Hello again all: I am posting again and would like to start with thanking all who have responded to my earlier post. Your comments and encouragement have only fueled my desire to get into sailing more. I am taking the Coast Guard safety class tomorrow and probably going to join the auxilary at the same time. The purpose of this post is to seek recommendations from any and all who have any experience with Sailing Schools. I have done alot of "online" research and I am leaning towards going with Blue Water Sailing Schools out of there BVI location. Does anyone have any experience with them and comments they care to share? Additionally, if anyone has an alternate they are extremely satisfied to recommend, I would love to here from you as well. As always, thank you in advance for your support and may the water always be below you.
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Rick Webb
Glad to Hear it
I think you will enjoy the Auxiliary there is alot of information in those other members, a good chance to do somthing for others and is most always alot of fun. I joined a few years ago and have not regretted it at all, this year I was elected Flotilla Commander and hope to have just as much fun as before it is certainly going to be more work. Here is a hint on your class most boating accidents are caused by a failure to maintain a proper lookout. Hope you enjoy it Good Luck Rick
I think you will enjoy the Auxiliary there is alot of information in those other members, a good chance to do somthing for others and is most always alot of fun. I joined a few years ago and have not regretted it at all, this year I was elected Flotilla Commander and hope to have just as much fun as before it is certainly going to be more work. Here is a hint on your class most boating accidents are caused by a failure to maintain a proper lookout. Hope you enjoy it Good Luck Rick
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Dave Mauney
J World
I found J World in Annapolis nothing short of outstanding. Their instuctors are top notch and many were either on or captians of the academy sailing teams (Naval and Coast Guard). 2 hours in class and 6 hours a day on the water. Good Winds Dave
I found J World in Annapolis nothing short of outstanding. Their instuctors are top notch and many were either on or captians of the academy sailing teams (Naval and Coast Guard). 2 hours in class and 6 hours a day on the water. Good Winds Dave
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Bill O'Donovan
Echo Dave
I agree with Dave, and since you're so close you might consider J World at Key West. They give you five intense days on the water with J-24s. I've done it two years and will go again next spring. A great way to tune up for the season, whether you race or not.
I agree with Dave, and since you're so close you might consider J World at Key West. They give you five intense days on the water with J-24s. I've done it two years and will go again next spring. A great way to tune up for the season, whether you race or not.
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Eric Lorgus
J-World vs Blue Water
Jeffrey, I've taken classes at both. At J-World in Key West, I took an intro to racing course. I think it was 5 days. Each day begins with an hour or so in the classroom, the rest is on the water. Their main teaching boat is the J-24, a superb boat. We began the week with 20 kt winds and broached once or twice that first day out (it's tricky doing a gibe with the chute up). Key West is a good area for sailing -- always plenty of wind. The town is rather unique, also. The instructors at J-World were all excellent. They rotate students, so that you don't have the same instructor all week, and that gives students the benefits of learning different things from different instructors. One of the instructors was studying to be a naval architect, and obviously, he brought many unique experiences to his teaching. Blue Water Sailing (the one based in Ft. Lauderdale) does most of their work on the water. I took ASA105 ASA106 there. They offer it as a weeklong course (Sat-Fri), and you live on the boat. We spent a few hours the first day in the classroom, the rest was spent on the boat, a Beneteau 50. There were five of us in the class. The first night we stayed on the boat in the slip (winds were honking out of the NE). On Sunday, we left Ft. Lauderdale and crossed the gulf stream to Bimini (yes, it was rough with those NE winds). We spent the rest of the week in the Bahamas, returning on Friday morning. I know Blue Water is an ASA sailing school. One advantage of the program is supposed to be that you will find it easier to charter boats with ASA certifications. For basic sailing instruction, I would recommend J-World. For cruising instruction and experience, you can't beat the spend-the-whole-week on the boat program at Blue Water. Eric Lorgus s/v Impulse 83H54
Jeffrey, I've taken classes at both. At J-World in Key West, I took an intro to racing course. I think it was 5 days. Each day begins with an hour or so in the classroom, the rest is on the water. Their main teaching boat is the J-24, a superb boat. We began the week with 20 kt winds and broached once or twice that first day out (it's tricky doing a gibe with the chute up). Key West is a good area for sailing -- always plenty of wind. The town is rather unique, also. The instructors at J-World were all excellent. They rotate students, so that you don't have the same instructor all week, and that gives students the benefits of learning different things from different instructors. One of the instructors was studying to be a naval architect, and obviously, he brought many unique experiences to his teaching. Blue Water Sailing (the one based in Ft. Lauderdale) does most of their work on the water. I took ASA105 ASA106 there. They offer it as a weeklong course (Sat-Fri), and you live on the boat. We spent a few hours the first day in the classroom, the rest was spent on the boat, a Beneteau 50. There were five of us in the class. The first night we stayed on the boat in the slip (winds were honking out of the NE). On Sunday, we left Ft. Lauderdale and crossed the gulf stream to Bimini (yes, it was rough with those NE winds). We spent the rest of the week in the Bahamas, returning on Friday morning. I know Blue Water is an ASA sailing school. One advantage of the program is supposed to be that you will find it easier to charter boats with ASA certifications. For basic sailing instruction, I would recommend J-World. For cruising instruction and experience, you can't beat the spend-the-whole-week on the boat program at Blue Water. Eric Lorgus s/v Impulse 83H54
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Bil Thomas Feng Shui
Chapman
We took the Chapman School 7 day offshore class. The class was great and the extra education beyond what we sign up for was worth the time and money. The instructers we good theroy, good practical, and made it fun. Plenty of practice realy taught the leason. It was worth it to go to the scholl that wrote the book. Plus we earned several ASA certifactions.
We took the Chapman School 7 day offshore class. The class was great and the extra education beyond what we sign up for was worth the time and money. The instructers we good theroy, good practical, and made it fun. Plenty of practice realy taught the leason. It was worth it to go to the scholl that wrote the book. Plus we earned several ASA certifactions.
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Ken Palmer
What is your experience?
I bought my first sailboat in the fall a number of years ago. I had limited sailing knowledge and my wife had none. We also had two friends that had no experience, but wanted to learn. The four of us signed up for a basic weekend sailing course followed by 5 days cruising. We decided on the Annapolis Sailing School out of St. Pete, FL. This was the best learning experience and vacation for us. It was winter in New York, and the sunny Florida skies and good sailing weather made our decision easy. The instructors were excellent, having all of us involved with all aspects of sailing. The four of us lived aboard a 30 foot sailboat while the instructor made arrangements to sleep on shore, giving us our privacy. Good luck on your choice. Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty
I bought my first sailboat in the fall a number of years ago. I had limited sailing knowledge and my wife had none. We also had two friends that had no experience, but wanted to learn. The four of us signed up for a basic weekend sailing course followed by 5 days cruising. We decided on the Annapolis Sailing School out of St. Pete, FL. This was the best learning experience and vacation for us. It was winter in New York, and the sunny Florida skies and good sailing weather made our decision easy. The instructors were excellent, having all of us involved with all aspects of sailing. The four of us lived aboard a 30 foot sailboat while the instructor made arrangements to sleep on shore, giving us our privacy. Good luck on your choice. Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty
St. Augustine Sailing
Hi Jeffrey: Since you're planning to go cruising, you might consider St. Augustine Sailing (see link below). I did several ASA schools there and I think they're hard to beat for both quality and value. ASA course materials are sent to you ahead of time so you can prepare at home and thus maximize class time on the water. Their instructors are experienced cruisers, and strong emphasis is placed on safety and developing boathandling skills. For the Basic Keelboat course, they use larger boats than most other schools (about 30 ft) so you'll get some hands-on with inboard diesels, marine heads and electrical systems. Some material from the Basic Coastal Cruising course is also included. Unless the weather is really bad, you will negotiate St Augustine Inlet (arguably the worst on Florida's Atlantic coast) and sail several miles out into open ocean. The more advanced courses are even better. St Augustine Sailing is also a Sunsail affiliate school, which greatly simplifies matters if you ever want to bareboat charter later (I did). Since you already have a little experience, I think this would be a good school for you. It was for me. Happy sailing. Peter H23 "Raven"
Hi Jeffrey: Since you're planning to go cruising, you might consider St. Augustine Sailing (see link below). I did several ASA schools there and I think they're hard to beat for both quality and value. ASA course materials are sent to you ahead of time so you can prepare at home and thus maximize class time on the water. Their instructors are experienced cruisers, and strong emphasis is placed on safety and developing boathandling skills. For the Basic Keelboat course, they use larger boats than most other schools (about 30 ft) so you'll get some hands-on with inboard diesels, marine heads and electrical systems. Some material from the Basic Coastal Cruising course is also included. Unless the weather is really bad, you will negotiate St Augustine Inlet (arguably the worst on Florida's Atlantic coast) and sail several miles out into open ocean. The more advanced courses are even better. St Augustine Sailing is also a Sunsail affiliate school, which greatly simplifies matters if you ever want to bareboat charter later (I did). Since you already have a little experience, I think this would be a good school for you. It was for me. Happy sailing. Peter H23 "Raven"
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