Tackers 3 — Smooth Sailing School

Tackers 3 is the top level of Australian Sailing's Tackers program, for confident solo sailors aged 7 to 12 who have completed Tackers 2. Smooth Sailing School is a mobile learn-to-sail school: it brings its own trailer fleet, instructors and safety gear to partner yacht clubs around coastal Victoria, including Williamstown Sailing Club.

What you'll learn

Tackers 3 shifts the focus from getting around the course to getting around it well. Sailors work on:

• Sail trim and boat speed – easing the sail until it just starts to flap at the front, then pulling it back in, so it is always working as hard as it can.
• The five essentials – the checklist sailors use to go faster: sail trim, boat balance (keeping the boat flat), boat trim (fore-and-aft position of the crew), centreboard position, and course sailed.
• Roll tacking and roll gybing – using body weight to roll the boat through a turn so it keeps its speed instead of stalling.
• An introduction to racing – starting and finishing, sailing triangle and trapezoid courses, and the basic right-of-way rules.

By the end, sailors can sail independently in light to moderate winds, trim for speed and take part in short races.

How Smooth Sailing runs it

The course runs over four or five half-day sessions depending on the program, sailing solo in the school's dinghies. Instructors hold current Australian Sailing qualifications, First Aid and Working With Children checks.

What parents should know

Boats, sails and lifejackets are provided, and everyone wears an Australian Sailing-approved lifejacket at all times on the water. Bring water, a hat, a snack, a towel, clothes that can get wet, a spare set of dry clothes and shoes; a spray jacket, wetsuit and water shoes are useful if you have them. Sailing continues in light rain and fresh breezes, but if conditions are unsafe the session moves to shore-based activities, and lightning means nobody goes on the water until the sky is clear.

Who it suits

Children aged 7 to 12 who have completed Tackers 2 and are comfortable handling a boat on their own.

Where it leads

Tackers 3 is the final Tackers level. Graduates have the solo boat handling and racing basics to continue sailing and racing at a yacht club; teens who want to keep learning with Smooth Sailing can move into its OutThere programs for 12 to 17 year olds.

Full course guide

For the full Australian Sailing syllabus, see the Tackers 3 course guide.