NOLS - Baja Coastal Sailing

  Mexico

• Baja: 
Loreto

Term: Winter 
Dates: October 15-November 5, 2009

Description: A NOLS sailing course will get you well on your way to sailing on your own. We use a unique boat to explore the coastline of the Baja California Peninsula. It's called a Drascombe Longboat: a light, maneuverable craft that operates on the same basic principles as larger boats but can explore shallow coves or be hauled onto a desert beach. On the boat you'll explore a sea rich with marine life, from intricate sea fans and colorful reef fishes to raucous sea lions and blowing whales, accessing places inaccessible to larger boats.

This course follows nature's rhythms, so you may find yourself up before dawn to catch the tide or sailing until dusk to take advantage of a favorable breeze. There are bound to be some long, challenging days on the water, but there should also be time to wonder at the stars, or at the starfish in a tidal pool.

You'll learn to handle winds and waves with confidence, row, and work as a team with your crewmates. The boat will be your home on the water, but you'll also be at home on the land, camping ashore, exploring a seemingly barren land that greets the sea.

Fundamental Sailing Skills:
* Sail and line handling
* Anchoring techniques and strategies
* Wind awareness and points of sail
* Sail theory and helming
* Elements of sail and vessel trim
* Capsize recovery

Ocean Travel Skills:

- Seamanship, including all of the following:
* Interpretation of tides and currents
* Ocean hazard assessment
* Weather assessment
* An understanding of wind and wave dynamics
* Coastal Navigation techniques, chart reading and compass use

- General Expeditioning Skills:
* Vessel outfitting, care and packing
* Route selection and expedition planning
* Vessel design and repair
* Use of signal devices, including flares and VHF radio

Highlights:
College Credit:
(Optional)

4 Semester Credit Hours:
2 Hours Environmental Ethics
2 Hours Leadership Techniques

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$: USD 3,625

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Mexico Independently

Typically Participants Work in Groups

Scholarships are Available. Each year NOLS offers over USD 800,000 dollars in scholarship assistance. Scholarship aid is available to applicants who show great potential to excel as NOLS students and who would be unable to attend without financial aid. These scholarship dollars are made available through the generosity of alumni and friends to the NOLS Fund. Our graduates realize the great impact a NOLS education has and volunteer both time and money to further the school's mission.

Application Process Involves:

• Phone Interview
• Physical Exam/Health Records
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Job and Internship Network

NOLS The National Outdoor Leadership School's Mission Statement: The mission of the National Outdoor Leadership School is to be the leading source and teacher of wilderness skills and leadership that serve people and the environment.

Year Founded: 1965