Pacing Guide for Teaching American Sailing 101 Basic Keelboat Class

New American Sailing instructors have a lot of information to convey to their students. It can seem overwhelming to make decisions on how much to cover at what point of the day, how fast or slow to proceed, and what skills to chunk together. With over 30 years of teaching AS 101, I have developed a system for incorporating all the terms, skills, procedures, maneuvers, and knots into a two-day class.

Day 1

Nine until 9:15 a.m.
Greetings, weather report, tell them what they’re going to learn today. Find out their occupations in case anyone is a small engine mechanic or Olympic Opti sailor.

9:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
On the boat so that their bodies get used to the rocking little thing. Parts of the boat, parts of the sail, running, rigging, standing rigging. While the brains are fresh knockout, a lot of terms rapidly.

10:15 a.m.
Walk up to the bathroom. Together. Perfect time to go over right away who is windward who is leeward, overtaking etc. All the right of ways because you’re standing up and you can see each other. Time for them to figure out where the wind is coming from.

10:30 a.m.
Markers, channel markers, navigation, safety equipment that is on the boat outboard motor. By now, you are 80 terms in, and they could pass the test.

11:00 a.m.
Get off the dock and go sail. Four tacks per person, in a row to solidify learning, at least one gybe per person. Everyone rotate in one direction, so everyone does every job. Often, I am still on the main sheet at this point, to even out the edges for them, adjusting the sail to help them steer efficiently. If I give the main sheet to someone else at this point, they’re likely to send the helmsperson in circles.

12:15 p.m.
Back to the dock, lunch. It’s hard to eat with the students because all four of them will take turns asking you questions while the other three are chewing. And you won’t get to eat.

1:00 p.m. or probably 1:15 p.m.
Head back out. Points of sail. Everyone does every point of sail. 

2:30 p.m.
Time to put it together and use the tacks to actually go somewhere up the wind and then the gybes to come back down. Usually by now, everyone has figured out what to do with their body weight, and I can hand the main sheet over and let them get a feel for it.

3:00 p.m.
Easiest with four people – one on tiller, one on main sheet, two on jib sheets; person doing least work starts work on knot tying. Rotate. At each rotation, someone else works on knots.

4:00 p.m.
Everyone is pretty tired by now. Working your way back to the marina, covering all the things in the Code of Federal Regulations book. If you have time, after that, open the logbook and go through everything in there. The CFR will be new information. The logbook should be review from earlier in the day.

4:30 p.m.
Heading for the dock.

4:45 p.m.
Debrief, talk about the weather for the next day, rinse the boat.

5:00 p.m.
Done.

5:15 p.m.
On drive home jot down all the things you forgot to mention.

5:30 p.m.
Obsess over whether you turned the house, batteries off or closed the top of the fuel tank. Text back to your office anything wrong on the boat or that you forgot.

6:00 p.m.
You are home! Write down any skills you think you missed, particularly individuals who need certain skills for the first time or fine-tuned a little bit. 

Day 2

9:00 a.m.
Greetings, weather report, tell them what they’re going to learn today.

9:15 a.m.
They start the outboard, they make a plan for leaving the dock, they get the boat out of the marina, they get the sails up and sail. 

10:00 a.m.
Tacks, points of sail, gybes, heaving to. 

11:00 a.m.
Reefing . We used to have to anchor in 101, but I think with the new curriculum it’s not in 101 anymore.

12:00 p.m.
Back to the dock for bathroom break and lunch.

1:00 p.m.
Head back out, “free sail” while they sail, go back over CFR and logbook. By now it’s the third time they have heard all of it, so some of it should be sticking.

3:00 p.m.
Head back in for the test. Debrief. 

3:30 p.m.
Taking the bathroom break.

3:45 p.m.
Everybody testing.

4:45 p.m.
Grade the test, go over anything that everyone missed, sign, logbook, tell them how to get more experience in Crew Sail before they take the next class so they get more out of it.

5:00 p.m.
Cheerful goodbyes, I promise to keep in touch, head home.

5:15 p.m.
Jot down all the things you forgot to cover. Obsess over whether you turned the house, batteries off or closed the top of the fuel tank. Text back to office anything wrong on the boat or that you forgot.

6:00 p.m.
You are home! Review what went well, what did not go well. Make adjustments. After 10 or 15 classes, you will finally get into the rhythm of it. And even then, there will be elements that conspire to change the timings of instruction.

Every single class will cause you to adjust your methods, your pacing, and your approach. After 30 years, this is the pacing system that works for me. Of course, I have to adjust for weather sometimes.

Every single concept or term that you introduce; you must have a peg to hang it on in their brain. Something that you think they already know.

These are adults, and their file cabinets are stuffed full.

You are going to do fine! Tell them what they’re going to learn, teach to them, and then review what they learned.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comments below. I’m always modifying and updating my teaching methods.

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