8 of our volunteers got together at Many Yacht Club on Saturday, 12 th June. We had a short formal course of how the radios work, and how to make them work efficiently so that our activity becomes safer, more efficient, and less hectic than we have been experiencing. We then took the radios out onto the water, 2 in a boat and practised the correct call signs and language to use in a pubic area.
All agreed that the course was useful and many had changed attitudes, now that we had the opportunity to practise in a formal way. All 8 filled out a survey describing the level they felt they had attained. There were many compliments on the excellence of the programming, preparation and teaching.
We repeated this experience for 9 people who normally volunteer at Sailability on Wednesdays or Mondays. We finished this session by taking the groups that have regular sailing sessions, practising our newly learned skills in a practical situation. Everyone remarked that in a real-life situation, the radios work well in getting people out on the water efficiently, even in the prevailing conditions last Wednesday, when the breeze was so minimal that paddles were needed at some stages.
The result was lots of fun on the water for David, Zoe, Melissa, Alex, Kane, Vanessa, Hanlon and Scott, who came with helpers: Vicki, Adrienne, Joe, Sarah, Sally, Ashief and Katerina.
- The first group.
- The first group
- Jackie and Heather practising
- Mal in Dolly Wallis
- 2nd Group
- The teacher, John Weaver
- Crew on Support Boat
- Candice and John in Vin, radio practise
- Peter and Vanessa in Black Swan
- Alex and Michael in Eli D
- David and Malcolm in Dolly Wallis
- Adrienne observing the boat
- Melissa with paddle and John in Vin
