YCC Level 2: Surprise Course

Eligibility

Any active YCC member who:

• holds an Yngling licence, and
• holds another YCC licence
• has been offered a place to the course via the lottery
• has successfully enrolled for the course.

Contents of the Course

The Surprise course prepares for sailing Surprise, J80, J70 and the Surprise test. Once you have passed this test and passed the official Swiss inshore license for sailing a boat with more than 15 m² of sail, you are entitled to use the YCC Surprises as skipper. The course consists of:

• theory classes;
• 8 practical classes on a Surprise;
• explanation of the handling of an outboard engine;
• practice sessions on Thursday evenings;
• optional participation in a regatta;
• help in maintenance of the boats, if requested.

• understand sailing terminology;
• have recent practical sailing experience on keel-boats or dinghies;
• be able to make bow-line, figure-of-eight and reefing knots;
• know the priority regulations on the lake as summarised in the booklet Naviguez sur les eaux suisses !, and given in full in the LNI and ONI;
• know the YCC rules.

Theory Class

The theory class for keel-boats covers:

• sailing techniques for keel-boats;
• sail adjustments;
• main regatta rules.

Practical Classes

These sailing outings take place under the responsibility of your teacher. You will be sailing on Surprise/J80/J70. The program of the course is:

• rigging and unrigging the boat;
• manoeuvring in the harbour by engine and by sail without colliding with obstacles in the channels and other boats;
• mooring the boat, also in an unknown harbour;
• choosing sails appropriate for the expected wind conditions;
• taking a reef in the main and changing the foresail while sailing;
• taking the helm, anticipating waves, optimising speed;
• optimisation of the sail trim at close haul and broad reach;
• sailing at constant heeling, absorbing gusts by using the main sail traveller and the main sheet;
• roll-tack and limiting loss of speed while tacking;
• hoisting the spinnaker while bearing away and hoisting the spinnaker after a tack (tack-set) or a gybe (gybe-set) at a regatta mark;
• performing a gybe, with and without spinnaker;
• prevention of and recovery from a broach;
• sailing a regatta course: taking the start, approach and rounding of buoys;
• stopping the boat within a few metres of a given place;
• heaving-to;
• recovering crew from the water with a man-overboard manoeuvre;
• use of the navigation lights;
• anchoring.

You will, as a rule, have 1 practical class per week between 18:00 and 21:00, but the actual end is at the discretion of the teacher.

Maintenance

Taking part in maintenance is helpful to better understand the functioning of the boats.