Sailing Schooled Ep. 2 – Jibe Ho And Around We Go

Nikki Wynn

Jul 24, 2016 — 4 min read

It’s only day two of sailing school and my brain is ready to short circuit. You know that blank stare you give someone when your brain is scrambling to put information together? I’m fairly certain we had that blank stare most of the day. I suppose that’s a normal response when you’re learning something new but it always makes me feel like an idiot.

We read the basic sailing and coastal cruising books, looked at all of the pictures and on paper it looked straight forward-ish. I mean, if we can manage to put together Ikea furniture with nothing but a few drawn instructions we should be able to maneuver some sails around with all these books. But, there always seems to be something about putting written words into action that never goes quite how we imagined. And, if I’m completely honest, I’m not sure my Ikea furniture is up to spec either.

If you’re a sailor, a dreamer or just curious, we hope you get a good laugh out of watching us run around, fumble for the right lingo and Jibe Ho (intentionally and accidentally).

What We learned On Day Two

It’s an intensive class and throughout the day we went over most of what’s covered in the basic sailing and coastal cruising books. We also started learning more about navigation but today was mostly about the rules of the road and going through all the points of sail.

There is a pecking order out on the water just like there is on the highway. There are stand-on and give-way vessels that determines who has the right of way.

At first, it all felt simply like rules that were to be memorized. However, after sailing all the different points of sail, it started to make more sense. By the end of the day we had a pretty good grasp on the different points of sail which helped all the rules come together. At that point the rules of the road weren’t so hard to remember because the actions seem more like common sense and safety, not just rules for the sake of rules.

I know to some of you who have never sailed this may all sound like gibberish. Just a couple of months ago, this all sounded like gibberish to us too. It’s amazing how adaptable we can be when we put our minds to it and focus all efforts towards a goal.

The Crew, Sailing Courses and Certifications

If you want to know more about why we’re taking sailing classes or get to know Captain Jen or Volunteer Cameraman Terry a little more, check out: Sailing Schooled Ep. 1

We’re taking the A+ Cat Course: Bareboat Catamaran Skipper through Blue Water Sailing School. (Side note, we just got an email from Bluewater Sailing School saying they would offer any of our readers a 10% discount! Just use the code word Curiosity when booking to get the discount. I guess they liked our video!)

If we pass all the tests, at the end of the week we will be certified for bareboat chartering and big boat sailing. It’s a short, intensive, live-aboard cruising course that combines the Basic Sailing (ASA 101), Basic Coastal Cruising (ASA 103), Bareboat Chartering (ASA 104), and Cruising Catamaran (ASA 114) curriculum.

Equipment used to film this video:

Sony A6000: http://amzn.to/1RbUSnx
Sony Zoom Mic: http://amzn.to/21qHT8B
Sony 10-18mm f4 lens: http://amzn.to/29EdkZg
Sony Action Cam: http://amzn.to/1JfYcab
Yi Action Camera: http://amzn.to/29vtTTJ
Feiyu G4 Gimbal: http://amzn.to/29vtEYV

See all of our camera/editing equipment and how we use it here: https://www.gonewiththewynns.com/best-travel-camera-video-photography

Find all of our favorite gear and toys here: www.gonewiththewynns.com/store

Also, if you want to begin the education you can find our sailing school books here: http://amzn.to/29VIBSH and the flashcards we used to study here: http://amzn.to/2bhwpQR

Sailing Report

Date: 6/20/2016
Weather: Mostly sunny
Wind: East Northeast 15-20+ knots
Seas: Choppy
Route: Sailed from Key Biscayne Bight to Elliot Key in Biscayne National Park.
Anchor Spot: Approx. GPS Coordinates 25.479199, -80.194433