Darwin Sailing Club in conjunction Australian Sailing has produced 5 new Dinghy Learn to Sail videos. The resources are aimed at introducing beginners to Dinghy sailing and developing the fundamental skills needed to later progress with confidence.   

The idea of the videos was brought about by some very time-constrained sessions, in which the participants were only just getting out on the water, when they had to turn around and start the process of returning to the shore. This led to discussions on how they could make better use of the time and effectively get more on-water time during the session.  

Due to a need to assist school groups who often have very short session times they decided to create some videos that could create better learning outcomes for students in school sailing programs. The Northern Territory Government was kind enough to provide funding for the project. There are now five short ‘how to’ videos on basic sailing skills taught in most school programs.  

The videos will enable teachers to cover basic theory in the classroom before attending their first session and will also be a great way to confirm learnings from subsequent sessions. The Darwin Sailing Club often attends schools prior to the program starting for this very reason, having the videos to refer to will also make the instructors sessions easier to deliver in a school classroom.  

The videos provide a way for the participants to get through some information prior to attending an on water session. It also makes it possible for schools that have a great distance to travel or for schools just wanting to get an idea of what is involved. Often teachers and schools in general don’t know what to expect so resources like this cut down on the misconceptions. 

They also make for great tools for all Learn to Sail dinghy courses and experiences, whether you use them as a resource for individuals to study up before a session or as a training room theory piece. 

Rigging: https://youtu.be/cA1wumyWzZI 

Tacking: https://youtu.be/urjquYJjvDo 

Launching & Retrieving: https://youtu.be/m1Mga8IJLSU 

Capsizing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynm96nSvYFI 

Gybing: https://youtu.be/qN-w6JbtLrI 

Note: this does not replace good safety briefing and the participants still need to be checked for understanding. 

The videos will not only benefit school groups, but they will also be helpful to anyone attending an introductory course. They can break down the skills, understand what they will be learning and review their sessions. All the videos are freely available via the Australian Sailing YouTube channel or a good google search.