Day 1 of the CBYA Competent Crew course got underway on Monday 20th November. Five members: Helen Goldward,  Peter Wood, Karin Wieder and Romer and Carin van Bavel, went out as crew/students on the Bavaria 40 ‘Bongo’ with Carlos Carbonell – our new instructor/skipper in Xàbia and began mastering the skills of crewing a yacht.

All of the crew had sailed on yachts before, but their experience was echoed in  Peter Wood’s remark “I’ve sailed a few times but never really knew what I was doing or why. Now it’s starting to make sense“.

Everyone got a turn to  Hand, Reef and Steer the yacht as well as learn how to move around a yacht safely in lively conditions. The instruction also included learning the names of the parts of a yacht as well as naming parts of the sails and rigging – all be it in a mixture of English Spanish and Dutch!

At the end of the day, Carlos signed off each student’s log books showing that they had sailed 10 miles and spent 1 day onboard as well as reached the competencies of Day 1. One step closer to becoming a skipper

If you would like to learn to sail, and gain an accreditation, why not join the course. You can start at any stage and participate in the lessons in any order. Your competencies will be signed off as and when you achieve them. Why not also take a look at joining our RYA Day Skipper Theory course over the winter. It is all online and self paced, plus you will be able to take part in the regular workshops the club will run and get to swap knowledge and ideas with other members (as well participate in a fun social event). Contact me John Mackney at chairman@cbya.org if you are interested.