Basic Keelboat Training Program – Katie Harrison, River Training Coordinator

CONTENTS: PSC Basic Sailing Classes 2012 Basic Keelboat Class Schedule New Directions to Marina Sail Training Registration Form (word doc) PSC Rate Schedule Click here for photos from our earlier classes.

River Training Coordinator Katie Harrison

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Pentagon Sailing Club Basic Keelboat Training (aka River Training Program)

The Pentagon Sailing Club, based out of the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB) Capitol Cove Marina, offers Basic sailing courses on the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. We conduct the training aboard our own small keelboat sailing sloops, which range between 22 and 24 feet. All have outboard motors, a full complement of sails, and sparse accommodations below deck. Completion of our Basic sailing program results in the award of the U.S. Navy Basic Keelboat Skipper (B-KBS) certification. It also results in the award of ASA 101 and 103.  This certification is commensurate with US Sailing basic sailing programs.

The Basic Keelboat Skipper (B-KBS) course is conducted over two consecutive weekends (approximately 32 hours on the water) and two evening classes conducted once each week between 7:00 & 9:00 PM before each weekend class. The course has a written test as well as a practical On-The-Water (OTW) Evaluation. Typically, a class has about 15 students, with three students and one instructor per boat. The cost for these classes (see PSC Rate Schedule) includes the textbook, logbook and other course materials.  Costs help to offset class materials and boat expenses. We are confident you'll find this cost is significantly less than comparable commercial programs, representing the all-volunteer-instructor basis of PSC training.

Upon successful completion of the course, you will have the minimum skills necessary to safely skipper a small keelboat in designated, inshore waters, during moderate conditions.  Additionally, upon the recommendation of the Senior Instructor and approval of the Training Commodore, you will be qualified to check-out one of PSC’s small keelboats for personal use.

The club also has basic keelboat skipper challenge procedure, where a member with previous training and experience can be awarded the B-KBS qualification without taking the course.  The challenge involves an on-the-water evaluation by a club instructor and successful completion of the B-KBS written exam.  The cost for challenging the B-KBS qualification is $50.

The B-KBS courses are easily our most popular events.  Make your reservations today so that you don't miss out!  Contact Katie Harrison, the PSC River Training Coordinator for more information.

Rick Robey
Training Commodore

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How to sign up for Basic Sailing Classes:

1. Check the calendar to see when Basic Sailing Classes are scheduled.
2. Print and fill out a Sail Training Registration Form for the class.
3. Mail your completed Sail Training Registration Form and your payment to:

    Roger Hammer
    PSC Treasurer
    13130 Triple Crown Loop
    Gainesville, VA  20155

Note 1: Cost is posted on the PSC Rate Schedule Page. Make checks payable to Pentagon Sailing Club and specify for which class. Sign up early so you will not miss out!

Note 2: At Pentagon Sailing, when signing up for any event (River Training, Bay Sails, Winter Training), your reservation priority is determined by the date of the postmark on your envelope (see Note 4 below).  Please do not send an email to the responsible coordinator to “pencil you in.”  We do not “pencil people in” until the Treasurer receives your money and your form.

 

Note 3: For River Events, the fee will be refunded in full, if the notice of your cancellation occurs more than 14 days before the activity start date.   The fee will not be refunded if cancellation occurs within fourteen days, unless the student finds a replacement.  PSC will assist with, but will not be responsible for, finding a replacement.  No refunds will be granted for failing to complete classes, but arrangements will be made for students who are struggling.

 

Note 4: Please do not send a note to any of the club officers or coordinators asking if “space is available for a B-KBS class”. The answer is that “we don’t really know.” Our process is that all Winter Training, Bay Sail, and River/B-KBS training forms go to our mailbox at L’Enfant Plaza, where the Treasurer makes at least one trip a week to pick up the contents. We could have as many as 50 enrollments sitting in that box. PSC processes about 600 check/form envelopes per year. Your priority in the line is based on the postmark of your envelope, which contains your registration form and check. We do not accept credit cards.

The Treasurer annotates the check number and date of postmark on the registration form, scans it, and sends it to the River Coordinator. Once the River Coordinator fills out her spreadsheet, she ascertains whether we have met the maximum of fifteen students per class. Once she has done that, she notifies the Communications Commodore, who updates the web site to note that the event is “full”.

If we were to tell you that “there are five spaces remaining in the May class”, and based on that information you sent in a registration form in the mail box, you could well end up on the wait list, if there were five registration forms sitting in that mailbox. The priority is not based on when you inquired about the sail or when the form was received by the coordinator. For example, person A may have mailed the form while TDY in Hawaii, while B mailed it two days later from DC. B’s letter may have hit the mailbox first, but A wins because of his postmark date.

Once we have your form and money in hand, we can start negotiating. For example, we could put you into a June or later class. If you are registering for training for multiple people, again, we cannot hold a spot for you until the check and form are in hand. Once received, if there are no spaces in the chosen dates, then we will put you on a wait list, schedule an alternative option or date, or refund your money. But asking about the availability of a date is a moot question. If the class says “full”, then there are definitely no seats availability. If it is still open, then the class may or not have spaces depending on how many checks and registration forms are “in route.”

In general, our May class fills up in early February. Our subsequent classes fill up at one month intervals until around the first of June, when all of the B-KBS classes through October are filled.
 

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2012 Basic Keelboat (B-KBS) Class Schedule:

        Class No. 1

                    Evening Classroom Sessions - Tuesday, 1 May and Tuesday, 15 May (7:00 PM-9:00 PM) Immanuel Bible Church, 6911 Braddock Road, Springfield, VA

                    Weekend On-The-Water Sessions - Saturday/Sunday – 5/6 May and 19/20 May (8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, at Capital Cove Marina, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling [JBAB])
                    Note: This class skips a week between class sessions to avoid conflict with Mothers' Day weekend (12/13 May)

        Class No. 2  

                    Evening Classroom Sessions - Tuesday, 29 May and Tuesday, 5 June (7:00 PM-9:00 PM) Immanuel Bible Church, 6911 Braddock Road, Springfield, VA
                    Weekend On-The-Water Sessions - Saturday/Sunday – 2/3 June and 9/10 June (8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, at Capital Cove Marina, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling [JBAB])

        Class No. 3
                    Evening Classroom Sessions - Wednesday, 8 August and Wednesday, 15 August (7:00 PM-9:00 PM) Immanuel Bible Church, 6911 Braddock Road, Springfield, VA

                    Weekend On-The-Water Sessions - Saturday/Sunday – 11/12 August and 18/19 August (8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, at Capital Cove Marina, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling [JBAB])

        Class No. 4

                    Evening Classroom Sessions - Tuesday, 11 September and Tuesday, 18 September (7:00 PM-9:00 PM) Immanuel Bible Church, 6911 Braddock Road, Springfield, VA

                    Weekend On-The-Water Sessions - Saturday/Sunday – 15/16 September and 22/23 September (8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, at Capital Cove Marina, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling [JBAB])

        Class No. 5
                    Evening Classroom Sessions - Tuesday, 9 October and Tuesday, 16 October (7:00 PM-9:00 PM) Immanuel Bible Church, 6911 Braddock Road, Springfield, VA

                    Weekend On-The-Water Sessions - Saturday/Sunday – 13/14 October and 20/21 October (8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, at Capital Cove Marina, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling [JBAB])