Découvrir la mer à la voile

Discovery of sailing and first sensations!

You want to have your first experience at sea aboard a sailing boat and complete your first nautical miles while contemplating the land from the sea!

Your first goal is to have fun at the moment. "Now"

Come as you are and I will transform your person into a sailor who will get to know the environment and life on board a boat at his own pace.

I will provide to you the minimum safety requirements on board, allow you to participate in maneuvering the boat in the harbour and hoist the sails. Once on the water I will show you the wind in different directions and how we trim the sails to different points of sailing and wind forces! Once the boat is underway, you will take the helm and make your first lay lines under sail, taking in all your sensations and taking in all the pleasure that sailing provides and the zenitude that you dreamed of!

Don't worry, I'm here by your side, you have nothing to fear!

Start your Initiation and explore the sea!

This is the time to set yourself objectives for learning to sail over longer periods in order to acquire the first fundamentals, what about the weather, understand maneuvering techniques, what are the navigation opportunities linked to the winds and what shelters would I find for the boat anchorages the following nights… The whole Quiz is there, how can we predict? It’s the art of learning to sail and gaining experience. It’s simply anticipating…and developing serenity.

In this context, the initiation takes place along the coast with on a daily basis:

Engine maneuvers
On-board electronics
VHF Radio
Theory around the fundamentals of sailing
To hoist and take down the sails
To trim the sails
To steer at different points of sailing
To reef the sails
Safety concepts
Anchorage

Gain autonomy and improve your performance in sailing practice!

You aim to leave during your vacation and cross to discover and explore new horizons, you will have to deal with your technical know-how and your interpreted forecasts and the anticipation that will have to be adapted in weather periods. It is important to control certain risks in terms of difficulty and duration without restricting the safety of people, your boat and the environment!

In this program it is possible for you to acquire more technical learning but adapted to progression through a course of skills acquisition by sailing levels from beginner to the level of Captain. The exercises are more technical by thematics but allow to progress on acquisition and mastery of gestures in each of the FFV levels.

Cruise level 1:

Objective of the level: to become familiar with the maneuvering of a small sailboat when the weather is manageable and the sea does not present any difficulties.

Steer / Maneuvers :

To know how to move easily on the sailboat
To trim the sailboat to leave an anchorage or a buoy
Follow a direction without swerving to keep the sails full
Speed up/slow down using the sheet and/or helm
Trim the sails to the limit of the lift
To tack and gybe the sailboat in safety for the equipment and the crew
To helm on the wind and tacking
Stabilize the sailboat at a constant heel angle with the helm and/or sheet
Stopping the sailboat with lift sails and cape
To come back to the buoy and catch it safely
To complete a course using different tacks (on the wind, abeam, down wind, etc.)
To search for an object in the water
To steer a 360° in both directions accompanying the rotation with the sails

Navigation :

To know the main symbols on a nautical chart
To know what an alignment is and identify it when sailing
To identify the main buoyage marks (2 channel buoys and 4 cardinals)
To know the mechanism of tides and the consequences on navigation

Technology / Seamanship:

To tie the main knots – Round turn and two half hitches, bowline, clove hitch, figure of eight, cleat hitch,
Moor the sailboat safely and put it in order so that it is ready to leave the pontoon
Ensure small daily maintenance of equipment (revise, clean, tape, burn) the end of the rope, etc.)
Inform about wear or damage observed on the sailboat

Safety / Life on board:

To know the safety rules for starboard tack and crossing of a sail boat or motorboat
To know how to use the lifejacket and harness while sailing
To know and use 20 basic marine language words
To know how to dress correctly for the weather conditions
To know and identify the mandatory safety equipment on board the sailboat
To have daily attention for your own safety of the crew during specific situations or maneuvers (downwind, docking, pairing up, boarding, disembarking, anchoring)

Meteorology:

Estimate wind strength and direction using visual cues
Recognize the appearance of a dangerous sky
To listen to the weather forecast and know the conventional zones

Cruise level 2:

Objective of the level: To sail during the day on a cruise when the weather is manageable and the sea does not show any difficulties. To organize a daytime outing in good weather conditions.

Steer / Maneuvers :

Stabilize the sailboat at different points of sails
To tack and gybe while controlling the trajectory of the sailboat
Maneuver a sailboat in a short time
Stopping from different points of sail (lifting sails and to heave to)
To trim the sails according to the course of the sailboat
To adapt the sail to the weather under way (reefing, change of headsail)
Retrieve an object from the water after having completely stopped the sailboat
To hoist and take down the spinnaker under wind =< 3 Beaufort
To steer with spinnaker without tacking under wind =< 3 Beaufort
To dock a pontoon or quay in easy conditions (sail or motor)
To take and leave a buoy from in different ways (sail or motor)
To anchor in a chosen location and leave the anchorage (choice of tack with sail / motor)

Navigation :

To compute tide calculation using the rule of twelfths
To know how to match the nautical charts
Follow-up the sailing course on the nautical charts
To deep the knowledge of use the nautical charts
To identify the markings buoys at sea and on the nautical charts
To take a bearing point on the land and plot it on the nautical charts (use of the bearing compass and the course plotter)
To find simple alignments on the nautical charts and follow-up them during navigation on the deck

Technology / Seamanship:

To make the inventory according to a given checklist
To know the usual checks
T know how to use and check the stove
To complete your knowledge of basic seamanship: speed-up and use of the main knots
To coil and store the sailboat's warps
To store the sails in order to facilitate their subsequent use
To moor the sailboat correctly and put it in order (ready to leave)

Safety / Life on board:

To communicate within the crew (respect, information hand over)
To know the locations and main equipment operations
To identify and prevent a collision route (constant bearing)
to have sustained attention to your safety
To know dangerous maneuvers for the crew
To know how to use an annex safely
To keep the sailboat stowed while sailing
To make life on board easier (storage, dishes, etc.)
Prevent the risk of accidents through your behavior (considered movement, wearing a harness or life jacket, protection of hands, eyes and feet).

Meteorology:

Take a weather forecast in French (French sailors)
To discover the phenomenon of thermal breezes
To recognize the signs of weather degradation
Recognize the sequences of the weather disturbance passage

Cruise level 3 :

Objective of the level: To be able to sail on a coastal cruise, aboard a cruiser when the weather remains manageable. Daytime practice – night time initiation.

Steer / Maneuvers :

To move safely on deck and inside the sailboat in rough sea condition
To maneuver the sailboat in a port, under sail and under motor
To understand and perform at all on board roles, driving and maneuvers
As a helmsman, you determine the necessary moment to adapt the sail to the proper running of the sailboat
As a helmsman, catch a man overboard in different points of sailing conditions (wind 3 to 5 Beaufort and gentle sea)
To moor a buoy or make an anchorage depending on the wind and the environment at sea
To come near a boat, throw the warp and carry out a tow in flat and light sea breeze

Navigation / Meteorology:

To know and use nautical documents
Steering: Taking safety underway leading lines
To take a bearing point on the land and plot it on the nautical charts (compass – navigation rules)
Calculate tides on time being
To know the definitions of: compass heading, true heading, declination, variation, deviation
To navigate with marks & beacons
To determine the elements of dead reckoning (speed, drift) to plot the course
Discover night navigation and its constraints
Over a two weeks course, plan a one-day navigation program, under the Captain's control
Follow-up weather forecast changes over several days
To study and understanding of a weather forecast map
To know how to adapt your alter course depending on the weather

Technology / Seamanship:

To make inventory on board (quantity and quality)
To know the sensitive structure points of the sailboat
To check on board mooring lines
To coil and store the warps. Know how to make a sheet, trailer or fisherman's knots
To identify the valves and their operation – Identify all openings in the hull
To know the gas circuit and possible leak locations
To check and maintain battery charging
Practice preventive and daily maintenance of the equipment used
Technology of the mainsheet, foresail hauling points and downhaul
To start and stop the engine, check the operation of the cooling circuit
To properly use and maintain marine toilets

Safety / Life on board:

Follow the level 3 safety guide
To use of safety instructions
To monitor, identify and prevent collision at sea (watch keeping, use of the ship bearing)
To know the locations and all safety equipment operation
To deep knowledge and use of the steering rules for collision regulations
To manage economically food and especially water and electricity
To keep the sailboat in order, including under way
To participate regularly in collective tasks
To be attentive to each person's rhythms (noise, waking up, fatigue, seasickness)
Integrate yourself into a night shift if the navigation requires your participation
Train regularly to recover a Man Over Board (> 3 mins)
To know the importance of communication between all members of the crew
To feel responsible within a crew (prevention of observed dangers, speak about your doubts about your estimation during navigation)

Cruise level 4 :

Level objective: master all aspects of coastal cruising, day and night. To helm / Maneuvers day and night:

To move safely on deck and inside the sailboat in rough sea condition
Permanently integrate the safety of the sailboat and each member of the crew during the maneuvers you manage
To understand and follow the role of each team member in the maneuvers
Take the sailboat and its environment into account to describe a maneuver
To anticipate and apply a rigorous timeline for any complex maneuver
Motor maneuvers to leave and return to a berth
To know the role and name of three moorings
To coordinate and explain all the essential maneuvers for steering and trimming a sailboat under sail, including spinnaker
To participate as a crew member in MOB maneuvers under spinnaker
To organize entry maneuvers into an unknown port
To determine a safely anchorage area, prepare a suitable anchor line and use it
Getting aground at the dock and / or on crutches
Providing assistance to a vessel in difficulty (pairing in calm seas) and conducting towing
Prepare the sailboat for heavy weather under way at anchor or into a shelter

Navigation and weather day and night:

Read the nautical charts and establish the landscape/chart relationship (identify the landscape without landmarks)
To pilot: Develop as a priority as means of control the options of navigation in approach of the coasts
Tide calculations: Water height at a planned time, help navigation by adding probe lines
Classical plot, transfer of plots and lines, plot by probe and bearings, ship bearing, notion of uncertainty, speed of execution in all weathers
Compass heading, true heading – automatic use of declination, variation and deviation
Wind drift, course heading, current drift, true heading
Determining a course: undergo or anticipate
Evaluate possible fallbacks – safety sector
Maintain estimated navigation and understand the importance of keeping the logbook up to date
Speedly and safely in identifying different types of lights and signals
To know and use all the nautical documents of the sailboat
Use VHF (routine, distress calls) and know its regulations
To participate in the development and monitoring of a course with reduced visibility
To take weather forecasts from the navigation location
To recognize the signs of weather degradation. Monitor comparative weather forecasts/logbook
To recognize depressions and anticyclones on a weather map: interpret isobars to predict changes in the weather
To identify the relationships between: wind / sea condition / coastal phenomena

Technology / Seamanship:

To establish a handling timeline to give you time to step in
To check the structure of the sailboat: floors, bulkheads, chain plates and chain plate covers, deck-hull connection, surface condition of the hull (plan for grounding)
To identify the main wear phenomena of a rigging
To know the assembly of the rudder
To know the location of the thru-hull fittings, the opening and operation of the valves, the condition of the stuffing box
To check, monitor and adjust rigging
To know how to pass a halyard through a mast, a line through a boom
To check the condition and charge of the batteries, and recharge them correctly every day at the motor or in port
To check and/or change the high beam bulbs
To check the condition of the sails and carry out small repairs manually
Dismantle, clean and operate a winch
Disassemble and clean the various sensors
To check the sailboat’s equipment
To complete your knowledge of seamanship: dog leg, toulin knot, etc.
To check the proper functioning of a marine toilet, dismantling and reassembling it
To learn to anticipate to prevent damages

Safety / Life on board

To observe and listen to other team members to assess their tiring condition
To understand and make people understand the importance to maintain in order and cleanliness the sailboat which are safety conditions
To plan and carry out provisioning consistent with the planned cruise
To consider ensuring daily maintenance during navigation
To be attentive to others to prevent sources of interpersonal conflict
To live in a group while preserving individuality
To respect schedules and shift handover rules
To have responsible behavior in relation to safety (respect and reminder of the rules, communication of information)

Discovery of sailing and first sensations!

Start your Initiation and explore the sea!

Gain autonomy and improve your performance in sailing practice!

Cruise level 1:

Steer / Maneuvers :

Navigation :

Technology / Seamanship:

Safety / Life on board:

Meteorology:

Cruise level 2:​

Steer / Maneuvers :

Navigation :

Technology / Seamanship:

Safety / Life on board:

Meteorology:

Cruise level 3 :

Steer / Maneuvers :

Navigation / Meteorology:

Technology / Seamanship:

Safety / Life on board:

Cruise level 4 :

Navigation and weather day and night:

Technology / Seamanship:

Safety / Life on board

Cruise level 2: