Posted by Grant Headifen on February 14, 2010 under About NauticEd, Crew, Skipper | 
Here is a thread discussion on Linked in that I thought I’d repeat here about teaching points of sail
_________
What have you found to be the best method to teach new students the points of sail?
___________
Andrew – sorry for the shameless promotion – but the NauticEd online interactive flash game we have called NED is the absolute best tool. I’ve had hundreds of excellent comments about how it works from customers but also from instructors. It is a FREE application we developed and we’ve made it so that anyone can embed it on their site for free as well. The game is at http://www.nauticed.org/sailing-instructor
NED the Sailing Instructor
________
Thanks for the suggestions Grant. In practice, is NED a bit too complicated for students of a 101 class? What has been your experience. There are a few ideas that could be adopted from concepts in the book Emergency Navigation by David Burch that in many ways parallel Dan’s thoughts. Get the student to “feel the wind” and begin to experience simple cause and effect as it relates to the boat.
_________
Regarding NED, there has two people who didn’t understand the point. But once interviewed they had not read the instructions (which are 1 paragraph long). Otherwise I have over 500 totally awesome wow keep it coming compliments.
Of course we at NauticEd never think about replacing online with practical experience – nothing like having the wind in your face for learning.
But I don’t think that any prudent and responsible educator would ever say that there is only one way to learn something. Some people learn best by reading on their own, some by video, some by feel. What NED does is give some one a real interactive feel of all points of sail and teaches “points of sail” at the same time. The efficiency meter across the bottom of NED allows someone to really see and dial in the proper sail set. t’s also a big advantage to instructors because the last thing everyone else on the boat wants is spending too much time on one thing. If that can be learned/assisted off the boat then that helps everyone. All in all, NED is just a tool. On top of that – the other point with NED is that it is fun and fun is what we all want to create to get people involved in the wonderful sport of sailing.
I showed NED to a 10 year old kid (who wins every regatta he enters) here yesterday and he got so excited about having the sailing clubs use it to teach other kids. I’ve been working on developing a kids version so that will be good. He especially liked the efficiency meter – he says that he races past good sailors all the time purely because they aren’t operating their sails finely tuned. NED is a really good tool to learn that – then see it happen in real life after.
The new kids version will have a window with the telltales in it.
Stay tuned!
One final point is that the FREE advanced version of NED is a game whereby people have to dial in the correct sail angels as fast as possible to get around a course. This acts to really “burn in” the sail angles versus wind with out thinking. This is a huge learning tool.
NauticEd gives NED away for free so that any one can embed NED on their site for FREE. I’d encourage all instructors to at least just add NED to their arsenal of tools for effective teaching.
Posted by Grant Headifen on February 8, 2010 under Bareboat Charter |
On 2/9/10 4:09 AM, “MICHAEL” wrote:
Hello Grant,
Just returned from our bareboat charter in BVI .We were there for 9 days.It was great,though the wind was light 5-10 knots for the last few days but was 30knots for the first couple ,a little much for us beginers we we did ok.I was glad to have used your site to familiarize myself with some things. There is nothing like hands on .
I will be looking through the site more ofeten as i will like to learn more bareboating secrets about provisioning the boat etc.I hope to do a larger cat next time.we did a 38 footer that was 11 years old ,it had some issues that we know to look for next time like the fridge seal did not seal at all on the hinge side. The dingy davit mounts were soft and the side lifting the stern of the dingy caved in. The dingy motor ran rough and would not rev high enough to plane off,which if i was not on vacation was a easy jetting fix im sure.We will look for a yacht with ice maker ac and generator next time and one without so many toe stubbers to get from room to room. Looks like a 44 footer or larger. Will this be a harder boat to handle?
Michael,
You’ll really enjoy a 44 footer – I’m assuming you’re thinking of the Lagoon 4400. Very nice boat! We’ve chartered a 46 footer before and once you get to a 38 ft catamaran the step up is not that much difference. Just be aware of the momentum that’s all. But be prepared for all the extra room and living space on the back deck.
I’m noting your comments about chartering an older boat. If you’re going on a vacation it’s just better to spend the little extra money and get a nice newer boat.
Have you played the Cat NED sailing game?
You might consider joining us in Tonga at out Post Graduate Sailing Flotilla in August 2010. See the details at http://www.nauticed.org/postgraduatesailingflotilla
Cheers
Grant
NauticEd
Posted by Grant Headifen on under About NauticEd, Bareboat Charter, Coastal Navigation, Maneuvering Under Power, Skipper |
While I’m waiting for the America’s cup race to start and twittering the updates to the delayed start – I thought I’d add a blog update about our upcoming Tonga Sailing flotilla.
The site with all the details is at http://www.nauticed.org/postgraduatesailingflotilla
The dates will be August 30th to September 7th 2010.
Sailing in Tonga
Come join us in one of the most tropical sailing locations in the world. Only seven boats will be in the flotilla so contact NauticEd now at info@nauticed.org
Requirements are that the skipper must have reached the Bareboat Charter Master Rank – see the video about how to get to this rank at NauticEd Certification on youtube.
Essentially you must have passed the following sailing courses: Skipper, Maneuvering Under Power, Coastal Navigation, Bareboat Charter plus have documented a minimum of 50 qualifying days on a sailboat.
This will be one of the most fun sailing vacations you could have. We’ve got loads of fun activities planned every day including a mini regatta. Tonga is known for its whale watching, pure white sandy beaches, the friendliest people and tropical fruit like you’ve never tasted. Come on!
Posted by Grant Headifen on February 4, 2010 under About NauticEd, Bareboat Charter, Skipper |
NauticEd Online Sailing School will begin offering a Post Graduate Sailing Flotilla to its students. Students who graduate to the NauticEd Bareboat Charter Master Rank will be invited to celebrate their graduation by skippering their own charter sailing yacht with their friends and family for a week long sailing adventure.
Grant Headifen, Educational Director and Founder of NauticEd, has previously lead dozens of successful sailing flotillas throughout the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Pacific. “This time we’re spicing it up a little with a sailing adventure to the Kingdom of Tonga” says Headifen. “Tonga is ideal for this type of trip. It’s navigationally a simple sailing ground and is a safe introduction to yacht charter sailing vacations for someone who has not ventured beyond local and familiar waters. It’s also a pretty awesome location to ‘come and get your feet wet’ ”.
The Moorings charter sailing base in Tonga is owned and operated by Shane Walker. “Tonga has always been an excellent sailing ground but has not been highly publicized because it is slightly off the beaten track – but that’s part of the allure – untouched beauty. NauticEd has chosen well, during the flotilla participants will almost certainly see humpback whales, other incredible sea life, breathtaking beaches and clear clear water, with consistent 10-15 knot winds”. Says Walker.
NauticEd students who have reached the Bareboat Charter Master Rank have logged a minimum of 50 days of practical sailing experience on large sailing vessels and have completed relevant courses online through NauticEd’s online learn to sail, sailing education program. The online sailing courses that are a prerequisite are:
- Skipper course
- Maneuvering a Large Sailboat Under Power clinic
- Coastal Navigation” clinic
- Bareboat Charter Clinic
A video explanation of the NauticEd Sailing Certification system is available at http://www.nauticed.org/sailing-school-student
NauticEd’s electronically managed Sailing Certification allows students and NauticEd to determine automatically if the student has reached the Bareboat Charter Master Rank. Once reached, the student will receive an official invite to the Post Graduate Sailing Flotilla. “This is going to be a really fun and excellent celebration event” says Headifen. “on top of the excellent sailing and fun navigational exercises, we’ll have GPS treasure hunts, a mini regatta, a 100m dash on the beach wearing mask, fins and snorkel, there will be spot prizes for best boat maneuvering, best dressed crew, sand castle design etc etc etc. Reaching Bareboat Charter Master Rank is really an achievement and we’ll be there to make sure the Skippers are appropriately recognized.
The NauticEd post graduation flotilla will take place in August 2010 – with exact dates to be announced. Sailors interested in participating in the sailing flotilla in Tonga lead by a professional Captain should contact NauticEd.
To learn more about NauticEd, goto http://www.NauticEd.org
