British Council learn the parts of a sailing boat.
© Oman Sail
© Oman Sail
Following on from the success of the adult courses that looked at the life of a sailor at sea, the British Council in Muscat adopted the subject for their Young Learners also. The adult courses looked at the trials and tribulations of Mohsin Al Busaidi, the first Arab to sail round the world non-stop, but the Young Learners course looked at sailing in general. It is difficult to look at sailing without spending some time looking at what Mohsin did so the students were treated to videos of him as well as trying some of the freeze dried food he lived on for 76 days as well as trying on some of the clothes he wore in the freezing temperatures he encountered in the Southern Ocean.
The highlight of the day though was the actual sailing boat that Oman Sail had set up in the reception of the British Council’s teaching centre in Madinat Sultan Qaboos. Students from the age of seven to seventeen got the chance to experience the parts of the boat and understand the functions of the sail, rudder, mast and other parts. In their classes leading up to the visit from Oman Sail students had learnt many of the terms from books and videos and many had worked on questions they wanted to ask the Oman Sail sailors.
Students and teachers listened to an introduction from Safiya Al Habsi, a young lady who is the first Omani girl to become a qualified sailing instructor. With her were two of the recruits who were chosen, with 12 other young Omanis, from the several hundred who applied to join Oman Sail in May this year. Safiya proved to be very popular with the students, especially the female ones who found her very inspirational and a role model for what she is doing. The two recruits, Mohammed Al Ghailani and Haithem Al Ghanaimi, were on hand to talk to students about sailing as well as how they managed to be chosen for the Oman Sail team. Many of the students, male and female, were interested in learning how to sail and knowing more about Oman Sail.
The British Council students will now start working on the end of term competition and have tasks set for them by their teachers. Depending on their level, the students will work on tasks which include designing their own boat and planning a journey to writing an account of a day on board a sailing boat going round the world. Some of the students were so inspired when they met Safiya Al Habsi that they will base their task on her and her achievements. Winners of the competition will win Oman Sail prizes with the big prize being the opportunity to come out sailing with the instructors and recruits.
