Go from beginner to skipper during the course of five weekly 3-hour evening sessions. No prior experience is required. Come on your own or with your significant other or friends. This is the perfect introduction to sailing and will teach you to be a competent crew or skipper your own boat.

By the end of the course you will be able to skipper a 24-37ft keelboat in light to moderate winds (up to 15 knots) and sea conditions, and understand basic sailing terminology, boat parts, helm commands, fundamental sail trim, basic navigation, points of sail, and essential safety requirements.

Each session involves a short “chalk talk” to understand the theory of sailing followed by up to 2 hours on the water learning practical skills and having fun along the way.

The first two sessions will be on the Bluenose 24 daysailer, where you will learn basic sail trim, steering with a tiller, tacking and gybing, points of sail, and docking the boat.

The last three sessions will be on our well-equipped Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 379, where you will get a taste of the cruising lifestyle and learn to raise and lower the sails, tacking and gybing a larger boat, steering with a wheel, reefing, anchoring, trimming sails for different points of the wind, reading a compass, using electronic instruments, man overboard procedures, and maneuvering under power.

Practical Skills Taught

• Basic Sailing Terminology
• Points of Sail
• Raising and lowering sails
• Tacking & gybing
• Sail trim
• Navigation Rules
• Aids to Navigation
• Safety Gear & Procedures
• Crew Overboard
• Essential Knots for sailing
• Starting the engine
• Maneuvering under power
• Docking and anchoring