Passed your Beginners course? What’s next? Sailing
Photos: Ting Chan
Practical Sailing Courses A Beginners sailing course (including the HKSF Level 2) trains students to be competent sailors in light winds. > HKSF Courses For sailors who have completed a Hong Kong Sailing Federation Level 1 and 2 course the next logical course is Level 3 which includes the skills required to sail efficiently in moderate winds. However the HKSF requirement before joining this course is that sailors must log a season’s worth of relevant dinghy sailing after their Level 2 course is completed. The HKSF is looking for a couple of days each month over nine months to be completed and they must be logged inside an HKSF logbook. > Further Practice To log these hours or simply practise your skills from the Level 1 and 2 courses you can join one of the many instructor supervised sessions, Go Sailing for youth sailors or Supervised Sailing for adult sailors. If you are a member who has completed a Level 2 course at the Club you can also be added to the Approved Helm List to hire Club dinghies. You can call the Middle Island Sailing Office (2812 7063) to check if you are on the list. > HKSF Level 3 As mentioned above, the Level 3 syllabus includes skills required to sail efficiently in moderate winds. From the instructor’s point of view one easily recognisable trait of a good Level 3 sailor is that they spend more time looking out of the boat than they do looking inside. Sailors can only do this comfortably once they know what their hands and feet should be doing without looking down at them all the time and they should be able to sail the boat by feel. On the HKSF Level 3 course we also introduce new dinghies, for example single-handed Lasers. This course is also normally a pre-requisite to the Assistant Instructor course. Next Youth Level 3 Course 27 to 31 Dec Next Adult Level 3 Course January >HKSF Level 4 Just a season of sailing after completing the Level 3 course and you are eligible for the next course. The Level 4 course covers skills required to sail high performance boats including spinnaker and / or trapeze in stronger winds. For youth sailors this would include sailing 420 dinghies
whilst adults would sail the Wayfarer with the symmetric spinnaker and RS400 dinghy with the asymmetric spinnaker. Next Youth Level 4 Course January Next Adult Level 4 Course February > Racing Squads With more experience sailors would be ready to join the Racing Squads. Youth sailors normally come through the Silver and Gold Squads to join the Sharks. We are now in a position to open up the Sharks Squad training sessions to adults, so if you are already an experienced Laser, 420, 29er or RS400 sailor you can ask us about a trial. Adults can also join the Supervised Sailing – Racing days and Level 3 and 4 courses as a way of getting experience before a trial for the squads. Sailors can discuss these opportunities with the Club’s Performance Coaches Nick and Rob.
Shorebased Courses Pleasure Vessel Operator Competency Certificate This is the Government issued certificate required to drive powered craft in Hong Kong waters. A PVOCC Grade 2 certificate entitles the holder to take charge of pleasure vessels of 15m or less in length and unspecified engine power, operating in Hong Kong waters. A minimum of six students are required to confirm each course and we have already had significant interest in these courses. Please note that you need to book and pay for the Hong Kong Marine Department Exam separately. The next round of courses starts this month. Check the notice board on the following page and also on the website www.rhkyc.org.hk/ShorebasedCourses.aspx
Sailing Development And Training Contacts Sailing Development Manager Richard Knight 2812 7303 Performance Coaches Nick Hollis and Rob Partridge 2812 7303 Senior Keelboat Instructor Patrick Lam 2812 7063 Senior Dinghy Instructors Ting Chan and Phoebe Tang 2812 7063 Sail Training Administrator Gloria Yeung 2239 0395 www.rhkyc.org.hk/Training.aspx sailtrain@rhkyc.org.hk www.facebook.com/RHKYCsharks NOVEMBER 2013 AHOY! |
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