Leadership Sail

This weekend past we had the leadership sail aboard Black Jack. It's the first time we have run a program like this and it was a great success! The purpose of the weekend was to give trainees who showed a great deal of interest in the program and their logbooks during the summer a chance to improve their skills together and think about being a leader and staying involved in the program in the future.

On Friday evening Ms Acton-Bond challenged the group to play the tarp game without speaking to each other. Everyone quickly became aware of how important communication is, because even though they have all done this before, they couldn't flip the tarp without talking! Afterwards everyone was divided into watches to go over safety drills and a brief in-house. Tall Ships' Olympics got underway with Green Watch taking the lead right away, followed by a game of manhunt around the yacht club. As the weather was foul that night, Black Jack stayed alongside that night and the trainees slept in the club house nearby.

On Saturday morning we were treated to a pancake breakfast from our XO-turned-chef Ms Acton-Bond and then Black Jack got underway. Each watch took turns standing watch on the aft deck and practicing sail handling as Black Jack motored up the river. The watch 'on watch' is responsible for helming the ship, reading the chart, standing lookout, and keeping the ship's log. While sail handling, each trainee was given the task of 'calling' a sail, which means they gave the orders needed to set or douse a sail while their shipmates worked the lines. Calling a sail is a great way to learn more about how the sail actually works, as well as giving the trainees an idea of what sail handling is like from the crew's perspective! After lunch Black Jack turned around to square sail down the river. The wind was excellent and each watch was able to get some whaler sailing in as well. After that there were 'speed-lessons' to refresh or teach some logbook skills, such as knot-tying, collision regulations, chartwork, and what the ship's lights mean. Black Jack anchored at Pinhey's Point for the night and although it was a very short session, the watches managed to come up with skits for an entertaining ship's concert, followed by watching Pirates of the Caribbean down below to escape the cold and rain.

Sunday morning was chilly so we stayed put for breakfast and happy hour, then got underway for BYC. After some heavy fog, the weather cleared and Black Jack got to do some fantastic tacking in Britannia Bay with all squares set – this requires a lot of coordination, so well done to everyone!! I hope those of you watching on shore enjoyed the sail past and cannon salutes!

Thank you to everyone who participated for a great weekend!