The Royal Canadian Navy’s Sail Training

When you walk down a small jetty at the Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, you’ll spot a group of RHIBS and four immaculately maintained sailboats. The two CS 36s and two Bavaria 45Cs make up the western Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) sail training component—boats on which the RCN teaches navy staff of all ages and ranks to sail, race and have fun.

The two CSs, Goldcrest and Tuna, are seasoned vessels with the traditional look of fibreglass sailboats built in the 1980s. They have served for years in sail training and have represented the RCN in Swiftsure, the Van Isle 360 and around-the-buoys races. They have a full suite of cruising and racing sails. The two Bavarias joined the Navy’s small sailing fleet last fall and have greatly increased sail training opportunities. Named after two raptors, Eagle and Osprey, these two gleaming sailboats sport the plumb bow, twin helm stations, 4.5-metre beam and square cockpit and transom of today’s modern designs. When the boats are stationary, the transom folds down to serve as a swim platform. The Bavarias can deploy both an overlapping or a self-tacking jib, and their sail inventory includes two asymmetric spinnakers, two code zeroes and two mainsails. Additional sails for the boats are stored at the onshore sail loft. All four RCN vessels meet the World Sailing Offshore Special Regulations. These include the standards for stability, pulpits, stanchions, lifelines, communications equipment, GPS, radar, AIS, flashlights, searchlights and grab bags.

The RCN considers the BC marine environment, with its thousands of islands, waterways, tides, currents, variable winds, busy ferry and ship traffic to be well suited for sail training. And the fact that Commander Maritime Forces Pacific RAdm Christopher Robinson is patron of the International Military Sports Council, which brings together military personnel from 141 nations through sports, helps emphasize the value of sail training.

SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL, navies used wood, canvas and trade winds to cross oceans, engage in trade and wage war. Sailors became expert at handling square-rigged, multi-masted vessels and developed numerous skills, as well as hardiness and discipline. But the fabric of ships changed after 1765, when James Watt took a walk “On the Green of Glasgow…on a Sabbath afternoon, thinking upon the engine.” His “thinking” converted the steam engine into an efficient, cost-effective machine and by the early 19th century, it launched the Industrial Revolution with all its qualities and frailties. The transition from wind-propelled wooden ships lasted a century, during which iron, then steel ships powered by fossil fuels replaced wood and canvas.

Recreational sailing—known as yachting—kept pace, although in earlier days it was the sport of kings and wealthy aristocrats. Emerging yacht clubs harked back to naval ceremonies like opening day and sail pasts and organized regattas with all the pomp of naval fleets. The next phase of recreational sailing emerged in the mid-20th century, when the marriage of fibreglass and resin spawned mass production and democratized boating, allowing everyone to own a boat.

Today’s navies rely on highly technical steel ships, yet many, including the RCN, still offer sail training on small boats. For decades, the 1921-built, 102-foot ketch HMCS Oriole provided sail training from Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt. She was the longest-standing Swiftsure race vessel and the longest serving commissioned ship in the RCN. Well-known for the stylized depiction of an oriole on her spinnaker, she now lives in Halifax, sails the Atlantic Coast and shows her ensign in the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes.

The RCN continues to see great value in sail training for its big ship “sailors” (much traditional terminology survives in the computer age, although some “navy speak” carries over to the sailboats). Former sail-training commander, Chris Maier, who sails a Ranger 33, said, “sail training, although not mandatory, will always be part of the RCN. The Navy focuses on vocational training, of course, but also seeks to build character and leadership skills. We define leadership as developing courage, accountability, integrity, reliability, and resilience—plus, trust in others.” He explained that those skills are in full view on a sailboat. “The trainees are accountable to each other,” he said. “On the war ships, there are a thousand tasks and the Navy breaks down these tasks. Sailors learn a specific skill, navigation for example, and they excel at that task. But on a sailboat,” Chris continued, “trainees must work together to get the boat moving by raising and dousing sails, reefing, deploying a spinnaker, learning tactics while racing, and discovering how tides, currents and winds can help or hinder motion. On a warship, when navigators plan a trip, they may include tides and currents in their calculations, but compared to sailboat voyage planning, it’s much more subdued.

“On a warship, at 35 feet up, you don’t feel the sea wind and there’s no immediate relationship with the water. All sail trainees get a chance to skipper. Ranks are forgotten and everyone’s on a first-name basis. And I think that leadership skills learned on a sailboat can help you early on in your naval career.”

Sailor 3rd Class Marek Flynn opted to enroll in the sail training program while awaiting a vocational training course in sonar operations. “I sailed Lasers and 420s at Toronto Island before joining the Navy,” he told me. “Right now, I’m staff in the Competent Crew course. I help maintain the boats and assist the training officer in all the courses. It’s great. Teaching is learning.”

Flynn recalls getting a shock when going on his first sail. “I got hit by green water… And it was salt! Having always sailed on lakes, I just wasn’t ready for that salty taste,” he said. “I also see sail training as an eventual bridge to the Canadian Forces Sailing Association (CFSA) here in Esquimalt,” Flynn continued. “I participate in Wednesday night racing and so sailing can continue to be part of my life.

Acting sub-lieutenant Ben Roth recently completed the Competent Crew program. “For me,” he said, “sail training has been important in my progress to more complete seamanship. I’ve learned new skills and more about safe boating. And I got to take on the challenge of skippering a CS 36 in Swiftsure! Very rewarding.”

Although the RCN sailboats are well outfitted, they are not designed for easy cruising—“we’re not a yacht club,” said Maier. They have standard navigational instruments like depth sounders, chart plotters, VHF radios, GPS and AIS, but the winches are hand cranked and there’s no autopilot in sight. The Bavarias carry a small dodger; the CSs are open to the elements. Knowing how to use a sextant for celestial navigation is not required, yet harking back to pre-electronic days, each boat carries a lead line.

The crew are supplied with foul-weather gear and PFDs. The latter also carry a strobe and an AIS that will send a distress signal when someone falls overboard. On the CSs, there’s space for five trainees and one instructor, and on overnight sails hot-bunking is required. The Bavarias with 10 bunks can accommodate eight trainees and one or two instructors.

When returning from a sail, following military regulations for cleanliness, trainees must return their boat to her ship-shape condition.

THE CURRICULUM FOR RCN’s sail training has been developed by the Gabriola-based Canadian Recreational Yachting Association (CRYA), with some tweaks by the Navy. Recognized by Transport Canada, this curriculum sets the safety standard for sail training in Canada. Courses run for a week or more and trainees can achieve five certification levels.

Level 1: Competent Crew

Competent Crew is the basic course. Trainees learn the boat’s systems and their operation, how a boat sails and how to control its movements. It also covers anchoring, docking and handling emergencies. Upon course completion, the sailor can crew on sailboats up to 50 feet in length.

Level 2: Day Skipper

Day Skipper is the intermediate step in which the sailor learns the finer points of sailing, including navigating and skippering in the boat’s home waters while remaining in sight of land. Trainees sail in moderate weather—no excursions into gales—and return to the dock at the end of the day.

Level 3: Coastal Skipper

This course lets trainees integrate the skills acquired in the previous levels in circumstances beyond their inshore comfort zone. Under an instructor’s supervision, sailors plan and carry out a three to five-day coastal cruise which includes navigation, weather planning, meal planning and provisioning. Trainees can take on the role of skipper for a day. After completing this level, sailors will have sufficient knowledge and skill to command a sailboat for longer periods away from their home port.

Level 4: Coastal Navigation

This level teaches sailors the knowledge and skills needed to navigate a sailboat in coastal or inland waters within sight of land. Sailors gain proficiency in chart plotting, compass and depth sounder reading, tide and current data analysis, and time and distance calculations. Course completion leads to a Coastal Skipper designation.

Level 5: Yachtmaster Offshore

Sailors can now make open ocean passages lasting at least two weeks and cover between 750 and 1,000 miles. Before untying the mooring lines, sailors must be able to inspect the boat’s standing and running rigging, reefing systems and sail selection; test thru hulls and other safety equipment; and check mechanical and electrical systems. Navigation, weather monitoring, watch keeping, electronics and radar operation, provisioning and meal preparation are also part of this exercise. Specific sail handling, such as deploying spinnakers using a pole, downhaul, topping lift and sheets are included in this training level.

AFTER COMPLETING THESE five levels, sailors can earn one more designation: Yachtmaster Ocean. It is the highest yachting designation that can be achieved by a recreational sailor. Although it’s not part of the RCN’s training program, having completed the previous five levels will prepare sailors for this achievement. To become a Yachtmaster Ocean, sailors will have sailed to such places as Hawaii or Fiji, have completed a minimum of 5,000 miles under sail and kept a logbook that documents those miles.

A Yachtmaster Ocean must have additional proven knowledge of such tasks as long-term provisioning, stowing spare parts, watchkeeping, fuel and electricity management, electronic aids to navigation, weather forecasting, storm tactics, and setting a drogue or sea anchor. Hardy sailors who meet these requirements can apply for Yachtmaster Ocean status to the CRYA Board of Directors, who will evaluate the application.

LIEUTENANT ELLERY Down, who presently runs the sail training program, grew up in a sailing family in Victoria and is passionate about continuing to sail and teach sailing. “It’s a great program, both for naval personnel who’ve had sailing experience or those who’ve never been close to the water,” he said. “It’s closer to the environment and more relaxed than being on a warship. And former trainees come back and tell me how sail training helped in their naval career.”

However, Down’s most recent adventure was not on a sailboat, but part of RCN’s emphasis on military sports: he and five intrepid, active-duty navy guys spent 16 days, 10 hours and 8 minutes sail-rowing their 28-foot, 1968 Montague Whaler, Victory Oar Duff, in the Race to Alaska (R2AK) The six men knew their chances of winning were nil, but getting the boat ready with new Airfoam flotation, provisioning for the calorie-burning rowing and goal setting with Ketchikan as the destination was a terrific team effort. Crew member Ben Roth told me he wasn’t sure they’d make it. “But we did and it’s a lifetime achievement,” he said. “There were a lot of doubters but we proved them wrong. We reached Ketchikan using the original sails and spars and rowed when the wind died. We caught salmon and had rice, lentils, oats, granola bars and pasta in food barrels. It was wet but we wore wetsuits most of the time.”

One of Ben’s delights was that, like sail training, the Navy gave the team time off from their official duties to participate in the R2AK. “And we were paid the whole time,” he said enthusiastically. “We work hard but the reward is great too.”

“Yes,” added Ellery. “The RCN asks a lot, but they focus on developing people and pay us back.”