Coastal Passage Making

The ultimate dream of many sailors – whether they eventually do it or not – is to go sailing beyond sight of land or take long voyages on their boats or with friends. Coastal Passage Making will help get you to “living that dream” If you have completed all the certifications necessary (see What You Learn In Our Courses), then you are ready for the first step in the process of becoming a qualified ocean-going sailor.

An incredible adventure

Coastal Passage Making is an exciting adventure that takes you to distant points and back. This is a great course to prepare you for sailing down the Intracoastal Waterway and into the Atlantic to the Bahamas and Caribbean beyond; spending long vacations on passages in the Great Lakes; heading down the Gulf Coast of Florida to the Keys; or sailing out of West Coast harbors to ports requiring overnight sailing along the shore.
 

To get the most out of this course, you should have the skills for comfortable cruising or chartering on boats 35 feet or more, and want to learn more about blue water cruising. You'll experience sailing at night, night time crew overboard and recovery methods, standing watches, navigating around the clock, and cooking underway. In addition you will learn anchoring techniques, med-mooring, crew management, passage planning, weather routing and more.

Your home for the six days aboard is a Moorings 51.5, Hunter 45 or 49 or other cruising boat in that size range that meets our specifications for this course. A maximum of six students and two instructors are divided into two watches – three students and one instructor on each watch.  

"Offshore Sailing School has been a pleasureable learning experience which I would highly recommend to any discerning person. From their back office oprerations, to classroom, to on-water instruction; they exceeded my expectations."
Bruce Haydu – Oakhurst, NJ
Fast Track to Coastal Passage Making - St. Petersburg, Florida - August 2009

Certification

Coastal Navigation is needed to get your Passage Making certification. You can take the Coastal Navigation course as a stand-alone four-day classroom program at various Offshore Sailing School locations or on our Catamaran Live Aboard Cruising course. Better yet, consider Fast Track to Offshore Passage Making – a 10-day program you’ll never forget – to get everything accomplished on the same journey.

"Offshore Sailing School gave me the confidence to take on the world!"

Rodney Harris – New York, NY
 

Fast Track to Coastal Passage Making

This course is offered in the British Virgin Islands and Southwest Florida. First you’ll start with four days of comprehensive Coastal Navigation instruction while staying ashore at South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island, Mansion House B and B in St. Petersburg; Mariner Inn or elsewhere in Road Town, Tortola.

Then you'll board a 45’ to 51’ cruising boat and sail for six straight days. Plan to arrive Wednesday and depart Sunday, ten days later. Your package includes four nights ashore, six nights aboard a cruising yacht with meals and snacks, plus your last night ashore before heading home. There are few words to describe the true sense of accomplishment you feel when you dock back at base after six days on the water, with high fives all around.

 Your textbooks for this course both come from US SAILING, the governing body of sailing in the  United States. Comprehensive and inspiring, these are sent in advance for you to study in preparation for your course.

Non-stop sailing

During the Coastal Passage Making journey you will learn with two expert Offshore Sailing School instructors and a maximum of five other students. The group will be divided into two watches, each captained by one of the instructors. Your learning experience is non-stop — rotating four-hours "on" learning, four-hours "off" to rest, refresh, review. Berths are shared by each watch. When all hands are needed on deck, everyone steps forward for the task at hand. While itineraries are described below, ultimately the route you take is chosen by your instructors, with weather and wind conditions in mind. To learn more about this course, read what Jeff Linstrom wrote (see sidebar) about his experience in May 2009.

Passage Making packages

Fast Track to Coastal Passage Making packages vary with time of year and location and include:

• Four-day Coastal Navigation course tuition, taught ashore
• Six-day Passage Making course tuition 
• US SAILING Coastal Navigation and Passage Making textbooks
• Shared berths aboard
• All your meals during the Passage Making course
• Five nights accommodations ashore in a private room with applicable taxes
• US SAILING Coastal Navigation and Passage Making certifications
• Diplomas and logbook or pages for logbook if you already have one from a previous course

Currently, the Fast Track to Coastal Passage Making package single rate for Florida is $4995 and for the British Virgin Islands $5595. Coastal Passage Making alone in the British Virgin Islands is $3895. At all locations, you may take the four-day Coastal Navigation course without the live-aboard Coastal Passage Making course at $1345 in Florida and and $1475 in the British Virgin Islands. Both of these rates are double occupancy in room ashore. A surcharge is applied for a private room. There are no limits on space for Coastal Navigation, but in Florida only six spaces are available for Coastal Passage Making so preference is given to those in the Fast Track course. If you already have Coastal Navigation certification, please email sail@OffshoreSailing.com to request availability for Coastal Passage Making alone. 

British Virgin Islands and Florida passages

Tortola to St. Martin and back:  An 80-mile journey tracking east across the Anegada Passage to the island of St. Martin, then back along the same route. St. Martin shares diverse cultures, with its bustling cruise port and commercial district on the Dutch side, and the quaint and informal French side emphasizing comfort and elegance. Many beaches are secluded, with small cafés and charming bistros. Total nautical miles about 350.

Tortola to Culebra and Vieques and back: This course takes you approximately 42 nautical miles to the west of the Virgins, then 62 nautical miles south to the distinct Danish facade of St. Croix, the largest of the Virgin Islands and back to Tortola. These distinctly Spanish islands boast pristine beaches, uniquely friendly and casual people, undisturbed anchorages and a year-round lobster season. Total nautical miles about 350.

 Southwest Florida is known as the “Nature Coast” due to its many pristine beaches and anchorages, an abundance of sea life, birds, manatees and sport fish. The crystal blue water turns greener and clearer the further south you travel and the 10,000 island area and fringes of the Everglades National Park will amaze you with their natural beauty.

Captiva Island to Key West and back: The overnight passage from South Seas Island Resort to exciting, funky Key West is 132 nautical miles. As in all the Coastal Passage Making courses, we do the long stretch first and then hop from port to port on the way back. Tentative stops are Boot Key, Shark River anchorage, Fort Myers Beach, Cabbage Key before returning to South Seas. Total number of nautical miles is about 355.

St. Petersburg to Naples: The first overnight is 142 nautical mile sail to Gordon Pass in Naples, Florida. The sail back includes tentative stops at Cabbage Key, Lovers Key and Edgemont Key for a total of about 350 nautical miles. If weather dictates, a northern alternative from St. Petersburg might include Anclote Key and the Anclote Key Light House, and the Greek Sponge Fishing Village of Tarpon Springs, home of Florida’s original sponge diving fleet.

All itineraries from all start points are subject to change and dependent on weather and other conditions. The itinerary for your passage will be presented to you at the start of the course, and might even change as you progress through the week.

Locations and Dates for Fast Track to Coastal Passage Making Courses

The Moorings, Tortola, British Virgin Islands
February 4-13, 2010
June 10-19, 2010
September 9-18, 2010

South Seas Island Resort, Captiva Island, Florida
Dec. 10-19, 2009
November 11-20, 2010

Mansion House B&B, St. Petersburg, Florida
April 8-17, 2010

Please click here to get a quote on dates below or call 888-454-7015 to talk to one of our sailing advisors.