Sailing Courses at
Offshore Sailing School

This Colgate Offshore Sailing School exclusive is the fastest way to achieve confident cruising skills and gain three certifications in one week. Taught at most Offshore Sailing School campuses, you will go from novice (or rusty former sailor) to cruise-ready during this sailing course. Fast Track to Cruising® combines our Learn to Sail sailing course with our Bareboat Cruising Preparation course (stay ashore while learning) or Live Aboard Cruising course (live on the cruising boat while learning) . Both courses are described below. At course end, you are ready to bareboat charter!

New to sailing or need a refresher?  The Learn to Sail course is for you - culminating in Day Sailing Certifcation on boats up to 30 feet. This sailing course, taught in three full days or a more relaxed five half-days schedule, and takes you from beginner through intermediate level on our fleet of award-winning Colgate 26 sailing school boats.  Available at all  Offshore Sailing School locations.

This next step after learning to sail gets you ready for cruising in five days at several of our resort locations. You’ll gain Basic Cruising and Bareboat Cruising Certification with the confidence, skills and techniques to start bareboat chartering or sail your own cruising boat with ease. Taught on 43-50 foot cruising yachts while living ashore at a glorious resort.

This fabulous experience on big cruising monohulls or catamarans gives you the same sailing certifications, confidence and skills as Bareboat Cruising Preparation for big boat bareboat chartering and ownership. You live aboard throughout the course, learning as you cruise from port to port, island to island in Florida, Maryland and the British Virgin Islands (BVI).  

Do you need a tune up on big boat sailing skills? Our Bareboat Cruising Refresher sailing course is taught on 43-50' cruising yachts at many of our locations. You get 14 hours of instruction over one weekend and the confidence to take the wheel of a charter yacht on your next vacation. Bareboat Cruising Refresher is for sailors who already have big boat experience and want to brush up on anchoring, docking and handling a cruising yacht under sail. 

If you don’t have much spare time and want to "test the waters" try our Two-Day Learn to Sail Getaway. You will sail with an expert Offshore Sailing School instruction on a sprightly Colgate 26 in two four-hour on-water saling lesson sessions. Choose any two days you like and learn about sailing in one of these sailing courses. Please be aware this course does not give you any kind of certification or prepare you for cruising courses.

You can choose just about any Offshore Sailing School sailing course at any Offshore Sailing School campus, and turn it into a private learning experience. This is the perfect program for couples, friends, or a parent and son or daughter who want to share equally and support each other aboard. You'll gain incredible confidence, not only in your own sailing skills but each other's abilities as you revel in the joy of fulfilling your sailing goals together.  

Here's one of the special sailing classes that brings your family together to learn in an unforgettable bonding experience. Choose the Learn to Sail, Bareboat Cruising Preparation or Live Aboard Cruising course and embark on a whole new lifestyle. If you your family includes the younger set (7-17 years of age), our special Kids and Teens Learn Free program is a real winner! Maximum family of five for Learn to Sail courses, or six for cruising courses when learning with kids.

After achieving Bareboat Cruising Certification, you can take our comprehensive Coastal Navigation course while sailing a big catamaran. Courses are available in the British Virgin Islands or west coast of Florida. You'll brush up your catamaran cruising skills, while concentrating on the nuances of piloting as you navigate from island to island. Lots of problem solving, lots of real hands-on navigating. The most complete Coastal Navigation sailing class you’ll find.  

This four-day classroom sailing course gives you a solid foundation and sailing certification in piloting. It's the same sailing course content as taught on catamarans (above), but in this case totally in a classroom setting. It is also the precursor to Coastal Passage Making.  

This ten-day sailing class includes the four-day Coastal Navigation course taken ashore, immediately followed by the six-day live-aboard Coastal Passage Making course on a 43-50’ cruising yacht. Taught in Florida, it includes sailing at night, standing watches, cooking underway, landfalls and much more. If you already have Coastal Navigation certification, you can take just the six-day Coastal Passage Making course.  

COAST® is the fastest and most economical way to master sailing in one year. You will go from novice to skilled passage maker in a two-step curriculum that includes the Fast Track to Cruising and Fast Track to Coastal Passage Making courses. You earn five certifications with special pricing that locks in tuition rates and a special discount.  

For the more analytical sailor with go-fast spirit, this terrific performance sailing course takes you beyond Learn to Sail with advanced training in sailing a Colgate 26 daysailer to its maximum potential. You’ll get extensive spinnaker work and learn more about what to do when problems occur, quickly and confidently. Available in three day and five-day schedules at most Offshore Sailing School campuses.

The only course of its kind, anywhere – Performance Racing is held one week each spring at South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island, Florida. Each day combines expert seminars and video analysis from North U, unique on-water instruction from professional Offshore Sailing School racing instructors and guest sailing coaches, and real races. It's the boot camp of sail-race training; six days of exciting training, more starts than most racing sailors do in a full year, and short race courses for quick reactions. This is serious learning, racing every day and a regatta with prizes awarded at week's end.

Our Corporate Sail-Race Challenge® offers the opportunity to experience a special synergy between sailing and business. Find out how managing a sailboat, making it go in the right direction efficiently compares to achieving goals with peers and bosses back in the office. Whether your focus is team-building or leadership development, these tailored programs provide proven, positive results. Plus, they are fun! Half, full and multi-day programs available in Florida, New York Harbor and the Caribbean.  

This November week in the British Virgin Islands aboard Moorings 50.5 bareboat yachts, is loaded with big sailboat race training techniques. Your expert Offshore Sailing School instructor - onboard throughout the week - works with you and your shipmates (maximum six) on crew management, tweaking your boat handling skills, and bringing your race techniques up to speed. With round-the-buoy and island-to-island races each day, you'll get multiple starts and hone upwind, reaching and downwind skills while learning the rules that govern rounding marks, at starts and finishes, in tacking duels and more. 

This four-day classroom sailing course is the precursor to Offshore Passage Making, available to take alone if you have strong Coastal Navigation experience. You’ll learn how to use a sextant, HO249 tables and the Nautical Almanac to calculate a sailboat's position based on the sun, planets and stars.  

This is the most intense of all our sailing classes. You must have all previous certifications, including Celestial Navigation and be ready for the rigors of non-stop ocean sailing. Taught in ten days on big cruising yachts you start with our four-day Celestial Navigation course, then board your yacht for our six-day Offshore Passage Making course. This thrilling offshore adventure is for those with strong sailing skills, the stomach for blue water sailing, and all the necessary pre-requisite certifications.  

Sailing lessons are available at all Offshore Sailing School locations in two-hour increments, giving you the opportunity to get out on the water, feel the wind on your face and the power of moving a boat under sail power alone. Get the sailing bug with one of our two-hour lessons and we'll apply half your tuition to a regular certification course!