| Academics |
Course Description
The core components of this voyage, lie in experiential leadership. Each student should come to the course prepared to have an incredible experience, oftentimes life-altering and always memorable.
We use the sailing boat as the ideal platform from which to teach leadership. The smooth operation of a 50-foot boat loaded with students of different backgrounds and different personalities is totally dependent on the leadership – in this case, the students themselves. This program is different from most other sailing-based programs we offer in that the decision-making, while facilitated by the staff, is up to the students. Each student will be expected to perform the duties of the leader, and throughout the course we’ll discuss just how, exactly, a good leader does this successfully.
Practically speaking, each student will become a real sailor, learned through real experience on the high seas. They’ll become proficient at all aspects of running the boat, and from Day One will be expected to participate in each. They’ll go home with several IYT Yachting certifications, and will be well on their way towards earning a captain’s license if the salt air happens to get them hooked.
Living aboard and sailing a 50-foot yacht provides the ideal platform for introducing and developing leadership. Efficiently operating a sailing boat combines military-like leadership structures and responsibilities with the freedom to go where the wind takes us. Decisions made aboard ship are at once debatable yet absolute, and there is no better way to learn leadership than by experiencing it.
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Course Objectives/Outcomes
By completion of the course, each student will:
- Be able to confidently perform all aspects of shipboard living.
- Learn several forms of navigation, from coastal and GPS to a celestial intro.
- Be able to perform duties of both captain and crew on a 50-foot yacht.
- Sail a Laser sailing dinghy unaccompanied.
- Be proficient in VHF radio communication.
- Have the opportunity to visit nearly every island in the chain of the Caribbean, volunteering for the less fortunate and exploring incredible cultures and scenery.
- Learn what it takes to make a good follower – an essential trait of all good leaders.
- Have a greater understanding of the logistics behind a fairly major expedition, and be an integral part of its leadership.
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Lecture Topics
- “Yacht Orientation”: Intro to Shipboard Life
- Yacht Walkthrough & Nautical Terminology
- Intro to Sailing: Points of Sail, Sail Trim, etc.
- Upwind & Downwind Sailing Theory
- Chart Plotting & Passage Planning
- Coastal Navigation
- Celestial Navigation Intro.
- Rules of the Road & Racing Rules
- Yacht Maintenance (Including Engine Basics)
- Dinghy School
- Radio Operator School
- Night Sailing, Watch Rotations & Offshore Safety
- Leadership Theories: Natural v. Learned Leadership
- Shipboard Leadership: Roles & Responsibilities
- Followership: Learning Leadership Through Following
- Leadership Practical
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Practical Experience
- ‘Captain of the Day’
- Student-planned open-ended portion
- Hands-on sail training from Day One
- Shoreside leadership: island exploration & logistics
- Shoreside Community Service
- Multiple overnight sailing passages w/ Watch Rotation
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