Next Steps

Thanks for your interest in becoming a skipper with the Manhattan Sailing Club. The Mentor Program is here to assist you in your quest to become a skipper.

Please be sure to review the Skipper Certification Test and the Skipper Agreement so you know what is expected of all MSC skippers. This will help you to evaluate your own skills and knowledge, and compare with those required to be a skipper.

Before going out on a mentor sail, you should already have and be familiar with your own:

Fully operating handheld VHF radio
Chart of the harbor
Current Eldridge tide book

Local Conditions

Much of this information can be found in Sailing Fundamentals book by Gary Jobson, which is used in the club’s Basic Sailing course. Another resource you will need is the chart of the harbor, and an Eldridge tide book, available at West Marine and other nautical stores.

Our harbor is busy and you should always be aware of traffic. You will become more familiar with the ferry traffic patterns by sailing more often in the harbor. Below is a link to assist you.

http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/ferry/html/

Safety Consciousness

This section is very important whenever you sail, but especially when sailing with our club where you take responsibility for others. Be sure to go over this information on your mentor sail.

Sailing Skills

You should feel fairly comfortable with this section before going on a mentor sail. If you are unsure of the points of sail, for example, you should go on more Fleet Captain sails until you are more comfortable. You can also take a private lesson to strengthen your sailing skills, which are offered by the club. However, mentor sails are not designed for this purpose.

Club Operations

All of this information is conveniently found on the MSC web site.

More Information

Since this is a voluntary program of members helping other members, we ask that you be considerate of other’s time. You should contact a mentor to request a mentor sail. The mentor will make the reservation for the mentor sail with the Dock Master. If you need to cancel, please be sure to contact the mentor providing plenty of notice, and let the Dock Master know that you will not be able to make it that day.

We strongly recommend that you sail with different mentors because everyone has different strengths, and you will learn something new from each mentor you meet.

Always remember, our club requires safety first and foremost. Being a skipper with the club is a privilege that carries responsibilities. You are responsible for the safety of your crew, and the safe return of the club owned vessel you will be operating.

Robin Hamm robinsailor@gmail.com