Day 03 - Midshipman's Hitch

Today we're going to work on the midshipman's hitch. Today is the day where students start getting confused on their knots - I keep going around nagging people who have paused in tying because those are the people most likely to start losing track of their knots today. Tomorrow will get even more confusing for those students. I need you to take me seriously with all these mind-numbing repetitions of the ties. Get each knot from your working memory into your muscle memory!

The midshipman's hitch is a knot developed by sailors so that they could rig sails in their ships with a knot that they could slide back and forth depending on how far they wanted the sail to billow out. This knot isn't perfect, but it gets the job done and is one I have found irreplaceable in those instances where I have needed adjustability in rope tension. These days, it is commonly used to pitch tents and sun shades, though you could also use it to cinch bags shut.

As I have done on days one and two of this unit, I will demonstrate for you how to tie the midshipman's hitch and then give you space to practice it. You should make sure that you also tie the other two knots over and over again. Repetition is the key to success in this unit!