Overview

Learn to Sail!

Begin your sailing with no prior experience! In the Basic Sailing Course you learn the fundamental knowledge and practical skills required to be become a competent sailor and gain your Skipper Small Keelboat Certification - all in a relaxed and fun weekend.

Learning to sail is fun, easy and safe. The course is a combination of online knowledge study followed by a weekend of on-water practical training. You begin shortly after sign-up with online knowledge courses - the online knowledge courses allow you learn the fundamentals at your own pace.The practical class itself is mostly on the water and with an emphasis on students learning, practicing and refining basic sailing maneuvers and skills.

Your instructor is US Coast Guard Licensed, highly experienced and dedicated to making the class a safe and enjoyable learning experience. If the instructor feels the class (or individuals) need more training (no wind, &c.), they're empowered to follow-up at no additional cost to the students.

2 Days Small Group Instruction

Courses are kept small for personalized instruction, and our instructors are highly experienced sailors and USCG Captains. The weekend will be spent both in the classroom (a little) and on the water (a lot), and the emphasis is on learning and practicing practical skills. By the end of the class... read moreread less

...the instructor will verify your competency at a Skipper level, which means the instructor is confident in your abilities to sail or crew without him. Some examples of what you'll learn and practice:

Sailing terms and communications
How to use the tiller properly
How to raise the sails
Use the various lines to make adjustments or “trim” the sails
Basic maneuvers such as tacking and gybing.
Docking,
Raising and lowering the sails
Retrieving crew-overboard.

By the end of the course, you’ll garner respect from your crew as a helmsman, learn to handle the sails and lines as crew, and tying knots such as bowlines and hitches will become second nature. And, we guarantee competency!

Advanced Online Knowledge Training

Learning to sail requires understanding a sailboat, terminology, the theory of how wind powers sails, basic maneuvering, navigational rules and more.... For knowledge, we offer NauticEd's online courses to prepare you with the most advanced and current online sailing education available (read below for the book option). Start immediately, take your time, and test online. read moreread less

When you sign-up, you'll receive a NauticEd account that includes the following courses:

Skipper Small Keelboat Course - topics include (full description at NauticEd Skipper Small Keelboat Course):

Weather and Sea Conditions
Electrical Systems and Mechanical Systems
Rigging
Rules of the Nautical Road
Maneuvering in the Marina
Sailing
Communications
Navigation Introduction
Anchoring and Mooring
Coping with Emergencies

Navigational Rules Clinic - topics include (full description at NauticEd Navigational Rules):

Why "Right of Way" is more properly called "Stand On"
Essential knowledge regarding the Rules with other vessels
How not to get squashed like a bug by big container ships
Who gives way between power driven vessels and sailboats
When sailboats must give way to other vessels
When Sailboats give way to each other
You'll be presented with realistic illustrated situations

Book Option

For students who prefer a more traditional book format, Skippering a Small Keelboat offers everything you need to know - and with its unique, scannable QR codes providing clear instructional videos and animations, it is the next best thing to being on the water with an instructor at your side. It brings the book to life. The only thing missing is the water.

Skippering a Small Keelboat - Skills from the Masters is available on Amazon →

Skipper Small Keelboat Certification

Certification requires you pass all the competency tests listed below. With NauticEd it's really simple: when you sign-up, you'll be given access to an online resume that records your online training, instructor sign-offs and experience... read detailsread less

Each step is recorded in your online resume, and once ALL the required steps are achieved - you're certified. Pretty cool, eh? Certification requires successfully passing the following competency requirements:

√ Knowledge: online courses
√ Practical Competency: 2-day course
+ Experience: 2 additional days of sailing experience

The additional days of experience are required to demonstrate that you can successfully skipper on your own, utilizing what you learned online and on-the-water. The days are logged into your NaucticEd online logbook and once completed - you're certified! Read more about NauticEd Sailing Certification »

And yes, this is a higher standard in that you're required to demonstrate 2 days of experience on your own (prior experience counts).

American National Standard - Sail

Our training adheres to EDU-3 On-Water Sail Standards (American National Standard), the official standard for on-water instruction in entry-level recreational sailboat operation, and as is verified by NASBLA as conforming to an "independent third-party assessment process". read moreread less

The effort was funded by the United States Coast Guard in an effort to increase boating safety, and our courses utilize the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) approved Rubric Methodology. What does this mean? Our instructors use the ANSI 'rubric methodology' to objectively assess student performance in our courses. Upon successful completion, students will receive the ANS endorsement on their sailing certification, which signifies that their certification meets USCG recreational competence standards. Read more about the American National Standard and NASBLA »

Guaranteed Practical Competency*

Simply, you're paying us to learn to sail at a certain level (not for a certain number of hours).read moreread less

We guarantee* that in practical courses your instructor will verify* your practical competency. By this we mean that Island Sailing management cannot override instructor decisions; and towards the end of the practical course your instructor will decide whether you're sufficiently trained (or not). Sometimes the instructor may want to reschedule if the weather's uncooperative, or they may feel a particular student may need additional instruction or mentoring on certain topics.

* The Practical Competency Guarantee requires that prior to class (a) the student successfully completes the prerequisite practical courses, and (b) the student completes the required online knowledge courses. The Guarantee does not apply if prerequisite practical courses and required knowledge courses are not completed prior to class.

Basic Sailing Course - Skipper Small Keelboat Certification: $415.00 per sailor ($374 for Club Members)

What's Included (Skipper Small Keelboat):

• Online Courses*: Skipper Small Keelboat, Basic Navigational Rules.
• 2 days Small Group Instruction with Guaranteed Competency
• NauticEd Skipper Small Keelboat Certification once all certification requirements are achieved
• NauticEd Membership, online resume and free Tracklink ios App

The paperback Skippering a Small Keelboat - Skills from the Masters* is not included and is purchased from Amazon (click here).

What our students say about Basic Sailing...

Rated 4.87/5 by students (189 reviews)

Student reviews are submitted to NauticEd upon course completion. See Sailing Reviews for more information »

4.8 / 5 rating: Basic Sailing Course with Capt. Frankland
By Michelle J. on 8/23/2018

4.2 / 5 rating: Basic Sailing Course with Capt. Somervell
By Lisa L. on 8/23/2018

Appreciate your class. Learned a lot.

4.4 / 5 rating: Basic Sailing Course with Capt. Frankland
By Lisa L. on 8/23/2018

5 / 5 rating: Basic Sailing Course with Capt. Brannan
By Roy L. on 8/23/2018

We were weathered out a scheduled day. A.J. went out of his way to find a substitute date that would work while we were in the area. Outstanding!

5 / 5 rating: Basic Sailing Course with Capt. Frankland
By Benjamin G. on 8/22/2018

Basic Sailing - Keelboat Certification

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Learning to sail is easy & fun

No prior experience required

Overview

Learn to Sail!

2 Days Small Group Instruction