US+Sailing+Level+1+Instructor+Certification+Course

In June 2010, I attended a four-day US Sailing Level 1 Instructor certification course at Seacamp on Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys. It was a grueling four days of sun, sand, and water! Really. Throughout the course we were assesed by our Instructor Trainer (IT) on our sailing and motor boating skills during practical examinations. Because I do not have extensive motorboating experience, I was more nervous about that part of the assessment (which involved performing man-overboard rescues, high-speed stops, and maneuvering the boat backward while weaving through a series of buoys); both the sailing and motorboating assessments, however, were completed without difficulty. Additionally, each instructor candidate (IC) was asked to teach four lessons (both in the classroom and on the water) on sailing and pedagogy, with the other IC's and our IT as students. Finally, we were asked to complete three written exams, on which I earned a 100%, 100%, and 96%. Of course, after being at Ransom Everglades for six years now, I was sorely disappointed at missing the Triple Crown by four percentage points! Still, I am proud that I was able to earn a most valuable certification for our MS sailing program. On-the-water instruction (especially when it involves large, moving bars of metal swinging close to kids' heads) inherently has a certain degree of risk and danger, but the instruction, assessments, and actual certification provided in this course has given me a great deal of experience and confidence in my position as the MS Sailing coordinator. Leslie Morris