What follows are a few suggested drills to try out. For more suggestions, refer to Teach Sailing the Fun Way! and Sailing Drills Made Easy, both available from US Sailing. Many are probably familiar, hopefully some are new to you. Dont hesitate to modify these drills to suit the circumstances. Although many of the advanced drills might be too difficult for some students, all of the basic drills can be modified to make them suitable for more advanced students. Be creative
The Basics
Crosswind Figure-8
Can be used for either tacking or gybing. This drill is perfect for beginners. It teaches the students how to tack and gybe in a confined space. Goals: a. To tack and gybe without losing momentum b. Get accustomed to sailing in traffic c. Proper sheeting, steering& weight distribution. d. Sailing in a confined area under control e. Sailing as close as possible towards a specific destination How to set Drill: Drop a mark in the water. Go at a 90-degree angle to the wind, as on a port tack, and drop a second mark 75 feet away The larger number of boats in the class the larger the course should start. Helpful Hints: a. Begin shrinking the course as the students get better. b. Use the powerboat and a flag to create a gate for the students to go through to refine handling
Crosswind Loop
Tacking and gybing Goals: a. Tack and jibe efficiently with speed from a reach to a reach b. Proper sheeting, steering& weight distribution How to set Drill: Same as Figure 8.
Diamond Drill
Another great drill to teach tacking and gibing
Intermediate
Whistle Tacks Whistle Gybes Sailing Backwards
Cone Drill
Start with boats all on the same tack in the safety position and have the safety boat motor steadily to windward. Call out to the boats to tack when they reach the edges of the cone.
Laylines
Set up buoys for students to practice sailing to (judging laylines) and stopping next to (mob recovery/speed control). To start with you can set a leeward mark and a windward mark to define the layline they should be sailing.
Shrinking Course
Whatever course they are sailing keep reducing its size so they have to tack and gybe sooner each lap.
Execute 720s on command. Emphasise proper sail trim and tacking and gybing over the speed of the turn by increasing the frequency of the whistles boats who do not trim their sails effectively will soon slow and stop.
MOB Gate
Set up a gate with two buoys close together and then use other buoys to define the MOB recovery pattern desired (figure 8 or circle gybe). Students sail through the gate and then follow the buoys to get the MOB pattern. Drill is completed when they can sail through the pattern and be stopped in the gate.
Pair Sailing
Have crews call the tacks and gybes and see how long they can sail close together.
Light Air
Dry Capsize Kinetics
Have students experiment with rocking, sculling, and ooching to get around a simple course. If they are more advanced (and adventurous) have them experiment with tacking and gybing by using crew weight only, try to steer with body weight from forward of the mast etc.
Roll Tack
Practice aggressive rolls.
Advanced/Performance
King of the Box
A Rules of the Road variation of Tennis Ball tag where instead of a tennis ball the students use the Rules of the Road to try to chase others out of the box while staying in themselves. Once a boat has been chased out of the box it must circle around outside until the sequence restarts. Variations: Use a triangle with the base downwind, or the apex downwind to make things more challenging.
10 & 5
Set a starting line and have a starting sequence. The catch is that the time between the 10 Second signal and the 5 Second signal can be anywhere from 0 to a Minute. Boats must find a good starting position and hold on to it.
Rolling Starts
With a three-minute start sequence students start, sail upwind for 30 Seconds and return to start again.
Individual Recall
Call a boat (or boats) at random to return.
Luffing Start
All boats stopped on the line with 30 seconds to go and accelerate at the starting signal.
720s at a Mark
First boat at each mark does a 720.
Sailing Football
Divide the boats into teams, set two goals to windward and leeward. The boat in possession of the football must pass the ball to a teammate before tacking or gybing. Fumbles (ball in the water) are fair game to any boat. If they tack before passing the ball then they must surrender possession to the other team. After scoring a goal the boats return to the 50 yard line where the other team takes possession. Switch the teams goals after each score so one team isnt always going upwind.