Iowa Sailing Club

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Skipper Rating in the ISC

(Revised by Bill Budelier and John Huntley. Adopted, 8/3/2004)

The Oral and Written Examination

Books that can help prepare the candidate for this exam are:

ISAF Racing Rules 2001-2004 (or thereafter as appropriate).
U.S Department of Transportation, U. S. Coast Guard, Navigation Rules, International-Inland, 2003 (or thereafter, as appropriate), Parts A and B, pp. 2-37.
David Seidman, The Complete Sailor: Learning the Art of Sailing, International Marine, Camden, ME, 1995, or any comparable book, e.g., John Rousmaniere, Annapolis Book of Seamanship; Richard Hubbard, Boater's Bowdich; or Nigel Calder, Cruising Handbook).

I. Oral part:

45 minutes; examiners will use small boat models to set up crossing and meeting situations at sea, in inland waters, or during a race, and ask candidates to explain the issues and identify both give way and stand on boats, giving justification.

II. Written part:

What are CLF, LOA, and LWL (center of lateral effort, length overall, and length water line), and how do these concepts affect leeway, hull speed, and your obligations under Coast Guard rules?
What does "broaching" mean? What causes a boat to broach? How can broaching be avoided?
In high winds, what are the safest ways to gybe a sailboat? What are the most dangerous ways?
When righting a capsized dinghy, how can one single-handedly get the capsized boat pointing into the wind?
Explain, and illustrate hypothetically, a polar graph relating point of sail to boat speed.
What is the difference between a displacement hull and a planning hull?
Explain and illustrate the vector solution that solves the relation between boat speed and direction, apparent wind speed and direction, and real wind speed and direction.
In sailboat racing, explain each of these terms: covering, blanketing, splitting tacks, lee-bow position. Explain as well how a racing skipper can use these tactics to advantage.
What's the difference between an asymmetrical and a traditional spinnaker? How are they rigged, hoisted, retrieved?
Why can an iceboat go faster than the speed of the wind driving it? And why can't a sailboat exceed the speed of the wind, or can it under special circumstances?
If you are dismasted in high winds with crew overboard, how should you respond as skipper?
What are the visual clues on land and on water by which a skipper may estimate wind speed?
What is a "cat's paw" what does it tell you about soon-to-arrive winds, and what anticipation can you make as skipper to take maximum advantage?
What is a "rhumb line" and what is a "lay line"? What factors affect the way a skipper would chart them or estimate them?
How do you right a capsized catamaran?
What considerations affect the safe towing of a disabled sailboat by means of a powered jonboat or pontoon boat?
On inland waters especially, various winds are known by various names: header, lifting wind, puffy, shifty, puffy and shifty, knock-down, wind shadow, sea breeze, land breeze, and cat's paw. Explain each term and indicate how best a skipper should deal with each kind of wind.
What does "sailing by the lee" mean and what occasions should a skipper seek or avoid "sailing by the lee"?
Give two ways to avoid rhythmic rolling ("death roll"). Tell how to control a death roll" once it starts.
What are weather helm and lee helm? What causes them? How do you prevent them? What are the problems associated with them? When can they be used to advantage?
What are the advantages of sailing a dinghy without heeling? Explain the importance of fore-and-aft trim.
What is stalling of a sail? On what point of sail is stalling most likely to have an adverse effect?
What are compass Deviation and Variation? What's the difference between True and Magnetic bearings?
How many feet in a nautical mile? How is the length of a nautical mile established? Why can the latitude scale on a Mercator chart be used to measure distance (in nm) in any direction on the chart?
What are the proper techniques for safely anchoring a sailboat?