Newsletter for Sailing Instructors
Spring 2010
Welcome back,
It's been a busy this winter... expanding the Ashoreschool.com web site. Here is an update on the improvements we made to make this the "Ultimate resource for the new sailor."
Spring 2010
Welcome back,
It's been a busy this winter... expanding the Ashoreschool.com web site. Here is an update on the improvements we made to make this the "Ultimate resource for the new sailor."
LEARN: Free interactive sailing lessons will take you from an absolute beginner to a confident sailing student who can communicate well with your instructor and classmates.
READ: The electronic version of
L&A's Seafaring, Latitude 38, Carolina Currents,48 Degrees North, Points East, Great Lakes Scuttbutt, Southwinds, Caribbean Compass, Spinsheet, and Ocean Navigator.
L&A's Seafaring, Latitude 38, Carolina Currents,48 Degrees North, Points East, Great Lakes Scuttbutt, Southwinds, Caribbean Compass, Spinsheet, and Ocean Navigator.
DEFINE: Understand the definitions of common nautical words and phrases
CHECK: Five ready-to-use Day Sail checklists that can be viewed for FREE on your iPhone or any other Web - Enabled - Device
EXPERIENCE is a great teacher, and this is a excellent place to start. In this section we bring you the experiences of thousands of miles of sailing, without leaving your seat.
CHART: 1018 NOAA charts over Google Maps, with US Coast Guard Navigation Aids and NOAA Chart 1 Symbols. Makes it the perfect tool for students exploring any US coastline
WATCH: Expanded section includes dozens of excellent videos involving sailing training, knot tying, racing, bloopers, and fun commentary presented in High Definition.
UNDERSTAND: Our Points of Sail lesson clearly illustrates not only the Point of Sail and the Mainsail position, it also includes the tack, the wind angle, and the masthead wind direction.
PLAN: Where do you go once you have learned sail? These great websites will help you plan you future behind the helm.
PREDICT: Weather Dashboard Includes all the resources you need to keep an eye on the weather on the water or ashore.
SEE: Increase your comfort level and confidence with sailboat images identifying key areas of a sailboat.
SAY: We welcome your comments and ideas. If something needs to be clarified, or you think it's great, just drop us a note and tell us...
MAIN: Return to Port
Interactive Lessons
This spring we completely reorganized the indexing for the FREE interactive sailing lessons. In addition, we added more content; NOAA's lessons on Weather and Tides. As always these tutorials are structured in a vocabulary building format, advancing step by step over multiple sections. As a result, your instructor lead course material will become much easier to understand. This section is packed with nearly 600 illustrations!
The Newsstand
We told the publishers of the best cruising, racing, and regional boating magazines what we were doing and they were more than happy to contribute the electronic version of their magazines and newspapers. These "Web Publications" are filled with excellent articles covering wonderful places your student can add to their personal "100 Places to Sail" list. Publications include: Latitude and Attitude's Seafaring, Latitude 38, Carolina Currents, 48 Degrees North, Points East, Southwinds, Great Lakes Scuttlebutt, Caribbean Compass, Spinsheet, All At Sea, and Ocean Navigator.
Marine GeoGarage 2010
When we first saw the Marine GeoGarage we knew it would be perfect for the sailor learning the basics of charting and navigation symbols, and we are now one of the first to display it in its new format. By laying over 1000 NOAA charts over Google Maps, the Marine GeoGarage allows your students to effortlessly visualize the details. GeoGarage just added route charting and export to Garmin to improve the experience. We added tools like the US Coast Guard Navigation Aids and NOAA Chart 1 Symbols to the screen, making it the perfect tool for students exploring any coastline in America.
Knot Your Average Videos
We just expanded this section to include dozens excellent videos involving sailing training, knot tying, racing, bloopers, and fun commentary presented in High Definition. All the videos are organized and present in our clean, uncluttered format. Learn, laugh, and most important: Enjoy!
Voyage Planning
Once your students pass their bareboat course... where can they go? Find the best places to sail, and itineraries for charter bases around the globe. Those interested in cruising the Pacific Northwest, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, the Mediterranean will find Quick Maps plus the new FREE 8 1/2 x 11 NOAA Printable Charts covering the US coastal waters. We have also included the Active Captain Cruising Guide, Coastal Tidal Charts, AIS demos, and articles from many sources.
The Weather Dashboard
The Ultimate Sailing Weather Page: Includes weather snapshots from 14 key sailing areas, plus global weather map with 5 day forecasts. With just a click or two, your students can check shore and marine conditions included wind speed and direction, wave height, atmospheric pressure, air and water temperature and forecasts. There is also an excellent library of weather resource links were collected and contributed by Bill Biewenga. We have just been approved to be the beta test site for the new NAVWX, the Weather Station for Coastal Navigators.
Automatic Identification System (AIS)
If your students are considering sailing in congested waters, they probably have heard about Automatic Identification System (AIS)... Now they can experience it from their laptop! Marinetraffic.com has built this exciting learning tool, and we have combined it with the US Coast Guard's explanation of the fundamentals of how AIS works. In addition, we have added several articles and a podcast that can be downloaded and listen to.
Ashoreschool.com has expanded based on feedback from our readers and your students. We hope you will continue to refer your students and friends all summer, We have some wonderful new sections planned, so stay tuned.
Thank you for your involvement.
Tom and Marilyn.
www.ashoreschool.com