Northport Youth Sailing School (NYSS)

Sailing Skills

• General Skills
  General sailing skills taught at NYSS. Includes identifying wind direction, rigging a boat, knots, lines and rules of the road.
• Boathandling Skills
  Skills include departure and landing, steering, boat safety, tacking, points of sail, jibing, capsize recovery, overboard recovery, getting out of irons and upwind sailing.
• International Optimist Class Rules
  Technical rules for Optis. This is far more information than the students need. It's here for adult reference.

Want to get a headstart on sailing class? Learn to tie a bowline, figure of eight and a square knot. These are essential for sailors.

Common Sailing Knots
Want to get a head start on sailing school? Learn to make a bowline, figure eight and a square knot.

Square Knot

Tying the Knot
More knots and how they're used.

Shoelace Knots and More: A Guide to Tying Knots. Want to learn to tie more knots? Try these.

How to Make a Sailor's Knot Bracelet
Sailors often made bracelets for themselves. They were believed to bring good luck. The sailors also used them to wipe sweat from their brows. Just for fun, practice your knot tying skills by making a bracelet.