Learn these Cruising Skills on a learning vacation with hands-on instruction.

Sailing:

• Points of sail and sail trim
• Heaving to
• Reefing and reducing sail area
• Use of preventers
• Discuss anchoring and docking under sail

Systems:

• Engine checks: oil, coolant, raw water strainer.
• Engine start procedures
• Use of heads and holding tanks
• Battery charging and monitoring
• Safe use of stove and oven
• Preventing roller furling jamming

• Docking practice
• Docking as a couple or family
• Docking with spring lines (to hold the boat at the dock, especially when the wind is blowing the boat away from the dock)
• Leaving the dock with spring lines (especially when the wind is blowing the boat on the dock)
• Picking up a mooring ball
• Safest methods for tying to a mooring ball

Safety:

• Daily weather forecasts
• Use of life jackets and harnesses
• Person Overboard Recovery: Rescue Sling, Quick Stop, Figure 8
• VHF radio procedures

Anchoring:

• Calculating scope ratio and swing diameter with tide allowances
• Use of an electric windlass
• Setting and retrieving a second bow anchor, stern anchor, and shore line

Navigation:

• Familiarity with charts and symbols
• Understanding and applying "The Rules of the Road"
• GPS navigation, Velocity Made Good (VMG)
• Familiarity with tide and current tables
• Plotting a course
• Determining course headings and distances

We can suggest some excellent resources for reading in advance. But many guests find reading is of limited value before receiving focused, hands-on instruction on Solstice. After a charter, however, those same guests find reading easier and far more helpful. Continue your education at home!