Try starting early on for capsize

MIKE WHITEHEAD

Ahoy.

We are enjoying great boating weather while Florida and the Gulf

region are preparing for the arrival of Tropical Storm Bonnie and

Hurricane Charley. Our seas are still coming out of the south and the

west with water temperatures in the 70s.

However, the end of summer is approaching, when the kids will be

back in school and the sailing coaches will cease barking orders to

the next potential America’s Cup racers. Most of us began sailing

aboard the traditional Sabot before moving up to Lido 14’s and

Lasers.

As a matter of fact, the first book I wrote in 1984 is titled

“Captain Mike’s Basic Sailing for Cat-Rigged Sailboats.” It was used

locally by the city of Newport Beach’s sailing classes, which were

very popular in the 1980s for both kids and adults. I remember that

the youngest age a kid could take sailing lessons was 9, but you

could have private lessons for those younger.

Some professional and experienced instructors are divided on what

age to start sailing, since some kids literally grow up on a

sailboat. However, age is important for mental and physical skills to

develop enough for a good learning experience, as opposed to the

instructor just being a baby-sitter.

The Sabot is a great teaching tool to learn the basic fundamentals

of sailing and the direct correlation of how the wind and current

affect the boat. A Sabot sailor immediately feels the deceleration of

the boat when you go into irons, unlike a keeled boat that has built

up momentum. A major benefit of learning in a Sabot is that when a

Sabot bangs the dock or another boat, the damage is usually minimal

or nil.

Also, when a student does not release the mainsheet quick enough

on a Sabot, capsizing is not a big deal. The boats cannot sink unless

the flotation compartments are breeched, so the sailor floats in the

water hanging on the hull. These boats are small enough that you can

empty the water out of one Sabot by pulling the boat up sideways over

another Sabot, and I have done that maneuver thousands of times in my

life when teaching sailing lessons.

Some students are too afraid to sail because of the fear of

capsizing in the back of their minds. A good instructor will

recognize this fear and relieve it by helping the student

intentionally capsize. Ah, nothing happens but getting wet, so now

let’s sail.

Keep in mind that most states have laws about mandatory use of

lifejackets by children. California’s boating laws require anyone 11

years of age or younger to wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved

lifejacket when on a boat that is 26 feet or less, unless the child

is tethered to the boat or in an enclosed cabin while the vessel is

underway.

Underway is defined as a vessel not made fast to shore, at anchor

or aground. Some sailors have confused the term underway to refer

only to when the boat is in motion while under sail. They are

incorrect to think that you are not underway when stalled in irons or

when you let the sails out luffing, thus stalling in the water. Those

two situations are technically termed “underway not making way” by

the regulations.

However, almost every sailing school requires all students,

whether kids or adults, to always wear a lifejacket during class, and

many instructors lead by example. The national slogan is “Boat Smart

from the Start, Wear your Lifejacket.”

Ray Tsuneyoshi, director of the California Department of Boating

and Waterways, always concludes his weekly radio interview with me by

telling the listeners, “Wear your PFD.”

TIP OF THE WEEK

My tip this week is a farewell salute to fellow Pilot columnist

Judge Robert Gardner, who recently ruled that his column is

adjourned. Judge, may the wind be to your back and smooth seas while

you relax, sipping your rum and coke.

Recognized as the No. 1 boating talk radio show in the nation,

“Capt. Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show” airs every Saturday

from noon to 1 p.m. on KCBQ-AM (1170). You can join me, Chandler Bell

and Eric Hovland on my radio show by calling the listener line at

(888) 344-1170, and you can listen worldwide at https://www.

BoathouseRadio.com.

* MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating and harbor columnist. Send

him your harbor and marine-related thoughts and story suggestions by

e-mail to mike@boathousetv.com or visit https://www.boathousetv.com.