How We Teach

The Best Way to Learn Sailing

Olympian, America’s Cup sailor and National Sailing Hall of Famer, Steve Colgate, is the “knowledge” behind all Offshore Sailing School courses. His best practices for teaching sailing, the curriculum he developed for every course, and teaching aides and comprehensive textbooks written by the Colgates are just some of the many reasons why Offshore Sailing School is recognized as America’s #1 Sailing School®.

A fifth and most important reason is our impressive sailing school faculty – highly skilled  professional men and women who are lauded for their knowledge, experience, and teaching abilities – all passionately dedicated to your success.

“I learned a lot and feel confident in my sailing. The bareboat cruising course also encouraged teamwork. My husband and I did this trip as an anniversary gift and Christmas gift. I was very pleased with the course and our working together. It was a good marriage/teambuilding experience.”

Kim Sissell

Mandeville, LA
OSS 103/104 - Basic & Bareboat Cruising

We had so many “AH HA” moments. The Fast Track to  Cruising Course was amazing!! Our instructor was fantastic. We are both educators and appreciated his attentiveness to making sure we understood the concepts and skills we achieved. The 2 days on the Colgate definitely prepared us for the bigger boat, which by the end of the week we were very comfortable taking out by ourselves. Even with 8 years of sailing we couldn’t imagine just coming and chartering a big boat without taking this class first!

Pamela and Dan Cronin

Pierre, South Dakota
OSS 101/103/104 - Fast Track® to Cruising

The Proven Way to Learn

Ask any college professor, pilot or engineer and they will describe the proven methods for learning any skill are parallel to how you learn sailing at Offshore Sailing School.

  • VISUAL – Comprehensive, easy-to-read textbooks sent in advance to study, plus an Online Learn to Sail Course that complements the Learn to Sail Course textbook if you are just starting out
  • AUDITORY – Classroom sessions that precede on-water training session to reinforce textbooks
  • TACTILE – Extensive on-water instruction that allows you to practice hands-on what you read in textbooks and studied in the classroom

Teachers and college professors laud our textbooks, teaching methods and curricula. Buyers beware! Many sailing schools cut corners and don’t cover all you need to know to learn sailing. If they boast “no classroom instruction” you are missing out on some of the most crucial aspects of learning. At Offshore we reinforce everything you do on the water with textbooks sent in advance to study, in-depth delivery of knowledge in the classroom, and then hands-on training aboard each day. In live aboard cruising courses, there is a classroom session each morning aboard before you set sail.