iblog.iup.edu/iupsailing
Author: Sherwood
Assoc. Prof. of English
Co-director, Center for Digital Humanities and Culture
TA Mentoring Coordinator, Graduate Literature and Criticism
A small but courageous crew braved the 45 degree temperatures to rig up a Flying Scot and notch the first sail of 2025.
Weather permitting, IUP sailors will be out at Yellow Creek each Sunday between now nd graduation. Reach out to IUPSailing@gmail.com if you’re interested in joining us. No experience necessary.
IUP Students,
You can join the sailing club with no prior experience. IUP classmates and Prof Sherwood will teach you on the water each Sunday. At weekly club meetings we conduct a brief shore-school. Here are the slides for preview or review:
https://bit.ly/FOYC-IUP-LTS-2023
The weather is getting cooler, but we’ve had some great Sunday Sails at the lake. It’s never too late to join the IUP sailing club. We hope for a few more weeks of warm weather, then we’ll transition to bi-weekly meetings on campus to learn about shore school and make other connections with sailing. Reach out via social media or iupsailingclub@gmail.com
We have some beginners in the club and some sailors wanting to learn to race. Here are some introductory slides on the points of sail. Then we transition to how you can sail upwind for fun and in racing, by understanding your lay-lines and playing the lifts and headers. Slides
IUP sailors have the opportunity to participate in up to six regattas in Spring and Fall of 2024, as a member of the Mid-Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association. Check us out this Spring … learn to sail and (if you like) learn to race!
A first, small boat sailors may find the moves involved in a tack feel unnatural. But if you practice the motions — beginning with proper form and sitting on the windward side of the boat, it will become almost automatic.
Here’s a good breakdown of the steps in slow motion on land. This basic process holds for any size sailboat from 10 to 20 feet.* Practice this and you’ll tack consistently, and you won’t end up on the low side of the boat, tangled up in the sheet or dropping the tiller!
(*US Sailing does not emphasize easing the mainsheet to slow the boat; there may be some situations where this is a good idea. Also, I’d like to see the skipper not move the rudder so much when he is switching hands).
This second video demonstrates a few common mistakes. Avoid these!
New members are always welcome whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced racer. Sign up for our email list for general information. Active members use GroupMe to coordinate sailing times. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Crimson Connect or reach out via an email to IUPSailingClub@gmail.com