strong wind conditions.

Location

Galway Bay Sailing Club, Renville, Oranmore, H91 W678

Medical Conditions

You must inform in advance if the participant has any know medical conditions, special needs and or behavior considerations that we should be aware of and or that would impact there ability to participate safely in all the activities.

Terms and Conditions

Please click her to see and read our terms and conditions

Equipment

Buoyancy aids are provided by GBSC. Wetsuits are available however if sailors have their own wetsuits and boots, that is preferable for their own comfort.

Footwear

Sandals, Flip Flops, Crocs or other similar open shoes are NOT recommended.

We recommend Runners, Aqua Shoes or Wetsuit Boots.

On the Day

Please bring:

• Your own wetsuit (if you have one) booties or old runners
• Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses.
• Towel, change of socks / underwear.
• Warm dry clothing for when you come out of the water.
• A notebook and pen/pencil (for coursework).
• Lunch each day (if your course runs for the full day), water, hot drink.