About Su-Sail

Sabanci University Sailing Club (SU Sail) has been active since 2001. It's objectives are to construct students with knowledge and passion of sailing, make them familiar with the concept of seamanship and try to raise the popularity of sailing among university students.

Considering the objectives above, Su-Sail provides it's members with practical and theoretical education.

As of today, Su-Sail has become one of the largest clubs in Sabanci University with about 200 members (ca. 50 of them being active members). Especially the last three years have been very important for the ascending trend of Su-Sail achievements. With its own sailing team and successes in both national and international areas, Su-Sail is one of the most future-promising sailing communities in Turkey.

Due to the representations done in campus, each semester, a total of about 80 new students are taking the sailing courses organized by Su-Sail. Furthermore, Su-Sail helps improving sailing in Turkey in collaboration with other university sailing clubs.

Sailing Courses

Su-Sail offers sailing courses for both starters and experienced people. For starters the introductory 1* courses (theoretical and practical) are offered. On a more advanced level, 2* courses as a continuation of 1* courses are offered. For students who are willing to master their sailing skills on large sailboats, yachting courses are offered.

1* and 2* courses aim to teach the students the basic concept of sailing, give them a sensual understanding of wind-dynamics, let them experiment with the boat's reaction to wind and learn how to trim and operate its sails. The boats used in these courses are small boats about 20 feet long specially designed for educative means. After these courses, students mastering basic sailing concepts can switch to different boat types and specialize in different tiers.

The practical part of 1* and 2* courses includes actually sailing with the above-mentioned boats. The students are expected to sail up to 15 hours for each of these courses in order to receive certificates.

Theoretical part of 1* and 2* courses include in-campus lectures given by experienced Su-Sail members. There is a certain attendance requirement for these lectures in order to be able to receive a certificate. The topics covered in these lectures include basic trimming, components of a sailboat, sailing equipment, wind-dynamics, weather conditions, safety issues related to sailing, racing, etc.

At the end of practical and theoretical courses, students are given a test. Students must acquire grades above a certain limit in order to be able to receive certificates.

As an important remark, in order to attend Su-Sail activities involving sailing, the members must at least have 1* certificates.

Yachting courses were offered in Fall 2007 for the first time. They are designed as a further route for students who have acquired 1* and 2* certificates. Yachting courses are given to students having already acquired 2* certificates, who want to gain additional experience on yachts as well as additional theoretical lessons.

Apart from the courses mentioned, Su-Sail offers free ADB (Amateur Seamanship License) courses. ADB is the basic license required to use non-commercial boats up to a certain size in Turkey. With these courses students are able to easily pass ADB examination.

Activities & Future Plans

Su-Sail has organizes one-week sailing trips in Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. All of these trips involves sailing following the coastline of Marmaris, Datça and Fethiye. Over these trips Su-Sail captains have acquired enough experience to sail these waters in any condition with ease. These trips have also been very useful for the whole crew to gain sailing experience and for new captains to be educated.

Apart from these sailing trips, a considerable number of Su-Sail members attend the regular weekend sailing races in Istanbul. Apart from owning its own boat, Su-Sail has contacts with various racing-boats and supplies crew members for these boats whenever possible. Su-Sail members gaining experience in these races later become Su-Sail captains and take part in fulfilling dreams of Su-Sail.

Su-Sail also attends international races abroad. In Spring 2007, Su-Sail attended European University Cup at Zadar, Croatia. In Summer 2008 Su-Sail attended "Rhodoes Channel Regatta" and in the upcoming year plans to attend the race in Zadar again.

Su-Sail plans to organize an exclusive sailing trip to several Greek Islands this summer. Not only will this trip be an international sailing experience for Su-Sail but also an educative journey to know Greek waters better.

Sabanci University campus has its own lake. This lake is highly suitable for laser-sailing and remote-control-prototype-sailboat racing. Su-Sail has one Laser and three remote-control-sailboats at hand, and starting from Spring 2008 the dreams of laser-sailing in the campus lake are being fulfilled. Future plans also include building a dock for the Laser and making use of remote-control-sailboats towards the end of the academic year.

Su-Sail gets involved in projects in collaboration with academicians. At the time being, students in Electronics Engineering program are developing portable GPS devices for speed-tracking which can also be used in sailboats.

Su-Sail plans to organize a trip with SUSS (Sabanci University Scuba Diving Club) this summer. The aim of this trip is to provide students who are interested in both sailing and diving with the possibility of doing both activities at once.

Perhaps the most important achievement this year was renting the clubs own sailboat in Spring 2008. "Bluemoon" has been a huge experience for educative, racing and general sailing purposes. Su-Sail captains gave yachting courses on this very boat, along with Su-Sail members attending regularly to the week-end races in Istanbul and the in famous "South Race" (Donanma Kupası) in July 2008.

Contact

Mailing Adress

SU Sail
Dilara Sönmez
Student Activities Specialist,
Sabancı Üniversitesi, Orhanlı-Tuzla, 34956 İstanbul, Türkiye

+90 216 483 94 57

E-Mail