5 VERY GOOD VIDEOS ABOUT IMPORTANT SAILING TECHNIQUES...

These videos demonstrate very well various sailing techniques that you will learn with our sailing school when you join on of our "BARE-BOAT SKIPPERS' 10 day course.

Sailing on and Off your Mooring

Sail Shape Part 1

There’s a big difference between setting your sails and trimming your sails, using your boat’s controls to tweak the canvas and provide you with the best ride possible. In this video, we explore the concept of draft, or the amount of curvature in the sail, and how controls like the outhaul, backstay, forestay and jib car position effect both its location and depth.

Sail Shape Part 2

The second of two videos focusing on trim, this video employs more great on-water video to give a better idea of how sail controls like the outhaul, halyards and jib lead effect the various curves comprising overall sail shape in the interest of maximizing performance.

Retrieve a Man Overboard

Knowing how to single handedly navigate your way through a man-overboard scenario is absolutely necessary if you want to be a sound and safe sailor, confident in your abilities to sail even with just one other person. Here are two methods you can use to get back to your victim and get them back aboard

Master Slab-Reefing

When the breeze kicks up, that’s no reason to go back to harbor. Instead, learn how to reef safely, even if you’re sailing alone, and you’ll be able to minimize your sail and stay on the water when it’s blowing. In this tutorial, we review the basics of how and when to slab-reef your mainsail.

Memories of a Great sail.....

Memories of a Great sail....

 

 Its winter and sitting behind the desk in the office made me think about the time a few years back when I took a New J boat from Athens to Paros island. The trip was suppose to be a quick delivery... My self and a couple of friends, well add on the owner and his friends and there friends and all of a sudden we had 8+ people.... what follows is the video we took after passing though the Kea - Kithonos Channel, forecast had been for 5-6 out of the North what greeted us after the channel was 8-9 Beaufort rolling seas and a down wind sleigh ride to Paros..... I watch this video and it puts a smile back on my face.........

Ryan Breymaier Ocean Racing

A great video describing a passion for ocean racing that I definately support and understand, it's a short video well worth the quick look...

mile building information at www.athenssailingacademy.com

ASA SCOTLAND SUMMER CRUISE 2013

The ASA cruise to Scotland, actually started a few days before the guests arrived on June29th. An advance team left Athens, and flew into Glasgow on the 25th and started checking over the area, talking to the agents in Largs and visiting the yacht club where the Opening evenings Dinner reception would take place. Capt.Chandler had meetings with the Flotilla guide 'Muir Anderson". He immediately gave JC the update on problems including the conflicts we would have with the Fife Regatta, when we sailed to Rothesay on the first day. Alternative arrangements have since been made.
What yachts where in harbor have been inspected and checked over, the marina has very good facilities and an excellent yacht club with unbelievable views of the area and surrounding bay... we are almost all set to go... just need our sailors and then we can begin this adventure...

Saturday arrived, and the crew gathered at the Holiday express Inn. Because of increased airport security we had to abandon the "bus" idea and use smaller private MPV's (Multi person Vechiles), that could carry 6-8 persons. By 1030 all crew members had been dispatched to Largs and the adventure was under way. The first day was going to be a list of forms collecting gear, fitting out of foul weather gear and the mandatory check out of the yacht and familiarization of the yacht systems. By late after noon all crews and skippers where on their yachts and had provisioned and finished all formalities.

Dinner had been arranged for the crews at the local yacht club, so by 5pm everyone was at the club bar meeting and chatting with each other. A beautiful mixed buffet of seafood and cold cuts awaited everyone for dinner which was followed by a brief out line of what was to happen the next day.

The Fife Regatta was due to start there race series the same day we would leave on sunday. Our Flotilla guide suggested that we hang back and watch the start then follow at our own pace. So sunday started watching the start of 100 year old yachts jousting for position on a start line like americas cup pro's.... all very exciting as the weather was starting to freshen and signs of fog and rain  appeared from over the hills.

Around  noon was when we slipped our lines in Largs and set off with the rest of the flotilla into a freshen wind, gusting 25-27 knots and drizzle. Skipper Charlie called for the first reef and 50% genoa un-furled. We sailed around the bay in front of the marina while the rest of the flotilla came out. Finally we all had our sails sorted and off the group went head for the Port of Bannatyre, just north of Rothesay. half a beat to the head land of Cumbrae

The sail was in drizzle and gusting winds with the first half being a tacking  exercise. The flotilla had to round the southern part of Cumbrea before heading north to Port Bannatrye. Today was a good chance for everyone to get to know thier yachts, as it was a blustry day and wet. It took us in our little Jeanneau some 4 hours to complete the trip, being rewarded at the end by spectacular sights of the green hills and vistas of the scotish highlands... the rain soon stopped and by early evening the sun poked it's head out. Port Bannatrye was a sleepy town on a Sunday evening, not having much in the way of tourist facilities so this crew spent the evening and ate on board.

Day 2 started with wonderful sunshine beaming though the main hatch, to day was going to be a sail around the isle of Bute and on to Loch Ranza...what no one knew where the special surprises that lay in store along the way..
Firebird and Swift where the first yachts to clear the marina and ambled out to clear water to hoist thier sails, the remainder of the flotilla slowly slipped there lines and joined in the procession up the channel around the Isle's of Bute.
The Fife yachts had been moored in Rothesay just south of us. As we started our tacking course we could see the old yachts starting to gain on us. It was not long before "Swift" and our yacht "FireBird" , where in the thick of the Fife Yachts. it seemed that every tine we tacked we had another old yacht on our quarter or looking to exercise it's starboard right of way. It made for some very interesting sailing. All this excitement and the area we where sailing inn was spectacular, the sun even shone on us for most of the day.

After rounding the Isle's we head south for the bay on Loch Ranza. The Isle of Arran is the home to Arran single Malt Whisky, and still has a very active and modern distillery in the village at Loch Ranza..first yacht into the Loch was "Swift" and they pretty quickly organized them selves , caught the local bus and where just in time to catch the last tour of the day. The rest of the yachts arrived and moored up to buoys set by the locals in the bay. It defiantly was a case of inflate your rubber ducks fellow sailors, as that is the way to get to shore. Most of the crew had not been in a pub now for nearly 36hours and signs of yearning where becoming evident. Rubber ducks where quickly inflated and crews disappeared off to the pub and a good meal.
As things progressed in the evening locals chatted with sailors, and it was not long before a little live entertainmant was conjured up. Skipper Richard Byrnes plays in a Celtic band on his USN base in Naples, at the pub he found a guitar and played afew songs solo.It was not long before a local couple joined in with thier talents... a celtic fiddle, a penny whistle and some spoons, along with Richards guitar had alll the pub patrons dancing and tapping with thier feet.
The evening drew to a close and by midnight everyone was headed back to there yachts.. It had been a magical day, from the outset, starting with glorious sunshine, sailing with the Fife Yachts around the Isles of Bute, arriving in Loch Ranza and going to a whisky distillery and then finally getting involved with the locals in a Celtic musical Jam . Great way to end the second day here in Scotland, Tomorrow is another day and the prospect of seeing Tarbert is exciting.

Day 3
I woke to the sound of a howling wind, the boat was swinging and tugging at her mooring lines. It sounded like a thousand ants where marching on the deck,  thankfully it was just hard rainthat was pounding the deck..... Good Morning and welcome to Loch Ranza mooring field. Our little fleet of ASA yachts are all tied nicely in a line in the visitors area... The weather outside suck's!!!!.... so this is Scotland in summer....hmmm... remind me next time to read the brochure more closely.... Skippers meeting at 0930....

Well the weather is not about to improve, the pluses are ... with this wind its a down wind sleigh ride to Tarbert, the village is only 18 miles away and we have a nice marina with facilities to use after what will be a wet ride there.
General consensus was to use just the Foresail to get there as wind speeds had already hit 28knts in the bay and would undoubtedly hit 30 +...
Our intrepid sailors set off one at a time all dressed in full foul weather gear and safety harness visible. It really was not until we had cleared the lee of the island did we start to feel the full force of the winds and see the size of the waves.... these seemed more than normal and often would contribute to an occasional round out.

The trip to Tarbert was quick thank fully, the wind made for high overall boat speeds, which soon brought us to the entrance. The harbour is tucked way inland behind rocks and several significant navigation obstacles.  We found the entrance and followed a fishing vessel into the harbour to be sure .
The village is predominantly a commerical fishing harbour, with most of the catch going to Glasgow.... some of the local restaurants also buy from the fisherman.
Returning back to the pub it was evident that the local talent was going to have another sing along in pubs along the is harbour.
These sailors retired back to their yacht as it was time to take stock and prepare for the sail down to Campbelltown over 35 miles to run...

DAY 4
Rain and more rain, drizzle the worse kind of rain as it just hangs in the sir for you to sail into and get wet, it gets behind the glasses you wear, trickles down your neck....finds it's way up your selves and just makes things wet, cold and miserable... Oh why do we do this to our selves ? In search of what ?....what is worse is that you have half the visibility and can not see much, not even the wonderful landscape that you know is there, expect its blocked by the drizzle of the rain.... thats how we left Tarbert.....

However, if you wait 5 minutes the weather may change for the better.... and guess what it did, the further away we sailed from Tarbert the clearer and better it got... and yes there it was a funny looking yellow thing  bright and warmth coming from it.... 'here comes the sun'...(thank you George for that song) now I can really sing it with meaning...
Things where looking up, the drizzle had faded away, we had a delightful westerly breeze the boat was making way to Campbelltown, the kettle was on the boil and a hot mug of tea was on the way up to the helmsman... was this what I have been searching for ? may be....
It was going to be a long day, nothing complicated just pure sailing in what was shaping up to be great conditions... Flat to moderate seas, a steady 15-19 knots on the beam and yes the sun... peeking in and out from behind white cotton balls of clouds.

The landscape of Isle of Arran is spectacular, green fields, steep hills rising into small mountains, it looks as if someone has painted the landscape with shades of green and brown and golden yellow. The effect is to make look like a continual painting as you sail by....

We where half way down to Campbelltown and the day was turning into one of those that you want to keep going for ever.... What a start we had.... now it was all so far gone and forgotten... ahead was a new port new friends and new adventures... Campbelltown here we come....

  

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Day 5

After a days sailing yesterday that ended with spectacular scenery, as we sailed into Campbelltown, and to be meet by a seal who guided the yachts into thier berths at the floating dock... the Skippers decided on a day to explore the town, and experience a little island life. Crews went in different directions quite a few headed for the various trails to be explored in the area, including the walk over to the light house island once the tide had gone down. 

Others went trekking around town exploring the shops and the local distillery at Spring single malt. Torridon's skipper went in search of Bag pipes and found a local Fish and Chip shop who's young son came down and played a medley of tunes for the assorted group. Later the local bagpipe school sent 2 other pipers to play in public outside the local town monument.. it was a moving experience to hear the bag pipes played so well.

The rest day was well timed as the weather for the last day was going to be perfect. a southerly and sun was promised..

Home ward bound.....

It was an early start,0830 we slipped lines at the dock and cleared the sea bouy an hour later. We had 42 miles to sail, with a predicted southerly to arrive. At the moment we where sailing nicely along with a west South west, skirting the southern part of the Isle of Arran before we headed north and set our sights on Larrgs and home port.    

The day developed into the best days run with warm sun heating up the cockpit, Crews where even seen to take off foul weather jackets and pants....now that was a first for the week... the flotilla arrived back in Larrgs by 4pm that afternoon, and it was a matter of gathering the yachts together on the pontoons and handing them back to the agent. That evening we all gathered at the local pub and had our last evening dinner together. Good byes where said and cries of lets do it again next year ......

SO SHALL WE DO IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR...... LET US KNOW HERE....

CHARTER A YACHT IN GREECE

WWW.SAILCHARTER-GREECE.COM

JUNE BARE-BOAT SKIPPERS COURSE AND EXTREME SPINNAKER TRAINING

About 2 weeks ago I was sailing in the Greek islands, with JC and several other students who where attending a bare boat skippers course. The sailing school 'Athens sailing academy' regularly runs 10 day live aboard sailing courses that cover most licensing requirements. Today's charter companies require that you have a current  charter skippers license in order to qualify for taking out one of there yachts on a bare boat basis.
Now there are companies that will let you charter with a note from your yacht club etc.. but the more serious companies and the ones with the better yachts want to see a real qualification... after all they are giving you a yacht valued at €150.000 to over €300.000 depending on the size, for you to go and crash around the Greek islands or where ever ? makes sense that they want to see something that indicates you have had some kind of training....

So I enrolled in the 10 day course that the Athens Sailing academy runs. Its a live aboard course, you have your own cabin with head,(bathroom), shower,etc...think of it as luxury camping with high quality linens and towels... the course is based out of Poros Island, and its here that you spend the first 3 days of your time learning about all the basic skills of sailing. JC has a selection of small yachts that are available though his friend Richard of "Greek Sails". This time we took a nice Jeanneau 32i for 3 days. Every body takes turns working the sails,learning how to tack and gybe the boat in the bay of Poros. A full day just doing that and then the next day its your turn at the wheel to skipper and repeat the first days tasks, the final day is spent practicing motor handling skills and emergency skills.. Man Overboard, Heaving too, stopping the yacht quickly (Crash Stop)...
It was a great 3 days playing around with the little boat I think every bodies confidence levels where boosted 100%... after that first night boarding K3 and looking at the size of everything, the winches are huge, the lines are massive 18mm genoa sheets. I was think to my self how the heck where we going to deal with all this on this monster yacht..
Now it all seems so rudimentary and straight forward, size just means more power, more power is more speed, which is good and like in a car more speed means more respect for the car/yacht and what you are dealing with....No problem..hmm

3 days into the course it's time for the first exam, ASA 101.... endless definitions , language questions, rules of the road... I found it a breeze mostly because I knew some of the stuff from reading novels about sailing... CS Forester and the Hornblower series, Although it seems the ASA does not use the Cat of Nine tails any more, they just train and hire instructors like JC....(that one will get me in trouble!!)...

So on the morning of the 4th day we weigh anchor  (actually slipped mooring lines, but weighed anchor seems more nautical)... and head out to see on K3. The training yacht is a 57ft ketch, fully optimised and ready to ocean race any where... her training sails where a fully battened mainsail with carbon fibre battens, a new hydranet fabric genoa, 135% or No.2... the mizzen and down below a selection of spinnakers and staysails which according to Jc we would be working with when the wind allows.

The plan was to head over to the Cyclades and find wind so that we could continue with sail training. Now that we where away from land it also gave us and opportunity to keep navigation watches and learn ore about the basics of navigation... starting with my easterly DR line and hourly position fixes using nothing more than compass and speed log. Course was set for Kithonos Island and off we went... a good wind out of the NNW had us reaching along under full sail at about 8.75 - 9.35, wind was a steady 18-20 knts with gusts to 22+...
Todays leg was going to be around 50/60 miles, and what you do not realize is that steering a large yacht by hand at speed takes alot of concentration and constant watching by crew members to sail trim and wind speed. In the gusts the K3 liked to lean over slowly and absorb the wind into her forward motion, as it became too much for her she would hint to the helm that she wanted to round up into the wind. The best trim adjustment was to give a little weather helm and easy her genoa first, followed by easing the mainsail traveller, before easing the mainsail.

Result more often than not was a jump in speed of 2-3 knots, all of which was very satisfying.

Our arrival at Loutra in Kithonos was some 6 1/2 hours after leaving Poros, fortunately it was early enough to get a good spot in the tiny harbor here. Later in the afternoon by 1800 the harbor was full, 3 large Lagoon cats doing a very effect job of blocking and filling 6 monohull spots with 3 cats... not what one may call effect use of harbor space..

Our stay in Loutra was short but very enjoyable Micheal from the Sofrano's "yacht Club" made our stay worthwhile with great draught beer and excellent food, his free wifi also made life easier for those of us wanting to skype home. The next day was going to be more of the same good winds and great sailing, heading down to Paros island and a rest stop as well..
We left the harbor and headed out into the bay to hoist sails, the wind was a clean 18 Tw out of the N-NW, which made it a great opportunity for us to hoist one for Chutes. That morning while waiting in harbor we had folded and tied the red 1.5 Asymmetrical  red spinnaker, as well as the 2.2 storm chute and the mizzen spinnaker. Jc had already given us instruction on how to hoist and control the sails, it now remained to see if we could do it ourselves.

Once clear of the island effects on the wind we set course for Paros entrance. Jc called for spin pole to be rigged low and for us to get 'Big Red' up on deck and ready for a hoist. Once she was all hooked up, Jc ran K3 off down wind and we hoisted the sail in the shadow of the mainsail. He slowly brought K3 up to course and we trimmed chute so that everything was drawing correctly. Boat speed jumped straight into the low teens, well before we had hoisted the mizzen. Once she was up the boat speed continued to climb, holding steady at 13.3.
Paros is about 45 miles south from Loutra and that morning the wind perfect for some downwind sailing and yacht sailing skills.
The NW had strength and we where now sailing in 25tw, with alot of canvas up and slowing down this wagon train would be a challenge....

end of Prt1

Now it's not often that a novice sailor find's himself with a group of like minded 
individuals, sailing full bore before a big wind on a yacht with all the sail possible 
hoisted.. folks it is a sight to see, I would have thought that it would have been quiet 
almost sirene. It's noisy wind really howling, it whistles around the bar tight lines, the 
noise of the sea is immense as the yacht surfs and pushes mountians of water out of her 
way as she scoots between the waves..
It was not long before the skippers voice was shouting at me, "Tom are you going to star 
gaze all day or would you like to join us and help sail this bitch...trimmmm.!!
I grabbed the two handed winch and start turning the drum, it was the main spinnaker 
sheet and fully taught, Vic was pulling at the business end of the line as he watched the 
main spinnaker leech curl and come back into shape.
JC was behind the wheel now, having replaced Mike who was sitting and looking aft as 
he watched the waves chase K3, while JC skillfully placed the yacht on each crest to 
maxize speed and stability... The cry of 'Trimm" came again from Vic as the main 
spinnaker started to collapse, the mizzen chute was already soft and had collapsed, I 
glanced down at the boat speed, 15.4,16, 16.6, we had caught a wave and where 
surfing, it was a big wave as we stayed on it for over 2-3 minutes before we slid off the 
back of it. All I could feel was my wet feet and the fact the yacht was now at a crazy 
angle, I was gripping the handle tight and winding like crazy as Vic was endeavoring to 
control the spinnaker, we had sailed into our own sails basically, and as we slid off the 
back of the last wave the yacht started to cork screw to windward. JC was fighting the 
wheel, trying to a-line her stern with the next incoming wave.... it was like a crazy dance, 
everyone scrambling to hold on as we rolled, others desperately trimming sails to bring 
her back under control... all played out in a matter of seconds....

The old girl started to come back under control as JC forced her nose down the next 
wave,he was screaming to dump the main sail and trim on the chute again... the mizzen 
crew did the same.. we had both sails spinnakers back under control and off we went 
again...only this time things seem a little more controlled...I turned again to look at the 
helm,.. be dammed if the skipper was lighting a cigar, and smiling...

The next few hours saw us knock off miles quickly, we where approaching a critical point 
where we had to gybe the boat and re set the spinnakers on the opposite side of the 
yacht. The wind had eased somewhat, but the seas where still up there 2-3 metres... 
boat speed was still high with spurts of 15-16 but constant 12-14 knts... the crew looked 
ragged and tired, I could feel my arms ache and I was starting to feel cool, after sweating 
so much earlier on now we had settled in to a routine with the sails and things seemed 
more controlled. The coming gybe would I'm sure create a little tension and excitement..
Lex the Crew boss was going around talking with us about what our role would be in the coming manouvre, he went over what would happen and how timing was most important... first things was to take down the mizzen spinnaker and the spinnaker staysail on the foredeck... once those where bagged, JC started to slowly turn the yacht down wind and the main chute was brought back square with the yacht ready for the gybe.....

ATHENS - TEL AVIV OFFSHORE TRAINING

The delivery and advanced ocean passage that the school has just finished has been an interesting experience in different sailing philosophies and safety at sea. The 
school in an attempt to broaden its winter income base, has expanded into the yacht restoration business. We maintain a winter maintenance crew that service our 
school yachts and also do a certain amount of freelance work. The current Greek crisis has meant the decline in school business has required we diversify into more broad 
yacht services. Using our highly skilled winter staff to do yacht restoration was a logical step.
Our first client has been an Old school student that bought a used charter yacht and then requested that we renovate it back to its original condition. This included new teak decks, new standing rigging, upgrading of deck gear and replacement of all running rigging. We also installed a fully comprehensive navigation package from Raymarine, that included their new radar/AIS/plotter interfaced computer screen, with all yacht instruments and the auto pilot. A truly one button navigation system. The system is also very addictive, and in my opinion will create some very bad habits, more about this later.

The owner of the yacht required that we deliver the yacht back to Israel once all work was completed. He was going to accompany the delivery crew with his 90 year old father. The crew was to be 6 but was shortened to 5 when a crew decided that the current situation in Tel Aviv made them uncomfortable. Our first leg was to be Athens to the island of Kos, where the yacht would refuel and then continue on to the remote island of Kastellorizo. Here the yacht and crew would check out of the EU and then continue out into international waters.

The trip started with a short shakedown sail to Poros island. It was a good chance to check out the new Raymarine toys and to do a more detailed tuning of the mast 
and new standing rigging. It was a good 5 hour sail in about 15-20 knts of breeze that came pretty much from all directions.

The following day was a hive of last minute adjustments, both to the rig and to the safety equipment. The yacht left late that afternoon heading out for the Cyclades 
island group and the further island of Kos. As the owner of the yacht was on board, he assumed the role of Captain with my self being more of an advisory role. The other crew members already had there  ASA and RYA licenses, so this was more a mile building exercise as well as offshore experience for them. The first night of any offshore sail is always one that has  sailors getting use to watch systems again as well as finding their sea legs. So a little irregular behaviour needs understanding and flexibility. I have always found that a good evening meal on the first night if possible goes along way to ensuring confidence and comfort for the coming nights watch.
When quizzed about watch our captain was fairly non-committal about what he wanted and said that it was better if everyone did what they felt like. He further went on 
to mention that food was not a priority with him and that a little bread and cheese was all he needed.  At first I was very disappointed with his answers, he had been 
one of our first students to come though the school, he already had a huge back ground of sailing but no real paperwork when he joined the school course back in 
2005. Since then he had completed this very same 'run' Greek islands to Israel some 5 times with his and other yachts.. so he was well aware of the changing weather 
patterns and changing sea states that one can encounter...

We finally arranged ourselves into 3 watches, 2 hours on and 4 off with the owner and father doing their own thing.. the yacht was extremely comfortable with a huge 
cockpit and cockpit table in the middle, long side benches that you could lie out on, full dodger and Bimini, and all major control lines lead back to the cockpit 
coaming allowing for easy dry access to trim and control the sails. Unfortunately the cockpit was so well sheltered that keeping a 'good' watch out at night meant alot 
of craning your head and neck around lots of supports and fabric... which is when the huge computer screen mounted by the helm station became a much more 
easier and dryer way of keeping a watch out.


The trip to Kos is about 190 miles as the crow flies, we logged 230nm with a couple of tacks thrown in. As a result it took us over 38 hours. The latter half of the trip  was in heavy rain and limited visibility.  The Raymarine package with its Chartplotter and interfaced AIS+radar was a very nice toy to have, making identifying shipping  and other objects a simple matter. However what it did not see was more troublesome, the local Greek fishing fleet do not carry AIS.... nor do there fishing long line markers or drift nets... making the old skill of looking at the sea and horizon ie:- keeping a watch still the primary skill to learn..
Once in Kos it was a short stop over with the crew taking a break ashore and looking for some breakfast while the owner took charge of refuelling the yacht. Some 
supplies where purchased but as the crew had not eaten a "Galley cooked meal' since the first night and where self-feeding themselves, not much in the way of 
immediate supplies had been consumed. The yacht was soon under way again this leg was to take us along the Turkish coast, north past Rhodes island and then to 
parallel the coast until we arrived at Kastollrozio island.

That evening was a busy time on watch, identifying shipping coming out of Rhodes and other ships heading to Rhodes. The weather again deteriorated to rain and squall fronts rolling off the Turkish coast. The Rhodes channel can at times have a heavy wind driven surface current running east west; this particular night it was  running at least 2-3 knots which made our SOG as little as 3knts at times. This is not a good speed to be trying to avoid shipping traffic, despite the fact we where  motor sailing for most of the time. Again the Raymarine AIS/Plotter package proved its worth, however it was still imperative to keep a physical eyes out over the horizon  watch and not become glued to this very addictive screen like some video game.

The rest of that evening was a mixture of squalls and washing machine like seas that caused the yacht to pound and bounce around the sea slowly on its way to 
Kastellorizio island.  Up to this point the yacht had been steered almost exclusively by auto pilot, with neither the owner nor our crew steering by hand for more than 
30 minutes. I think I had the most time on the wheel with our 12 hours since leaving Athens.
The rest of this delivery continued with little change in the way things operated or the prevailing wind conditions as once the yacht left Kastellorizo for Tel Aviv, we had 
to face a remaining 350 nm of pretty much windless sea and intermittent rain. The extra jerry jugs of fuel we carried on deck proved necessary and the yacht finally 
made it to Tel Aviv.

Looking back at this particular trip, has brought up quite a few significant issues that where faced and perhaps not dealt with as well as could have been, for example the dependence on too  much modern technology. I am not some one who believes that the Old School Way is the only way, but a healthy mixture of both old and new can prove to benefit all concerned.  Before that is reached you have to start with a Captain that has an idea of what he wants and how to implement his desires and discipline on the crew, skilfully.  Having no plan or idea of what is required from the crew can be more damaging than having too much sometimes. The modern acceptance of just opting out or passing the buck I'm afraid does not cut it on a sailing yacht. Clear leadership is what was required, and having 2 captains on a yacht can complicate things. It was not my place to challenge the decisions made at the time.
However, my observations have lead me to believe that even though the advance of electronic navigation instruments is wonderful and extremely helpful, our addictive 
nature as humans makes us rely on them much to heavily, forgetting our old skills as seaman.
I really do not think it is a good thing to come on deck watch and check the computer screen first for traffic before you have scanned the horizon. I prefer to hand steer as much as is required rather than let a yacht be steered by auto pilot 100% of time come wind or sea state. Auto Pilots allow a yacht to pound and bounce into potholes. There will never be a replacement for hand steering or a good helmsman.
There has been alot of studies on watch systems, sleep patterns and nutrition at sea. Unless I am mistaken they have all basically come to the same conclusion,  regular watch/sleep rhythms and regular feeding time, make a happy and efficient crew. Arbitrarily sleeping and eating leads to fatigue and mistakes. My lesson from all this has been to emphasis more the interaction of modern and old ways but never ever to rely solely on modern technology.

TEAM NEW ZEALANDS ''RULES OF THE ROAD"'

Team New Zealand's Rules Of The Road

Racing, Miscellany, Team New Zealand

An excellent set of guidelines for conducting yourself  like a professional sailor.

Rule number 1

No phones at dinner. As soon as a phone comes out the offender is fined. Fines are immediate and can be paid at the bar. Sounds old school but it really bugs me to have a get together and someone is Skyping their sister, surfing the net, or on Facebook. It’s not right!

Special permission can be granted to have a phone on the table. I think we gave permission once in France.  At the time some questioned the wisdom of allowing any exception to the “rules are rules” policy, but Burg’s wife was in labour back in New Zealand.

Rule number 2

Change the shirt or change your beer.  It never fails to amaze me how many people just don’t get it. An example from the past: How can a team member wearing the Emirates Team New Zealand shirt, proudly displaying our sponsors, including Estrella Damm, order a competing beer?  In the bottle no less!  Imagine if a director of  Estrella Damm was socialising with his/her team and seen drinking a competitors’ product. Not a good look for anyone.

Rule number 3

While we are at it, clear away the empties. As the team has matured over the years I don’t have to use this line much. Picture this: You see yachties sitting, having a good time, perhaps a bit loud, at a table littered with empty beer bottles. Now picture the same scene but the only bottles in sight are those in use. A very different perception of the same situation. Better yet, no bottles and the beer is in a glass. All Black management discovered long ago that people tended to drink less if they drink from a glass.

Rule number 4

No job is too trivial.  Wash the sails, clean the container, take out the rubbish or get lunches; doesn’t matter if you the youngest or oldest, skipper or a rookie boat builder. No matter where you are in the pecking order, you do whatever needs to done. Just get on with it, no complaining. And no festering.  Festering is where you are hanging out just…….festering.  Not getting anything done. Everyone get the jobs done and leaves.

Rule number 5

Win, by all means but make it fun. Little things like dinner together, having a beer together after sailing regardless of the day’s results or just being happy. It’s contagious, if you’re upbeat and looking forward the others will fall in line. If you’re walking depression you will drag your comrades down with you.

Life is too short not to enjoy it.

SPRING DATES AND NEWS UPDATE

ATHENS SAILING ACADEMY  JANUARY 19TH 2012       WWW.ATHENSSAILINGACADEMY.COM

Hello and Happy New year to all our students and colleagues The summer is now long gone and winter is starting to settle in. It’s time to think about warm sunny days and sailing in the blue waters of the Aegean . This coming summer the school has lots going on,                         i.         New programs and a new yacht for novices to learn their basic sailing skills.                        ii.         There are 2 opportunities for crews to join races in the Aegean and a Whitbread 60 that will allow students to experience sailing at high speeds 20 knts +..                      iii.         Plus we have all the usual programs of mile builders and advanced sailing for offshore experience.  Details are all below     Racing in the Aegean Rally in July and then a trip North to Lesvos to Explore the Northern Islands followed by a fun race back to the Cyclades in the Aegean Regatta. Students who want to join the crew and learn about racing as well as see the Northern Greek islands can take advantage of our all-inclusive packages for the 2 racing yachts.    Last Easters mile building cruise was a huge success a short video is available here  :-.. http://youtu.be/CCMFreqkqyc  .. The plan is to do it again, the yacht ‘K3’  will leave the dock APRIL 15TH    Cost/10 Days (€1500/person) for a first sail into the Aegean,2012. The Route will be chosen by crew. 4 berths left call send email to reserve your place. SEND ME INFORMATION      Our 10 Day BBS, Novice to Bare boat course has been updated and adjusted, the 10 day course  now include 3 days of small boat handling, how small do you ask ?..We have a new Farr 25 Keel Dinghy, as well as access to 29 ft small day cruisers.

SPRING  2012 CLASS SCHEDULE APRIL 15 - 25… CAPTAINS OPEN CRUISE AND EASTER MILE BUILDER  10 DAYS NORMALLY € 1800 A PERSON, BUT WITH THIS  EMAIL DISCOUNTED TO  €1500/PERSON MAY 5- 14   NOVICE TO BAREBOAT SKIPPER 10 DAYS  €1700/PERSON MAY 18- 27   NOVICE TO BAREBOAT SKIPPER 10 DAYS €1700/PERSON JUNE 2- 11   NOVICE TO BAREBOAT SKIPPER 10 DAYS €1700/PERSON JUNE 16-25   NOVICE TO BAREBOAT SKIPPER 10 DAYS €1700/PERSON JULY 1- 8 . .  YACHT CREW TRAINING WEEK     7 DAYS   €1200/PERSON    SO THAT YOU DO NOT FORGET WHAT’S INCLUDED IN OUR SAILING SCHOOL COURSES AND OUR CRUISES :- The yacht with all her sailing and safety equipment, also included :- 220volt Generator, Zodiac + Out board, Snorkel and fishing gear. Full time Captain / instructor. 3 Days sailing and personnel instruction on a Beneteau25ft sport yacht. All course materials, books, log books, examination fees and ASA registration for a year. All Linens, Towels, Blankets etc... (Beach Towels not included) Full Breakfast , Full Lunch on board, plus Snacks during the day, Bottled water, Soft drinks, Juices etc All Fuel costs during your cruise, all fresh water and ice as needed for the cruise Harbour Fees, Marina Fees, Local taxes, Yacht Insurance, plus charter contract taxes Cleaning Fee at the end of your charter

Race in the Aegean this summer This summer we have arranged to have 2 competitive race yachts available for students to crew on and learn how to ocean race on either of the 2 seasons Aegean race weeks. We have 2 yachts that will challenge you as crew. A Whitbread 60 that will get you to the finish in record time, as well as our school racing ketch. Each event is fully covered and paid for, that means all you have to bring is your tooth brush and foul weather gear. Varied crew positions are available from mainsail trimmers to bow men to hoist and work the fore deck. Training/instruction will be available prior to the racing. Follow the link below to see details and costs for these events           Read More>>

EASTER SPRING MILE BUILDING CRUISE Last years cruise was a huge success with over 400 miles sailed and 2 students advanced by taking and passing their 106 exam. The yacht sailed from Athens over to the Dodecanese and visited  Leros and Patmos before returning to Athens via Naxos and Kithonos.  The weather was everything, from glorious sunny warm days to full gale conditions and blue skies.              This year we will be leaving a little later in April to try and avoid some of the early spring rough weather.  K3 will leave the dock form Athens April 15th and return April 25th . The itinerary will be open to the crew, and weather of course. There are 6 berths available and if you book with this letter it we will honour a 25% discount off the regular rate of €1800, that’s    €450 saving…

New Yacht  Farr 25 Our 10 day Novice to bareboat course has been a success now for many . It is a convenient way for clients to get certified so that they can charter a yacht in some of the glourious locations around the world. For the last few years we have used a combination of on hands sailing on a 57 ft yacht and class room style teaching (book learning) to teach our students. One of our concerns has been the lack of small boat sailing that we would have liked to introduce the students too. Learning to sail on a big comfortable sailing platform like a 57 ft yacht is fine . What was lacking was that seat of the pants sailing that all dinghy sailors go though and teaches students more gently about  what can go wrong during a sailing manoeuvre as well as build confidence  with the student in their sail handling ability. In order to make sailing for our novice students easier we have purchased a 25 ft Farr designed school teaching yacht. This yacht was designed specifically to help teach young sailors the basic’s of sailing before moving on to bigger yachts .       The little yacht will be based on Poros Island. After leaving Athens on the main teaching yacht you will moor in the Poros bay and the new yacht will moor alongside and be available for 3 days of intense sailing practice in and around the island of Poros. As well as the Farr 25 sailing dinghy we will also have a smaller 28ft cabin cruiser available to be used for practice. This little cabin cruiser is designed to help the student gain confidence in manoeuvring under power, as well as help him practice sailing in confined areas, like river estuaries, and crowded marinas. The small cruiser is also a good yacht to practice Med style mooring to the quay. Read More>>

All the best

Jonathan

http://www.athenssailingacademy.com/

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