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Sailing Skills map

Sailing Skills Map & FAQ's

Expected progression across the fleets

Monohulls

Boat	How do I gain access?
Quest (two person monohull) pleasure sailor, ideal stable learning platform for two. Jib, Main, Spinnaker, Racing fleet.	Complete checkout to demonstrate existing skills or complete sailing refresher lessons to polish existing skills and attempt your check out on the last day of lessons or complete sailing beginner lessons to create skills from the ground up and attempt your check out on the last day of your lessons. In order to rig and fly the Quest asymmetrical spinnaker, you should take the Intro 2 Spinnaker lessons and attempt your check out on the last day of lessons or if you have previous experience with an asymmetrical spinnaker you could request to include it on your checkout.
Vanguard (two person monohull) pleasure sailor, ideal stable learning platform for two. Jib, Main, Racing fleet.	Complete checkout to demonstrate existing skills or complete sailing refresher lessons to polish existing skills and attempt your check out on the last day of lessons or complete sailing beginner lessons to create skills from the ground up and attempt your check out on the last day of your lessons.
Laser (single person monohull) active racing fleet, all boats are race rigged. Main.	Complete checkout to demonstrate existing skills or complete Laser & Tasar Discovery lessons and attempt your check out on the last day of lessons. You should be very comfortable sailing Quests and Vanguards before sailing this boat.
Tasar (two person monohull) active racing fleet. High performance jib, main, whisker pole, rotating mast, and more!	Complete checkout to demonstrate existing skills or complete Laser & Tasar Discovery lessons and attempt your check out on the last day of lessons. You should be very comfortable sailing Quests and Vanguards before sailing this boat.
RS500 (two person monohull) intermittent racing fleet. Jib, main, asymmetrical spinnaker. Single trapeze for crew. Crew must be comfortable to trapeze.	Complete checkout to demonstrate existing skills or complete Intro 2 Spinnaker lessons and attempt your check out on the last day of lessons. You should be very comfortable sailing Laser and Tasars before sailing this boat.
Waszp (one person monohull) growing racing fleet. Main. Skipper must be comfortable with capsizing.	Complete the Waszp lesson and demonstrate that you have learned the necessary skills to sail the Waszp with a buddy.

Catamarans

Boat	How do I gain access?
Nacra 500 (level 1 cat) jib and main, two person. May take more if small children or very light, recommend 570 if more than 2. Dual trapeze.	Complete Recreational Catamaran Level 1 checkout to demonstrate existing skills or complete Catamaran Refresher lessons to polish existing skills and attempt your check out on the last day of lessons or complete Catamaran Beginner lessons to create skills from the ground up and sail with experienced sailors until you feel ready to attempt the checkout. For single-handing access: complete checkout with righting bag. If you are a very experienced monohull dinghy sailor, you can complete a checkout without the need for specific cat lessons, but you will need to attend and pass rigging clinics and be aware that previously sailing cats with other sailors is strongly recommended.
Nacra 500 Spinnaker (level 1 cat) jib, main and spinnaker, two person. May take more if small children or very light, recommend 570 if more than 2. Dual trapeze.	Complete Recreational Catamaran Level 1 checkout to demonstrate existing skills or complete Spinnaker lessons to polish existing skills and attempt your check out on the last day of lessons or complete Catamaran Beginner lessons to create skills from the ground up and sail with experienced sailors until you feel ready to attempt the checkout. For single-handing access: complete checkout with righting bag. If you are a very experienced monohull dinghy sailor, you can complete a checkout without the need for specific cat lessons, but you will need to attend and pass rigging clinics and be aware that previously sailing cats with other sailors is strongly recommended, as well as watching the 500 spinnaker videos and have suitable general experience first.
Nacra 570 (level 1+ cat) jib and main, two person (may take up to 4 for pleasure sailing depending on weight) The 570 has a longer hull length and larger sail plan than the 500 but is otherwise identical. Dual trapeze.	Complete Recreational Catamaran Level 1 checkout to demonstrate existing skills or complete Catamaran Refresher lessons to polish existing skills and attempt your check out on the last day of lessons or complete Catamaran Beginner lessons to create skills from the ground up and sail with experienced sailors until you feel ready to attempt the checkout. For single-handing access: complete checkout with righting bag. If you are a very experienced monohull dinghy sailor, you can complete a checkout without the need for specific cat lessons, but you will need to attend and pass rigging clinics and be aware that previously sailing cats with other sailors is strongly recommended. Single-handing: obtain catamaran level 3 access.
Nacra F18 / Nacra F18 Infusion (level 3 cats). Two person only. Racing with the Nacra F18 requires both members be experienced F18 sailors. Dual trapeze.	Complete the High Performance Catamaran Level 3 checkout or Sail the 570 until comfortable in 15+knots, you should never feel out of control or in danger of capsize on the 570 (If you are capsizing you are not ready). You should also be comfortable single handing the 500 in strong winds only then attempting the checkout.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: What is a checkout?

A: This is where you take a vessel you are familiar with and safely rig, launch, do a few tacks, a few gybes, a capsize, right the boat, land, derig. After this, you can sail the boat as you wish. Checkouts do NOT teach skills. They evaluate existing skills. Fleet Captains, a Sailing Director or other members who are experienced sailors will observe your skills and give you the green light. Note, this is not a test that you sail well, that will come with time, we care that you sail safely first for your own personal safety and that of your crew, and second for the safety and maintenance of our boats.

Q: Do I need to take lessons?

A: No, you do not need lessons. You are encouraged to take them so you can improve your skills while getting feedback from a Certified Instructor. At Locarno, we believe that the best way to sail better, is sailing with other sailors more experienced than you, as much as you can. Time on the water is the key for improvement. First as crew and as you get better, you can take it in turns at the helm.

However, if you want lessons on your very own Locarno boats, we offer them, only to Sailing Fleet members, typically from April to August, weekday evenings and weekends.
On a typical year these are the lessons we may offer:
Beginner Sailing lessons(B) and Refresher Sailing Lessons(R) give you Vanguard and Quest boats access.
Laser & Tasar Discovery (LT) lessons give you access to those intermediate boats.
Intro to Racing lessons(V)will let you choose the monohull you want to race.
Intro to Catamaran (BC) will give you the basic skills to crew the Nacra 500 and 570 and take it out with an experienced skipper to build your skills to the point you will be ready to check cats out on your own.
Refresher Catamaran lessons (RC) will help you remember your forgotten skills and if you do, will give you access to Nacra 500 and 570.
Intro to Spinnaker lessons (SP) will introduce you to the RS500 and Nacra 500 Spinnaker.

Q: I just did a lesson; do I still need to checkout?

A: Maybe. Some lessons include check-outs and some don't. Attempting a check-out does not imply succeeding on it. If the lesson includes your checkout, it will be stated on its description, so please read carefully the lesson content so you can make an informed decision. If you successfully pass the check-out offered during your lesson, your instructor will let you know and inform the Director of Sailing Lessons that you passed and you are ready to take out the boats that you successfully checked out during your lesson!

Q: What is the distinction between skipper and crew?

A: As skipper you must be checked out on the boat in question. Skipper is fully responsible for the boat and his or her crew. Skipper must use judgment to select suitable crew and be confident in their ability to safely return to shore independent of their crews abilities in a capsize situation.