The Womanship "Sail Yourself Safely Home" clinic, conducted at yacht clubs across the country since 1987, is soon to be available on videotape.
Using a model developed by Womanship, an Annapolis company celebrating its 10th anniversary, these two-day safety workshops are offered on-board to women in their home waters through local yacht clubs, sailing associations, marinas and boatyards.
The video will feature Womanship's teaching methods. The boat is the classroom and students learn by doing. But it's about much more than sailing. Womanship's methods help women develop the confidence required to take control of the boat.
Explaining the SYSH curriculum, which the videotape will follow, Womanship founder and CEO Suzanne Pogell of Annapolis said, "Working with a 'what if' format, you will learn to think through solutions and take action, getting actual practice in basic problem solving and the use of the emergency tiller and other boat back-up systems . . . man overboard procedures, docking, using a marine radio, anchoring for storm conditions, and last, but certainly not least, adequate preventive measures."
Sailing Quarterly videotaped a "Sail Yourself Safely Home" clinic in St. Petersburg recently, and a segment of this videotape will appear in the April issue of the Sailing Quarterly video magazine.
This video will be used to promote the Womanship SYSH clinics and the full-length instructional videotape and will be available to yacht clubs and sailing associations, which have an interest in scheduling these safety workshops.
An illustrated course book will accompany the video, which will be packaged and introduced for sale at Sail Expo in Atlantic City in February. The video can be purchased before its premiere at Sail Expo at a price of $34.95; the retail price is $39.95. Allow six to eight weeks for delivery. Womanship also offers a gift &L; certificate for the video in time for the holidays. Call (410) 267-6661 or 1-800 342-6661 for information.
Last call for big savings
The new J/Port Sailing Club will waive the $1,200 initiation fee for those who join before Thursday.
J/Port, home of J/Boats Chesapeake and the J/World Sailing School, initiated the concept of its own sailing club in October.
Under the program, members pay annual dues in place of typical boat-ownership expenses, maintenance, slip fees, insurance, etc., and have the use of new J/Sprit meter boats, including J/105 performance cruisers and day-racing J/80s.
Racing programs include weeknight and weekend packages, while the J/105 package entitles members to 14 days of reserved use of the boat, in large blocks of time or spread throughout a season, with additional days of use available at 75 percent of the normal charter fee.
As part of the program, J/Port will extend the normal certification programs free of charge to a crew member of the member's choice: spouse or other family member, racing/cruising buddy, whomever.
For more information call J/Port Sailing Club, (410) 280-2038 or 1 800-357-SAIL (1 800 357-7245).