Helm training

Regular Sunday morning helm training session to bring up new helmspeople in a specialised role. Training involved a continuation of the exercise on the poles at the end of the pole moorings from last time where the vessel is manoeuvred from pole to pole, swinging from bow to stern and vice-versa attached to lines. This is a good exercise in not only controlling the vessel in a constrained environment but also teamwork and effective communication/coordination. Opposing wind and tide made things a little more challenging today.

The second excercise was to weave between the bridge piles in and against a strong tidal current. Variations included forward through one gap, reverse through the next. Same but facing the opposite direction against the current. Driving forward and weaving through within the tight turning circle. Complicating parameters to the excercise were that the stern was not to go further than 3m past the pile and the bow was to pass within a metre. The aim was to get the helmsperson to effectively "ferry glide" across the current and compensate for the extra forces the current puts on the bow, etc.