Agendas

THESE ARE EXAMPLES OF AGENDAS THEY MAY CHANGE ACCORDING TO DECISIONS OF THE CREW OR WEATHER. E.T.C

Basic Live Aboard

Intermediate

4 Day Weekends Course

Basic Live Aboard

Sunday Evening (optionally)

  • Introductions & welcome
  • Load gear

Monday

  • Breakfast
  • Introduction to the boat systems
  • Safety equipment
  • Practice leaving the dock
  • Practice maneuvering under power
  • Proper procedure for raising sail
  • Set sail for Prince Edward Bay
  •  Theory session (while sailing)
  • Terminology
  • Parts of the boat
  • Directions
  • Points of sail
  • Discuss sail theory – what makes a boat sail
  • Discuss buoyage system
  • Rules of the road
  • Getting underway 

Afloat session

  • Proper procedure for raising sails through the day
  • Practice sailing to all points of sail
  • Practice tacking and gybing
  • Identify buoys en route by reference to the chart
  • Lunch

Theory session (under sail)

  • Discuss weather
  • Discuss Chart & Navigation
  • Review Anchoring
  • Discuss hypothermia
  • Safety
  • Anchor in Van Dusen’s Bay
  • Review the day’s activities -feedback

 

Tuesday

  • Breakfast
  • Sail in Prince Edward Bay
  • Weather check
  • Practice points of sail
  • Practice tacks and gybes
  • Lunch
  • Heaving to
  • Reefing
  • Supper

Theory session

  • Emergencies
  • Tide and current tables
  • Review parts of boat
  • Safe Fuelling
  • Review the day’s activities -feedback

    Wednesday

    • Breakfast
    • Discuss crew overboard procedures
    • Hoist anchor sail in Prince Edward Bay
    • Practice crew overboard manoeuvre
    • Lunch
    • Dock at Waupoos Marina
    • Practice Docking
    • Have holding tank pumped
    • Top up water, fuel

    Theory session

    • Navigation
    • VHF radio
    • Review the day’s activities -feedback
    • Supper at Winery or Pub

    Thursday

    • Breakfast
    • Set sail for Prinyer Cove
    • Practice points of sail
    • Practice navigation
    • Lunch Anchor in Prinyer Cove
    • Review Ashore Skills
    • Supper
    • Ashore Skills exam & PCOC test
    • Review exam

    Friday

    • Breakfast
    • Set sail for Collins Bay
    • Practice points of sail
    • Practice crew overboard manoeuvre
    • Lunch
    • Pump out holding tank
    • Top up fuel, water
    • Return to Dock
    • Final wrap-up
    • Clean boat
    • Individual review
    • Wrap Up

    TYPICAL INTERMEDIATE AGENDA

    Sunday Evening (optional)

    • Introductions and welcome
    • Load gear & food on Boat

    Monday

    Passage eg.Main Duck (23nm) Waupoos

    • Breakfast
    • Boat checks:
      • Use of a  checklist
      • Required safety equipment as in safe boating guide. First aid kit, tools & Spares. Check out that all systems on boat are in working order; stove, electrical, plumbing electronics, sails, hull, deck hardware etc.
      • Discuss routine daily and weekly maintenance procedures on engine; perform weekly check
      • Demonstrate basic use of the VHF marine radio, including Safety, Distress and Urgency calling procedures
      • Weather checkReview navigation
    • Lay off a course and determine compass heading and Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) (assuming no current or leeway)
    • Pre-depart checklist
    • Daily engine check Marine forecast
    • Weigh anchor
    • Raise sails & practice points of sail & sail trim
    • Sail a compass course with sails set properly, with no land references for a minimum of five minutes
    • Plot and determine position using deduced reckoning (DR) methodology.
    • Lunch underway (hove to)

    At anchorage

    • Demonstrate how to take soundings using electronic and manual methods and
    • Practice throwing a heaving line to a target
    • Tie a rolling hitch
    • Review exam papers

    Review day’s activities -feedback

    Tuesday

    eg. Main Duck –Waupoos  (anchorage) (or Waupoos – Prinyers Cove)

    • Breakfast
    • Pre-depart checklist
    • Daily engine check
    • Obtain and interpret the Marine forecast
    • Lay off a course and determine compass heading and Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) at destination. Take a fix using visual bearings
    • Sailing practice tacking and gybing complete tacking and gybing excercises
    • Demonstrate (using a float)  the Triangle method and one alternative method (i.e. quick stop, fast return, life sling, etc.) of returning to a crew overboard in daytime in moderate winds safely and efficiently within three minutes using appropriate communications, commands and a spotter
    • Evening 
    • Review day’s activities -feedback

    Wednesday

    eg. Waupoos-Picton

    • Pre-depart checklist
    • Daily engine check
    • Weather forcast
    • Navigation excercises
    • Pack, set, hoist, fly, gibe and douse a cruising spinnaker weather permitting
    • Demonstrate whisker pole and use of a preventer
    • Review and practice all afloat skills with revision as required.
    • Pilot a vessel into unfamiliar harbour or anchorage by day using charts and publications
    • Practice Crew overboard.
    • Dock with stern or bow to dock or shore using a bow or stern anchor;
    • Demonstrate the use of a spring line to spring a vessel off of and on to a dock; (9)
    • Discuss docking and securing the boat to the dock
    • Discuss sailing etiquette and legal requirements
    • Discuss  the characteristics, limitations and uses of various rope materials and construction
    •  Discuss preparing the boat to be left at the dock.
    • Review day’s activities -feedback
    • Supper Ashore

    Thursday

    eg. Picton- Kerr Bay

    • Pump out at Picton and fill water tanks
    • Pre-depart checklist
    • Daily engine check
    • Review and practice all afloat skills with revision as required.
    • Pick up a mooring
    • Eys splice in Laid line

    Review day’s activities -feedback

    Friday

    eg. Kerr Bay – Collins Bay

    • Pre-depart checklist
    • Daily engine check
    • Review and practice all afloat skills with revision as required.
    • At Collins Bay
    • Pump out holding tank
    • Top up fuel, water
    • Return to Dock
    • Clean boat
    • Individual feedback
    • Farewell

    Basic Day Agenda

    Day 1

    • Introductions & welcome icebreaker 09:00 

      • Discuss sail theory – what makes a boat sail
      • Points of sail West 18-24
      • Duties of Skipper & Crew West 25
      • Safety Briefing
      • Review Rules of the road West p60 Safe Boating guide

      Dockside Introduction to the boat 

      • Safety equipment Safe boating Guide, West p 30-
      • Engine West p77
      • Sailplans West Safe boating Guide West p 26
      • Getting underway West p84

      Afloat session Rest of Day

      • Practice leaving the dock (As crew)
      • Raising sails West p123-
      • Practice sailing to all points of sail
      • Tacking
      • Gybing
      • Return
      • Docking (As crew) West p91

      Review the day’s activities

    Day 2

    • Afloat session 09:00

      • Practice manoeuvering under power discuss prop walk
      • Practice points of sail
      • Practice tacks and gybes
      • Identify buoys en route by reference to the chart
      • Heaving to West 147
      • Reefing Mainsail West 149-
      • Docking

      Review the day’s activities

    Day 3

    • Afloat  Session 9:00

    Anchors & Anchoring West p185

      • Discuss crew overboard procedures West p178-
      • Practice points of sail
      • Practice crew overboard
      • Practice Anchoring

       

      Review the day’s events

    Day 4

    09:00 Afloat session

    • Practice points of sail
    • Practice crew overboard
    • Practice navigation
    • Option review theory
    • Pump out holding tank
    • Top up fuel, water
    • Return to mooring
    • Clean boat

    Exam 

    Wrap up and individual review

    References are to the text book “Basic Cruising Skills” by Gillian West

    This is an example of an agenda the actual agenda may be different depending on where the crew wants to visit, weather, etc.

    Brochures

    You may download copies of our Course Brochures here. Those links will allow you to download a PDF version of our brochures straight to your desktop.

    General Course

    Private Course

    CARIBBEAN COURSES

    Sailing Tips

    Any of the Basic or Intermediate/ICC courses can be taken as a private course or on your boat. We can combine levels if feasible.

    What you need to know

    All the information in the Sail Canada written exam is covered in the on-line Basic Ashore Knowledge module  but we also recommend that you buy the Sail Canada textbook Basic Cruising skills.  Ideally The exam is conducted one evening during the course and exam fees and marking are included in the course fee. On successful completion of the course you will be provided with a Sail Canada international Cruising log book and registered with the Ontario Sailing Association/Sail Canada to recieve a student number and seal for the logbook. (also included in the fees) If needed the Pleasure Craft Operators Card is included free.

     

     

     

    COVID

    Our  5 day live aboard courses for  fully vaccinated students*

    We can offer a private course up to 4 students with the fee adjusted accordingly on one of the open scheduled course dates  Contact us to book

    * Subject to Provincial and Local requirements and Sail Canada.

    our instructors are fully vaccinated

    If we have to cancel courses you can rebook at a later date or obtain a refund

     

    5 Day live aboard courses are $1500 for individuals occupying their own  berth and $2800 for a couple sharing a Berth. 

    All prices +13% HST

    For more details or to Book contact

    Instructor@Learntocruise.ca

    More information about your course will be provided in a pre-course package

    Course ID

     Course Dates in 2023

    Remaining Places

    Course Status

    SC1

    May 15-19

    4

    Open

     

    SC2

    June5-9

     

    4

    Open

    SC3

    June 19-23

    4

    Open

    SC4

    July 3-7

    4

    Open

    SC5

    July 17-21

    4

    Open

    SC6

     

     

     

    July 24-28

     

    4

    Open

    SC7

    Aug 7-12

    4

    Open

    SC8

    Aug 21-25

    4

    Open

    SC9

    Aug 28-Sept 1

    4

    Open

    Courses in Sept and October

    Inquire