Day 1: About Being Smooth - Your child is learning how to:
Rowing
- Sit up tall and brace their back while hanging on the oars.
- Simultaneously push with their legs and swing with their back.
- At the end of the stroke, quickly shift their body weight toward the stern.
- Slowly glide up the slide for the next stroke, moving at the speed of the water.
- Steer, turn, back, and quickly stop the boat so they could rent equipment elsewhere.
Kayaking
- Safely enter and exit the kayak using their paddle as a bridge.
- Have a soft grip on the paddle.
- Push more with their upper paddling hand than they pull with their lower hand.
- Rotate their chest, without moving their head, as they drive the boat through the water.
- Let their shoulder shrug at the end of the stroke as they take the paddle out of the water.
- Keep their upper hand chin height on the drive, rather than above their head.
Sailing
- Help rig the sailboat before leaving the dock.
- Sort out the sheets (lines) for easy maneuvering when under way.
- Position the boat into the wind as they push off the dock.
- Turn the boat into the wind (tack), with smooth fluid tiller movements.
- Instruct their boat mates about when they are preparing to turn.
- Also turn the boat away from the wind (jibe) without snapping the sails too much.
- Learn how to pick a target on land to steer toward (dead reckon).
- Keep their eyes constantly moving in all directions for oncoming boats.
