Members interested in being certified to use the club owned
boats, Sweet Pea, Fiddler, and Syndicate should first go for a sail
with an instructor or certified sailor to become familiar with the club
owned boats. Even experienced sailors need to get use to how these
specific boats handle, in particular how long it takes to turn them and
stop them. The most difficult skill for past sailors has been
navigating through a very crowded harbor and making a mooring without
overshooting and tacking through the channel with opposing tide and
fluky winds.
After making sure you are familiar with the club owned boats, please email Selene Eymer selene@eymer.com co-chair of Adult Sailing Committee fto schedule the certification review.The
overall objective of the certification test is to provide an
opportunity for the member to demonstrate that she/he can sail the club
owned boats in most weather conditions without danger to others,
themselves, other boats, or their boat.
The test shall consist of the following elements in appropriately the following order:
Describing the expected weather and tides and how to identify changing
weather and safely respond to adverse weather conditions, when not to
sail, who to check with when in doubt;
Pointing out on a chart the major navigational aids in and around
Cohasset Harbor and where to sail to stay in each of the major channels
exiting the outer harbor (Western, Gangway, and Eastern Channels).
Identifying hazards such as the Twins, Sheppard Ledges, Jack Rock, the
ledge midway between Hogshead Rock and East Shag Rock, West Shag Rock,
Sutton rocks, etc;
Picking up the necessary safety equipment and logging the boat out;
Preparing the boat for sail, attaching jib boom (Sweet Pea), and
raising the gaft sail (Fiddler) and demonstrating proper sail tension
(Sweet Pea,downhaul, and outhaul ) and cleating;
Sailing off the morning without danger to boats or occupants;
Sailing back and forth through the harbor allowing for wind, current, other boats, traffic and obstacles;
Sailing beyond the breakwater to Whitehead while staying within and identifying the channel edges;
Describing what to do if the boat runs aground so that no one needs to leave the boat;
Describing the rules of the road and how to steer when approaching an
oncoming powerboat, sailboat or crew shell or overtaking another
sailboat or crew shell;
Demonstrating that they can sail close hauled well enough to tack in or out of the channel against the tide and with fluky winds
Demonstrating that they can conduct a controlled jibe or tack at will;
Visually pointing out the locations of the actual major navigational
aids and hazards that were identified in the chart element above;
Describing how they would handle a person overboard situation including how best to get that person back onboard;
Demonstrating the ability to come alongside a lobster buoy representing
a person overboard and maintain the boat in the proper position to
retrieve the person overboard;
Describing the most common hazards faced by captain and crew and how to
minimize these hazards and how to communicate future actions to the
crew;
Demonstrating proper operation of the radio;
Demonstrate landing at the outer yacht club float;
Demonstrating how to secure the boat at the float using spring lines and fenders and then how to sail away from the club float;
Making the mooring without significant overshoot;
Properly securing the mooring painter;
Dropping sail;
Putting the boat to bed;
Tieing basic knots, bowline and square knot and how to cleat a line
Logging out and returning the safety gear.
(Certification test elements: Steve Brown, Woody Chittick, Adult Sailing Committee 7-08-08)