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 the
Surprise test and sailing Surprise, J80, J70.
Once you have passed this test and fulfil the Swiss requirements
for sailing a boat with more than 15 m2 of sail,
you are entitled to use the YCC Surprise's as skipper.
The course consists of:
- theory classes;
- 8 practical classes on a Surprise;
- explanation of the handling of an outboard engine;
- 5 practice sessions on Thursday evenings;
- optional participation in a regatta;
- help in maintenance of the boats, if requested.
Participants in the Surprise course are deemed to:
- 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 usually be sailing on a Surprise, but occasionally also other boats
may be used.
The program of the course is:
- rigging and unrigging the boat;
- use of the navigation lights;
- 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;
- recovering crew from the water with a man-overboard manoeuvre;
- anchoring.
You will, as a rule, have 1 practical class per week between 18:00 and 21:00.
Maintenance
Taking part in maintenance is helpful to better understand the
functioning of the boats.
Last modified on December 2023, FM.