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~ A Cut Above ~

John McCauley, who took our Introductory Sailing Course in May 2023, sent the following comments:

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The text and materials for my Introductory Sailing Class were excellent, especially when combined with the online videos. Reading the materials and watching the videos definitely made the experience on the boat more meaningful.

Captain Mummert was deliberate and methodical, and was organized in the way we went about the different parts of the day. We all got a chance to work on the different learning tasks. He was obviously very knowledgeable and experienced. He had an appropriate focus on safety. He was satisfactory in every way.

I bought a 17' center console boat, and was a total novice. I wanted to learn some basic knots. I found multiple Youtube videos on tying a cleat hitch. Tom Tursi's video was hands down the best. It had a careful, step by step approach and an emphasis on doing things the right way. I got a sense from that video that the Maryland School might be the kind of place that would be the right place for me if I decided to take up sailing. That led me to other videos, all of which were equally thorough with an emphasis on doing things the right way. I am sure I watched the winch handling video multiple times, plus others on chart navigation, navigation aids, use of the sextant, and others. All of them seem to have a quality of striving for excellence and self-reliance. That appealed to me.

My one-day intro class did not give me a fair test of whether I would be able to handle sailing. My greatest concern is the risk of sea sickness, which has plagued many of my nautical adventures. The intro class unfortunately was on a day with almost no wind and calm seas, so I don't think I had genuine chance to test my sea legs--and the effectiveness of the ginger I had with me to prevent sea sickness. So I am pretty sure I would like to take the course 101 course to see how I do. If that works out, I would ideally want to advance all the way through the courses to 108. Being able to sail over the ocean to a far destination is something that I really would like to do, but I need to be realistic and take it one step at time.

~ John McCauley
 

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