Learn to Sail and Bareboat Cruising Preparation

Scott and Mary Ellen Nugent at The Inn at Perry Cabin on the Chesapeake's Eastern Shore

My wife gave me the Learn to Sail course for a Christmas gift. I was going to take it in New Jersey but that's when we found the course offered in St. Michaels, Maryland. This location was perfect' great shops, fine restaurants, great sailing location and the historic Inn at Perry Cabin.

I was booked for the five day Learn to Sail course to start after Memorial Day weekend. I changed the course to the Fast Track to Cruising course for eight days to start before the holiday; and my wife also took the three-day Learn to Sail with me.

Wow what a trip!

Wow what a trip. The Inn at Perry Cabin was wonderful with great staff and beautiful location. We enjoyed all the meals at the Inn and in town. Every night we sat out by the river in the Adirondack chairs and watched the world go by.

This was a perfect way to end a great day of sailing. Our room was very nice and overlooked the river. We have traveled extensively and this was a great hotel. Even with the hotel being fully booked for the holiday weekend the staff was always there to help you.

The location for sailing was outstanding. Our instructor, John, was awesome. I had sailed before but my  wife was new to sailing. He handled this perfectly by teaching us both what we needed to learn in a way not to overwhelm my wife but also keeping my interest.

Learning in the "real world"

The Colgate 26 is a great boat to learn on – fast, easy to  handle and forgiving when mistakes were made. We learned to sail during the busy holiday weekend with about 100 boats anchored out in the harbor and a large amount of traffic in the channel. John had us sailing betweeen all these boats and anchoring with them. This taught us sailing in the "real world" and gave us both great confidence in how to handle this. We both passed our test and it was time to solo sail. We were anxious to use our new sailing skills and had a fantastic afternoon sail. My wife progressed from never having sailed to sailing like a pro in three days.

Building confidence on bigger boats

Now it was time for my wife to shop, go to the pool and spa. It was my time to continue to learn the Bareboat Cruising Preparation course aboard the new Hunter 45. I met my instructor Bill – very knowledgeable and experienced – who taught me to learn to sail the boat singlehanded. For four days we sailed, docked, anchored, picked up moorings and did man overboard drills. This was a great way to build confidence and siill on a larger boat.

Because of the position of the dock at The Inn at Perry Cabin we backed the stern in first. The first day it took me eight tries to slide the boat into its slip. By the fourth day I was able to do it on the first attempt. Day five was my day to sail this $350,000 boat by myself. This truly indicated to me the trust and confidence the instructors have in their teaching skills. We sailed out into the Chesapeake Bay for another great day of sailing.

I learned that Steve and Doris Colgate would be coming on Friday and we had a chance to meet them. This only added to the many highlights of this trip.

Inspired to buy a boat and sail wherever the wind blows

I highly recommend Offshore Sailing School to anyone who wants to learn how to sail. For me this is a first step and I will be continuing to take courses offered by Offshore. This was a wonderul eight days at a fantastic Inn with professional, experienced teachers. This experience has more fully inspired my dream to buy a boat and sail around the Caribbean or wherever the wind takes us.

Scott and Jane Ellen Nugent – Pipersville, PA

Wouldn't you like to lear at The Inn at Perry Cabin too? Just click here or call 888-454-7015 to talk to an Offshore Sailing School advisor today!

Click here to go back to the Articles and Stories page