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This
Season's Clinics Announced |
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Spring
Training Isn't Just For Baseball Players!
No matter
how long you've been sailing or whether you've just started out,
join us in our clinics for specialized focused training in an area
of your choice! Step off the "Corporate Treadmill", dust off your
sailing dreams and update your plans to get you where you dream to
be by this time next season!
This Season's Clinics:
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Anchoring I |
Single Anchor |
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Anchoring II |
Multiple Anchors |
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Maneuvering I |
Power Stopping, Holding Position Against Wind/Current, Picking up
Moorings |
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Maneuvering II |
Use of "Prop Walk",
Confined Space "K" Turns & Pivots, Backing and Filling |
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Docking I |
Determining Stopping Distance,
Docking/Departing Basics and 45º
Approaches |
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Docking II |
Backing Docking, Solo
Docking/Departing and 90º
Approaches (Storm Docking) |
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Spinnaker I |
Spinnaker Theory
and Basics (No Mainsail-Takedown/Sets on
same side) |
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Spinnaker II |
Spinnaker Theory
and Basics (w/
Mainsail-Takedown/Sets on opposite sides) |
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| Crew
Overboard |
Crew
Rescue Using Figure-8 and Deep Beam Reach Maneuvers |
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2005 Crew
Overboard Symposium Recap |
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If you've
read a sailing magazine during the past couple of years, you've
seen
varying accounts of the findings from the massive effort in San
Francisco to assess the effectiveness of various crew overboard
recovery devices and maneuvering procedures.
In June of
2006 John
Rousmaniere, author of
Annapolis Book of Seamanship,
published
his findings and opinions from the symposium. If you have a
high speed internet connection you can download the 1 meg report.
(Click Here)
Fifteen different boats ranging
from 21 to 53 feet participated, including a dozen sailboats and
three powerboats, making this the largest ever crew overboard/rescue
trial with a representative range of American boats.
At issue was an
attempt to determine whether the Quick Stop, Fast Return, Figure-8
or Deep Beam Reach crew overboard recovery technique was more
effective, easily executed, and provided the greatest margin for
safety across the broadest spectrum of skill sets, boat designs and
sea states.
The winner
was...... well it just depends. It depends on crew
experience, season, sea state, condition of the victim, water
temperature, physical ability of the rescue crew and the type of life
jacket the victim was wearing....or not.
As a result of
these findings, A.S.A. and the U.S. Sailing Association have
recently approved the inclusion of additional crew rescue maneuvers. New this season
you'll see our staff introducing the Deep Beam Reach
approach in addition to our Figure-8 instruction.
One could make an argument for any of the techniques, but our staff
unilaterally agree that the Figure-8 and Deep Beam Reach techniques
best represent the most effective and efficient recovery techniques
for our local waters. You may want to review the entire report
so that you can become familiar with the advantages/disadvantages of
each technique and develop an appreciation for why we've selected
the two "Point of Sail" maneuvers instead of the two "Turning"
maneuvers. |
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Basic
Coastal Cruising;
at the coast |
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Come join
our coastal certification classes. Unlike Basic Keelboat
Sailing, "Coastal Cruising" certification implies that you can
successfully and proactively command a sailing vessel in coastal
waters and understand tides, currents, coastal
weather systems, navigational buoys and navigating commercial
traffic like professional sailors. DON'T BE FOOLED by
programs offering minimal preparation for certifications. We
could offer Basic Coastal Cruising certification programs on Lake
Lanier, but a lake cannot provide the opportunities to gain
relevant experience from which sound judgment is acquired that
prepares students to safely sail at the coast. There is a
world of difference between lake sailing and preparing for the
coast. The reputation and quality of our programs are not
intended to meet minimal certification standards. Minimal
training might not provide the safety your family requires.
The choice is yours, but don't lose sight of your primary objective;
safe and knowledgeable boating for you and your loved ones. Come
join our 4/16-4/20 program for $475 for 20 hours of real Coastal
Cruising or $800 for Bareboat Charter training;
at the coast! |
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Ready To Go
Chartering But Can't Afford The Boat? |
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Windsong has
students who own sailboats in charter service with
Conch Charters and Sunsail Yacht Charters around the world.
Each
yacht owner is allotted several weeks charter at any Sunsail base
around the world! Often owners
find that they are unable to use all their time and
make unused weeks available to other Windsong students at
considerable discounts.
This program is explained on our web
site
under the heading
"Bareboat Charter Discounts"
http://www.windsongsail.com/2/waterSpecial.aspx
In order to qualify for these
discounts
initial contact must be through Windsong,
NOT through
Sunsail or Conch Charters.
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Windsong Events |
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Our Instructors Take
Honors! |
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Jim Chambers
and his crew aboard
Snowfox won FIRST IN CLASS
in the St Petersburg National
Open-Water One Design
Championship in February. |
Last year's Dogwood Regatta was
won by Jim Chambers with
Tom Broome among his crew.
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Bill Rountree took FIRST IN
CLASS
at last season's Reggae Regatta
in his Melges 24.
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Join Us For This
Season's Sunset Cruises! |
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May 17th
Corporate magician Joe M. Turner
(www.turnermagic.com)
will entertain us on our May cruise.
Joe’s combination of sleight-of-hand and mental magic has been featured
everywhere from Massachusetts to Maui – and has put him in high demand by
like Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Pratt & Whitney, and hundreds of
others. Joe’s application of magic to corporate messaging was featured on
CNN Headline News. He performs at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, the
Dickens Parlour Theatre in Atlantic City, and in his own one-man show,
Shenanigans, at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta.
With Joe’s warm, witty personality and
world-class sleight-of-hand skills, this will be a cruise to enjoy and
remember! |
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June 14th Bill Kahler
(www.BillKahler.com)
will
be returning for his fourth season by popular demand as one of our Sunset Cruise
entertainers.
Bill is a singer
songwriter who has been compared to Van Morrison, James Taylor, John
Hyatt, Kenny Loggins and David Wilcox. Bill has shared the stage
with Branford Marsalis, Joe Sample, Three Dog Night, Paul Reisler, Darrell
Scott, and Matthew Kahler, to name a few.
Bill has written
several "nautical" songs per my request and they're all quite good! His warm vocals deliver
the lyrics of well crafted, earthy, heartfelt songs performed by guitar,
sax, mandolin, accordion and piano. Bring some cash because you're
going to want to take some CDs home with you in memory of the delightful
evening.
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July 3rd
Each year
we participate in a unique opportunity on Lanier to observe the Fireworks
Show conducted by University Yacht Club on Lanier. This is one of
our most popular outings. Participants experience the
brilliance of the spectacular show from our boats situated in the bay
within excellent ear and eye shot. If you've never experienced a
fireworks show while on the water you've missed the best seats possible.
The reflection of the explosions light up the waters around you and
the percussions of the show echo across the waters.
Since
this annual event occurs the day before July 4th there are no traffic
jams or crowds to contend with.
You do
not want to "Miss The Boat" for this event. Make your reservations
TODAY! |
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July 12th Jesse Milton
will be returning to amaze us again for his third season with his unique mental
abilities.
When
Milton is around, some unusual things happen. The belief in the impossible
is kindled and intuition is ignited. Everybody has a great time.
Milton is a cerebral entertainer who can:
- Discern names, numbers, and important years
from the past
- Intuitively predict mental images, and
perceptively discover things about individual personalities
- Show participants how their own intuition can
be set ablaze
Milton is NOT a mind reader, but his engaging
and light presentation is filled with surprises, bizarre phenomena, and
audience participation. The audience will warm up quickly, and will
find out things about each other they never knew. |
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Sept 13th
If you
prefer the melodic sounds of nature over those human engineered, this is the
Nature Sunset Cruise for you. Great scenery, some quiet sailing,
snacks and conversation are the highlights that set this outing apart from
the others. If you're looking for some quiet escape time behind the
helm, trimming the sails or merely sitting in our special "Couples ONLY Seats" area at the bow of our boat, this trip is for you! |
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October
11th
Whether you believe in
Ghosts or not you'll want to join our annual "Ghosts of Lanier Cruise" in
October!
The fourth annual "Ghosts
of Lanier Cruise" is a unique sail down Lanier while participating in
Ghostly games and stories. Come enjoy this
unique
3-hr evening on Lanier and enchanting sail tales of the history of Lanier and that era
prior to the construction of the dam. You don't want to miss this
event! Bring your own creative minds and participate in the
story telling! |
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So What's Been Going
On? |
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HATE THAT SPAM? |
| Ever noticed
that all official Windsong emails have the word "WINDSONG:" in the
subject? That's so that you can use an email filter or rule to intercept and
redirect Windsong emails into a dedicated folder based upon this
trait. That way we won't ever wind up in your SPAM folders or
accidentally deleted. This is actually a two-way street. Any
replies from you will automatically contain the same identifier in the
subject and we can prevent it's accidental deletion as well. So any
emails from you to us should contain the word "WINDSONG" in the
subject or you risk censure by our anti spam software. Daily we
receive just over 800 SPAM emails and find the use of filtering software
imperative. Don't risk losing our emails, filter TODAY!
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Friends
don't let their friends go through life
without experiencing
sailing!
Invite
someone to join you today! |
| PLEASE,
REACH OUT AND TOUCH US,
We're listening!! |
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Many times
students' suggestions are implemented on the spot!
We pride ourselves in our customer service and attention to the needs of our
students. If you have thoughts or ideas, drop us a line or give us a call.
All things are possible; you simply need to
ask.
Thanks!
I'd like to take
this opportunity to thank all our students for their loyal support through the
seasons and encourage
everyone to bring one new friend along each year as you
sail. As we grow and expand our operation, we want
to make our products
and services available to all who may be interested, but someone has to make the
introduction.
Share the love of your sport with those who may be
interested in our unique collection of programs.
You'll be glad you did and so
will they! |
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