Home About the Opti Fleet Getting Started Homework #1 Getting Started Are your kids swimming yet? If not, here are a few tips to getting your child ready for a life on the water: Build confidence - get your child comfortable with jumping in the water. One of the first things a swim instructor will teach is getting their kids comfortable in and around water. Because we're focusing on getting your child prepared for sailing, in addition to what your swim instructor tells you, go ahead and buy your kid their first lifejacket. Don't be afraid that they'll never get used to getting into the water without one. Nothing's lost in the sailing world if one refuses to go onto a dock or a boat without a lifejacket. Even if there is no risk of your child falling into the water - which there ALWAYS is while sailing - it's still safer to wear a life jacket (not to mention children under the age of 14 and, in some states, 16 are required to wear one at all times). For more information about lifejackets, please go to: US Boating Safety Find out where you child gets his or her motivation. Is it fear based, or reward based? Let sailing become a way to train your kids to go for success; practice reward based training. Teach them to ignore fear and focus on the goal. An example of fear based training where it concerns sailing is telling your child scary things will happen if they don't wear a lifejacket. This makes it a bit more difficult to get your child ready for the next step: capsize recovery. They'll tend to remember all the scary things you told them about not wearing a lifejacket instead of having the confidence to let the boat tip over and recover it without panicking. To avoid any negative thoughts while we urge them to do things adults may hesitate to do, I suggest using reward based training. For example, while your child is learning to trust the lifejacket, remind them that once they get used to it, they will be able to help their fellow sailors who are in the water. There may be a time when more kids are floating around then there are race committee boats. Some of these kids will need to be calmed. Remind your child that they can play a very important role to the race committee if they are able to console their peers by showing them how floating around with a lifejacket is done, or how to swim to safety. Make your first goal to prepare your child for sailing, a confidence building experience. Your child will need to be able to recover their capsized boat (which our coaches will teach them how to do) without panic or fear. In addition to getting the child into the water, your swim instructor will want them to be able to float. Teach your child to hold their breadth with the air in their lungs. A lot of kids will hold a pocket of air in their mouths. This will not help their bodies stay above water. Your child should be able to swim underwater with their mouth open without the air from their lungs getting out, or without water getting in. I used to have my kids show me their underwater abilities by going under and smiling at me, who is under the water with them. The bubbles from their inhaled breath should not escape if they are holding the air in their lungs. Once they've proven they can hold the air inside their lungs, get them to float on their backs and their fronts. While they're holding their breath support their bodies with a hand. Gently let them go and show them how the air in their lungs is holding their faces, or shoulders above the water line. You should do this without the aid of a lifejacket. Once they've mastered floating with their faces in the water, the next step is blowing bubbles. From there, the swim instructor will get into treading water and specific techniques for swimming. It is the parents' job to make sure they get the best instruction and care during what can be a very scary experience. PRSA's Opti fleet will begin with jumping into the river with lifejackets on and what to do if your boat capsizes. Please make sure you and your child are prepared for this beginning step.