Bravo Team has been very lucky this fall with many opportunities to get on the water. Today we had a clear 18 knot sustained wind out of the South, with gusts up to 20 knots. According to our Certificate of Inspection, we are required to stay dockside in any wind at 18 knots or higher, or if a Small Craft Advisory is posted.
With this in mind, the focus of the class today was to welcome a new student with lots of fun get-to-know-you games, and initiatives to build teamwork. Then we focused on our buddy system, reefing a sail, and sizing and packing exposure suits. We created a line-drawn picture of a longboat in the Olympic Meeting Room and proceeded with our Squall Drill. It took us 8 minutes to put on our exposure suits and reef both main and foresails with readiness to hoist sails.
Afterwards, we debriefed the Squall Drill over our snack and hot cocoa. Many crew members thought that we got into positions quickly, we helped our buddies, we stayed calm and we were quick to get into our exposure suits. Others thought that we could do an earlier countoff, understand and get into our positions better, that it was unclear to stand or sit while putting on the suit, and that we may not always be aware of where our specific suit is located while underway. Debriefing drills allows us to capture what we could learn for next time.
We had our moment of silence in the classroom as the rain started falling and the sound on the roof, along with the hot drinks lulled us into a sleepyness for the end of the day share about the moment of silence. Some shared they had sailing on the brain, another shared about gratitude for a dry warm place to be, and another person shared about the calm head space they found during this class. We made plans for our final class of 2019 where we’ll have a HOLIDAY PARTY with games and potluck treats.