FIVE NEW BASIC KEELBOAT INSTRUCTORS (BKI)
By Monte Lewis
With Sail Chicago's commitment to providing the most qualified and well-trained instructors for all our  courses, we once again hosted a US Sailing Basic Keelboat Instructor Evaluative Course during the weekend of Sept 17-19, located at Jackson Park Yacht Club. This year we graduated five new BK Instructors: Geoffrey Skyles, Candace Kohli, Manoel Conde, Daniyar Nurgaliev and Selma Loesche (see photo).
This isn't your typical class, but rather an intensive three-day exam. Instructors are expected to come in knowing the majority of the material to be covered, rather than learning it during the course. One of the most challenging elements is the sailing skills evaluation which must be completed while single-handing one of our Colgates. In addition to the sailing skills evaluation, candidates must also be able to explain sailing topics concisely and clearly in a classroom setting.
From the graduates . . .
“The Basic Keelboat Instructor training and exam has been one of the most physically and mentally challenging things I’ve ever done with sailing, but it was an incredibly rewarding experience. I loved the opportunity to spend so much time on the water training and sailing with my Sail Chicago BKI cohort, experimenting with different strategies for single-handing the Colgates and celebrating each of our small achievements as we relearned OTW maneuvers and skills to single-hand the boats. Many laughs, cheers, frustrations, and bruises later, it was a very special experience to go through the intensive US Sailing certification with this crew and to see all of us push through our fears and succeed.”
“The BKI test (and preparation) was certainly a great experience that enhanced considerably my sailing skills. As expected, the level of difficulty depended a lot on the particular person evaluating us and also on the weather. Fortunately it seems that this September we - the five Sail Chicago candidates - were lucky with respect to both. Cappy Capper was a very reasonable examiner, offering constructive criticism and a lot of encouragement. The lake was a bit choppy on Saturday, but all three days had good wind, strong enough to sail nicely, but not too challenging.”
“Clearly all the support provided by Sail Chicago during our two month long preparation for the test was crucial. It would have been really much harder to succeed without the guidance provided to us by previous BKI candidates and the generous availability of boats offered to us by Sail Chicago. We sincerely thank Monte Lewis, Adam Jabs, Aldo Caronia, Jim Monk, Tim Rice, Tom Hertel, … for all the time they spent with us, providing lots of helpful hints and information, on land and on the water.”
“The US Sailing BKI certification was very intense and challenging. In preparation there were books to study, online courses to complete, as well as a swim test, CPR/first aid, and of course practice on the water. Lots of practice on the water. It all felt a bit overwhelming. US Sailing wants to make sure that you know your stuff as an instructor who earned their BKI certificate. I appreciate that and it helped me become a better sailor. And it made me happy that I completed this certification course with the support of Sail Chicago. Monte along with other Sail Chicago BKIs were very helpful this entire season in assisting us with emails of to do lists and with assistance to prepare our presentations. They were very accessible to us all for questions and for on the water practice. All of my fellow candidates were also very supportive of each other. We encouraged each other, gave feedback, and coached one another in the last couple of months as well as during the three day certification course. It was a great atmosphere and made this experience very positive. The US Sailing Instructor Trainer was very pleased with our level of preparation, understanding of the material, and skills on the water. In the end it all worked out and everyone passed. Congratulations to everyone and thank you again to the members of Sail Chicago who gave their time and energy to help us earn this certification!
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