Coastal Sailing & Seamanship

What you cover, in rotation

The group works through these in order and then begins again on fresh ground. Join at whatever stage it is on — nothing here assumes you were there for the last one, and nothing runs out — or drop in for a single session if that is all you can manage.

1. Stage 1Boat Anatomy, Rigging & Points of Sail

   • Halyards, sheets, winches, rudder and standing rigging.
   • Bowline, cleat hitch, figure-eight and clove hitch.
   • Close hauled, beam reach, broad reach and running downwind.
   • Helm commands, tiller feel, and leaving the slip.
2. Stage 2Tacking, Jibing & Precision Sail Trim

   • Tacking, crew communication, and mainsail and jib coordination.
   • Jibing safely in open water with controlled boom movement.
   • Reading tell-tales and trimming for laminar flow.
3. Stage 3Coastal Navigation, Aids to Navigation & Right of Way

   • NOAA charts, channel buoys, daymarks and COLREGS traffic rules.
   • Man-overboard recovery drills under sail.
   • Dead reckoning, chartplotter use, and depth sounder monitoring.
4. Stage 4Sunset Ocean Passage & Capstone Cruise

   • Navigating the harbour entrance channel into Pacific swell.
   • An extended sunset coastal cruise along Point Loma.
   • Securing to dock, flaking sails, coil management and debrief.

4 sessions in the cycle, then it begins again on new ground.