Club 420 Sample Eight Week Teaching Outline Weeks 1-2

Week 1

Program and Harbor rules

Sportsmanship

- team sport

- working together

- safety consciousness (Rule 1)

Health

- exercise

- sun protection

Terminology

- points of sail

- all parts of boat

Bowline, 8 – knot, cleat knot, clove hitch, half

Hitch

Coil and throw a line

Proper rigging and de-rigging

Where, when, and how to sit

Swim tests

Capsize and Recovery

Towing and towing rules

Squall/Storm drill

Safety whistle

Stopping and Starting

- head to wind & backwind

- safety position

Leaving and returning to the dock

Drills to assess and introduce boathandling

Possible drills to assess racing skills

The body and the 420

- weight placement

- movement

Review racing rules

Organization for regattas and competition

Week 2

Initiate rule of the week

Boathandling

Boat tuning

Week 3

Clear ahead – Clear astern (Rule 12)

Current and tides

- tide charts

- current indicators

- current and racing

How a sail works

- pushing

- pulling

- daggerboard as a foil

Gybing

- mechanics

- rolling

- gybing in waves

Downwind sailing

- sail trim

- sail controls

- weight placement and use

- tactics

- awareness

- pumping on crests

- steering waves

Trapeze

- crew and skipper trust

- getting out

- getting in

- tacking

- form

Mark rounding

- wide and tight

- mechanics

- tactics

- rules (Rule 18)

Starting

- mechanics

- favored end

- current

- line sight

- strategies

- timing (watches vs. mind)

- rules and things to watch for

Week 4

Sail Controls

Cunningham

- adjusting luff tension

- controlling draft position

Boom Vang

- downwind leach tension

Outhaul

- adjusting foot tension

- controlling depth of sail (power)

Mainsheet

- control of speed

Jib Sheet

- control of pointing and speed

Sail controls and you

- different points of sail

- different wind conditions

- different water conditions

Adjusting sail controls while racing

Weather

- simple weather systems

- local weather factors

- clouds and what they mean

- wind and weather

- weather reports

- barometric pressure

Weather and sailing

- racing…. Finding the wind!

- safety

Putting everything together on the race course

Club 420 Sample Eight Week Teaching Outline Weeks 5-6

Week 5

Changing course (Rule 16)

Review of weak points

Mini Series

Balance and weight placement

- challenging the body on the boat

- quiet and gentle movement

- more on steering with weight

- for different wind and water conditions

- rudderless sailing

Backwards sailing

Finishing

- dueling tactics

- sportsmanship in finishing

Doing penalty turns

Protests and Arbitration

- knowing the rules

- knowing who to ask

- sportsmanship and hearing

- mock protests and scenarios

Navigation

- North, South, East, West

- using landmarks

- using a compass

- water depth

- reading a chart

- navigation buoys

- instruments

Week 6

Wind

Actual vs. apparent wind

Puffs and lulls

- how to spot

- what to do

Wind shifts

- headers

- lifts

- what action to take when racing

Rowing

Intro to big boat sailing

- MOB drill

- anchoring

- sailing as a way to get somewhere

- using navigation

Land and Sea orienteering

Long distance sail

More on spinnakers

- making spinnaker work subconscious

- more OTW spinnaker problem solving

- testing the guy

- trimming the sheet

- flying without a pole

- flying on beam reach (hiking)

Club 420 Sample Eight Week Teaching Outline Weeks 7-8

Week 7

Team Racing

TR motivation

TR rules

TR combinations

- winning

- losing

TR moves

- hi – lo

- passback

- mark traps

TR starts

TR mark rounding

TR finishes

TR legs

- upwind

- running

- reaching

Review and reinforcement of the first six weeks

Intro to one-sailor racing boats

Week 8

Club series

- standard races

- fun races

Communication

- sailors run a drill

- sailors run reviews of skills

Big Boat Racing