2016 Sailing Camp
The 2016 Sailing Camp will start on Tues 2nd August and end on Friday 5th August. This will be our 15th annual Camp and we all hope that with so much experience behind us that we can ensure this year’s camp will have something for everyone, This page will be as simple as possible, giving you an idea of what you should be getting from the camp.
We recently became an ISA training center if any of you are interested in gaining formal qualifications, however, the Summer Sailing camp is a fun week where you get to sail different boats and meet new people or for many of you, just meeting friends.
Many of our members are excellent sailors on many type of craft and have experience in all matters nautical, those involved in the organization of the camp are volunteers who give this week to the Club our of their own time and we are indebted to them, not to mention the hundreds that have attended the Camps over the past Fifteen years.
We usually have about 100 people taking part, aged from 7 to 70 with vastly differing degrees of experience, the more we can do to group these people into suitable cells, the more enjoyment for everyone, so when filling out the application form, please state experience.
It is a requirement that all participants must demonstrate their swimming ability, 20m in the sea wearing clothes and personal floatation device (pdf), we will also be taking photos and videos throughout the camp for our Annual Camp and future publicity. If you have any concerns, contact Seamus 087 657 9348 or Brian 087 237 0102 directly.
The Weather is usually our biggest obstacle and something that we can’t plan, last year we had very strong winds for the whole week but we managed to scrape through and all reports were positive, . So pray for good Weather and get yourselves a wetsuit, anyone with a pfd(lifejacket, bouyancy aid) should bring it, we have a limited number for those that don’t have them, they will be rotated between those on shore & Sea.
If You have any queries, please contact Seamus or Brian directly on numbers given above or leave a message in the Guestbook.
Plan for the Four Days
We have identified a number of areas that need to be addressed to help those that want to sail and other areas that may not be absolutely necessary but are part of the bigger picture of Sailing, Boating, Navigation, Survival, Passage planning, first Aid. We will do our best to give you as much of our knowledge as we can, if you feel that you would benefit from some extra time, don’t be afraid to ask. You may even wish to join the Club, if so, you are very welcome. Membership is open, for those of you who don’t live in the area you can keep in contact on the website and you have full use of the boats when you are here, we just have to ensure there is a safety boat standing by.
To make the Camp as simple as we can, the areas of interest are divided into modules, one or more club members will be responsible for each module. It will be their job to Explain, Demonstrate and guide you through the module.
The Modules we have chosen are :
On The Shore
- Lifejackets, Pfd’s, what they are, how they work and how to fit them
- The Boat, The parts and what they do, prepare for sea
- Rigging and sails, what they do and how to control them
- Ropes and their uses, securing to a cleat, round turn & two half hitches, bowline knot
- The weather, How forecasts work, how to get them and understand them
- The wind and how it works, land & Sea breezes
- Basic Navigation, pilotage, bouys, channel marks
- The Compass, How to find where you are, use of charts
- The Anchor, different types, how they work
- Sailing, where the wind comes from, points of sailing
- First Aid basics
- Survival, shelter, what to eat, drink, getting help
On the Water
- Going about & Gybing
- Leaving a lee shore
- Leaving a windward shore
- Picking up a mooring, coming alongside
- Tying up
- Sailing a triangular course
- The Wind, understanding what is happening under sail
- Capsize and recovery
- Boarding a safety boat
- Survival in the water, what to do, distress signals