P’s and Q’s

The 2010 instructors meeting & Pizza Feed began with fresh coffee and muffins and was attended by many instructors and a few instructor candidates this year. The agenda included such topics as the Free boat policy, instructor signups, the new ASA basic keelboat text book , a possible IQC, student feedback, and a new addition to our sailing fleet- J120. The meeting was immediately followed by pizza & beverages. Any instructor who wishes to teach for us this year and missed the meeting should plan on discussing all the topics with either Mike, Bob or Rich prior to teaching a class.

As you can see our Wednesday evening Celestial Navigation class is under way. They are learning how to shoot the sun and stars to get a fix on where in the world they are. (you don’t even have to be on the water) This skill can come in handy should your GPS conk out on you. There is also a lot of historic information as well as some juicy tidbits of fun information such as: why did some pirates wear a patch over one eye? This class should prove very informative and entertaining and is taught by our very own master sailor Leslie Waters.

Anyone wanting to teach sailing for us this year should plan on attending the annual Spinnaker Sailing Instructor Meeting held this year on Saturday January 23, 2010 from 10:00a – 12:00p with pizza to immediately follow. We will be going over school policies, addressing any new information as well as discussing any area that can be improved to provide better customer satisfaction as well as instructor accountability. The Instructor of the Year award and check will be presented at the end of the meeting as well. Please RSVP now for this important school event.

We will be holding an ASA certified docking class this Saturday January 16 from 9:30am-4:30pm. We will be going over many different kinds of docking methods as well as rafting techniques. This is a hands on course in a skill that is very important to skippers of larger boats.  There is only room for 6 people for this class.

Non Club Members only $195
Club Members $146

Sign up early to secure your spot on the boat. (650) 363-1390

The 2009 school year ended a few weeks later than normal due to heavy last minute students wanting to get certified before the year ends. Looking to get a jump on next years sailing seemed to be the biggest reason for finishing up so late. Special thanks goes to Oliver Gildersleeve and Dan Haynes for teaching this class for us. All the students graduated and were looking forward to getting some tiller time in.

With the passing of the March IQC series of certifications we have a couple of newly certified ASA Sailing Instructors. Mike Dvorak and John Ryan join the ranks of ASA certified Sailing instructors and will be teaching sailing here at Spinnaker Sailing. Congrats to Mike and John and the other ASA Instructor grads who graduated this

Anyone can dance with the Stars but these people can actually navigate by them. Spinnaker Sailing held another Celestial Navigation class in January. 11 students signed up for this class and now all that is left is the test. Leslie Waters taught this class again and handed out his signature CD of practice problems, examples and tools, making this class well within the grasp of anyone with a little curiosity or desire and some basic math. You don’t even need a sextant, but if you are going to actually use this new skill, it helps to have one. The class comprised of some returning students, some new ones and some people just curious as to how this skill works. When we will hold another Celestial Navigation class only depends on the interest of the students. If you would like to learn more about navigating by the stars, then email mike@spinnakersailing.com and ask to be put on the list of people waiting for another class to go. Once we have enough interest we will send out invitations to the people on the list and put notices up on our newsletter and blogs.

Yep, It’s that time again. Time to work off that turkey and mashed potatoes and get back on the water. Jan 24 from 10:00am to noon-ish with pizza and sodas afterwards. This is a great time for all of our valuable instructors and future instructors to get to know each other, say hi, and stay abreast of current issues facing the sailing industry. (Not to mention handing out of the coveted “Instructor of the Year Award” and bonus check, as well as possibly ASA awards and Kudos as well. If you are an instructor, or if you would like to be an instructor, please rsvp for this meeting so we can make accommodations for all.

Fair Winds,

Mike

I have been getting asked the same question a lot recently so I thought I would post my response in a blog in order to inform anyone thinking about the same thing.
Q: What happens if I can’t make one of the classes? Can I make it up later?

A: Life does happen in between our plans and sometimes even the best intentions get hijacked. Whenever someone does miss a class we always try to get them to complete the lesson anyway with the chance that our proprietery study materials combined with our small class sizes may enable them to pass the class and then move on to the next step in their sailing agenda without delay. If they don’t pass the class, we will at least have a small shopping list of items that they need to work on in order to satisfy the course objectives and a short private lesson should be all they will need to get up to finish the class. Learning to sail is Fun, and your sailing school should make it easy.

The classes in July have started off slower than normal, but the end of the month came charging in like crazy. Lots of people lately due to the slowing economy and high gas prices are planning staycations or staying home and doing things locally for vacation. Learning to sail is an ideal way to stay home and have a memorable time, not only in creating memories themselves, but also in learning a sport that will put many more fun and social memories in their future. And lets face it, if you are not busy creating memories, your not doing the life thing right. August is already promising to be our busiest month so if you have been putting off taking a lesson, time is ticking, spaces are limited and lots of people have procrastinated enough and are now booking classes. Both new sailors and returning sailors looking to get into bigger boats or increase your sailing skills should call soon to reserve your spot in any class you are interested in. The weather by the way is also the best of the year in August and September.