2018 Daysailer Regatta Photo

Orleans Yacht Club (OYC) Adult Sailing Program

ORLEANS YACHT CLUB

39 Cove Road
Orleans, MA   02653

N 41° 47.273'   W 069° 59.123'


Adult Sailing Instruction

The OYC adult sailing program is an OYC sailing instruction program for adults new to sailing or needing a refresher. The OYC adult sailing program is run independently of OYC's Daysailer Fleet 15 (the OYC members that race Daysailer class boats, mostly on Sundays).

The adult sailing program instruction is available only to OYC members and is free to OYC members. Please contact Steve Downs if interested.

Starting in 2015 Fleet 15 members have volunteered to serve as mentors for adult sailing program sailors during the on-the-water part of the program. A Fleet 15 volunteer will join new sailors and provide instruction from within the same cockpit and provide assistance as needed. Once proficient sailors have the option to sail on their own or take on a mentor to improve their sailing if a mentor is available.

Instruction consists of three parts, classroom, rigging, and on-water instruction.

Classroom Instruction

Classroom instruction begins in April and is held on five consecutive Tuesday's in later afternoon. The classroom uses the textbook "Starting Sailing Right" by U.S. Sailing. Each of the first four classroom sessions cover four of the book's sixteen chapters. A fifth classroom session covers knots, lines, and sail folding.

Rigging on Land, at the Dock, on a Mooring

The adult sailing program primarily uses Precision 15 and Catalina Capri sailboats. A club owned daysailer or privately owned (usually mentor owned) daysailers are also used. The second instructional part involves rigging the boats, first on land, then at the docks, then on the moorings. This part is held on Wednesdays once a week.

On the Water and Under Way

The third instructional part is on the water and underway. The part begins in mid June and is held twice weekly, in late afternoon to mid evening, on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The instructors will bring sailors out to the moorings using the club power boats. Mentors are experienced sailors, generally sailors who race daysailers in Fleet 15 races. Mentors are available to go out on the boats and provide help. During the early part of the season mentors prioritize those new to sailing or lacking confidence. Later in the season the mentors can work with sailors that have the hang of it but could use some help with the finer points of sailing.

A number of sailors have taken the adult sailing program multiple times, repeating only the on-water portion if comfortable with the classroom material. A few who never sailed before joining the OYC adult sailing program have moved on the crew or skipper in daysailer racing.