Cadets advance in rank from Swab to Navigator by completing the requirements for each rank. Sailing trips will provide an opportunity to learn and practice skill requirements, but many of the skills, such as knot tying, can be learned and practiced on land. The Virtual Voyages web site is also a resource for many of the required skills. Each skill must be demonstrated on board the boat and under sail before it becomes a fulfilled requirement. Once the Cadet has demonstrated this skill, that Cadet’s card will be punched to indicate mastery.

The chart below outlines the skills acquired before rising to the next rank. Work closely with your mentor to insure your progress.

SWAB
S1	Completes Waiver Form (signed permission to sail)
S2	Gets a Mentor (parent or other adult as sailing partner)
S3	Takes a trial sail with Mentor
S4	Accepts Deckhand Punch Card and agrees to work on Deckhand Requirements
DECKHAND
D1	Follows safety procedures and rules
D2	Uses nautical terms for parts of the boat
D3	Ties a Figure 8
D4	Ties a Square Knot
D5	Ties a Bowline
D6	Ties a Clove Hitch
D7	Secures a line on a cleat
D8	Secures a line on a jam cleat
D9	Secures a line on a cam cleat
D10	Releases a line from a cam cleat
D11	Coils line and makes the coil fast
D12	Furls the mainsail
D13	Raises and lowers the mainsail
D14	Trims and eases sheets appropriately
D15	Handles jib sheets during a tack
D16	Operates a winch correctly
D17	Adds wraps to a winch safely
D18	Eases a line on a winch correctly
D19	Steers toward a visible fixed point
D20	Recognizes navigating hazards
D21	Has 12 hours of sea-time
PILOT
P1	Knows and practices all deckhand qualifications
P2	Uses nautical terms that refer to the dynamic aspects of steering and navigation
P3	Uses nautical terms that refer to the dynamic aspects of sail trim
P4	Can steer head to wind and maintain such a course under power
P5	Steers a straight course using only the compass as a guide
P6	Steers upwind guided by the sails
P7	Identifies various aids to navigation using proper nautical names
P8	Describes the characteristics (color and number) of a given aid to navigation and uses such characteristics to help determine a boat’s course
P9	Recognizes all points of sail (close hauled, close reach, reach, broad reach and run)
P10	Can explain the advantage and limitation of each point of sail
P11	Reads sail telltales
P12	Sets sails properly for each point of sail
P13	Uses a nautical chart to find boat’s location
P14	Uses a nautical chart to determine depth of water
P15	Uses a nautical chart to identify position of navigational aid
P16	Knows right-of-way rules and applies them while under way
P17	Knows how and when to shorten sail or increase sail area
P18	Can bring boat safely to a stop while under sail
P19	Can bring boat safely to a stop while under power
P20	Can swim at least 20 yards and tread water for at least 2 minutes (without a life jacket)
P21	Has 38 additional hours of sea time
NAVIGATOR
N1	Can demonstrate all Deckhand and Pilot skills
N2	Knows correct procedures for the use of the VHF radio
N3	Anchors the boat successfully in an unfamiliar anchorage
N4	Uses navigation lights properly and reads lights on other vessels accurately
N5	Operates a GPS receiver and understands how it works
N6	Can plot a course on a nautical chart to a distant destination
N7	Can sail upwind, tack, and accurately estimate the boat’s new course on the opposite tack
N8	Understands tides and currents and uses this understanding in plotting a course, planning passages and determining an ETA
N9	Understands longitude and latitude and their relationship to nautical mile
N10	Can use longitude and latitude in describing location and distance
N11	Can locate the North Star
N12	Explains how the North Star is used in navigation
N13	Knows how to recover a man overboard
N14	Knows basic right-of-way rules
N15	Knows when to shorten sail or add sail to the boat
N16	Knows how to shorten sail and can do so correctly in windy conditions
N17	Can swim at least 50 yards
N18	Treads water for at least 5 minutes, fully clothed
N19	Has completed a total of 100 hours of sea time (Inclusive of DH & Pilot time)
N20	Has completed 20 hours of Community Service

Sea-Legs, Inc · 19 Guthrie Place · New London, CT 06320