Can’t Study Aboard Next Semester? Take USC’s Sailing Class Instead!
By Emily Young MA ‘16
Ahoy! Are you up for adventure? Want to try something new? Have room in your spring schedule? Then take USC’s Sailing class: NAUT-001A Deep Water Cruising!
NAUT-001A is a class unique to USC. At what other school can you take a sailing class where one of the requirements of the course is to sail to Catalina and spend the night aboard? Hooked?
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NAUT-001A Deep Water Cruising is a little known secret of the best USC Courses. It is a requirement for Navy ROTC officers, but is open to all students. The course doesn’t count towards your GPA and is designed for students with absolutely no sailing experience or knowledge. Added bonus, if you take NAUT-001 and NAUT-002 you can have enough recorded boat time to get your boat license. Throughout the semester you learn about different vessels, sailing history, and the rules of water traffic.
My voyage to Catalina was from Friday-Saturday, where five other friends enrolled in the course and I sailed out for Catalina with our teacher, Captain Lars. We arrived at the dock around 8:30 Friday morning, where we prepared the ship for departure, practiced raising and lowering lines. Using only nautical charts and parallel rulers (no GPS allowed), we drew out the navigation for our course.
We set sail, all taking turns steering and calculating 3-point bearings to determine if we were on course. We made it to Catalina where we ate dinner and spent the night on the boat. We even brushed our teeth on deck!
The next morning we had breakfast prepared by Captain Lars in our onboard oven. We learned about sonar and the shortcomings of navigating only by GPS since it does not show buoys, reefs, and will even cut over land. We sailed back to the port of LA, and we were all sad to leave the port. It was a remarkable voyage, both physically and emotionally.
Pro tips:
Sign up for the class with friends. I think Captain Lars was also fine with you sailing with friends from other sections too.
If you are worried about seasickness, call your doctor and ask for one of the motion sickness patches. I normally get pretty seasick on boats, but I was fine the entire trip. I just got a little drowsy on the way home and feel asleep on deck. (oops haha)
So don’t be a Scallywag! Round up your friends and sign up for NAUT-001A today!
A Soul at Sea
I looked longingly at the horizon
The wind, strong at my face
The waves, simply dancing
Keeping a rocking pace
The sun reflects off the water
Giving the world it’s glow
Sure sailing takes work
But it’s the best way to go
The wood cuts through the water
Keeping us all afloat
The Atlantis, rich in history
What a majestic boat!
A connection to those before us
Who sailed only among the stars
So small in an endless ocean
Talking about who we are
If each boat has a soul
Surely the Atlantis had touched mine
I felt tranquil and at peace
Parting with troubles of time
And when we docked at port
My friends at my side
I looked back at the Atlantis
Leaving adventure behind
