Over Labor Day weekend we took a class at Annapolis Sailing School to begin learning how to sail a sailboat. We spent three days going over the basic physics of sailing, all the different parts of a small keelboat, safety procedures, and basic navigation. By the end of the week we were performing sailing drills confidently and received our ASA 101 certification.
We met some great guys, Mark and Matt who were also from Pennsylvania. Hope to sail with them again soon!
We were learning with a Rainbow 24 sloop in pretty light winds for the first two days. We tacked and jibed back and forth and back and forth for probably a good three hours each day. Then we went further out and practiced figure eights and man overboard drills. On the third day we got a good breeze and practiced reefing before we went out. Once we were out on the water we released the reef and made full use of the sail.