Performance Sailing and Racing

Sail trim is one of the key elements in taking your sailboat performance to its max. In these courses you'll learn a lot about sail trim on every point of sail. When you're back home sailing around on a leisurely afternoon, you'll find yourself fine tuning your sails to beat every boat that ventures nearby. 

But that's not all we teach in Performance Sailing and Performance Racing. In addition to trimming your sails for speed, pushing yourself, your boat and crew to maximize performance in a club race, regional or international competition is the only way we know to get your adrenalin going without having a stress meltdown.

In fact, performance sailing – thinking all the time about how to get maximum speed and performance, then actually reaping those rewards whether off sailing on your own or in a fleet – is one of the greatest mental and physical exercises there is. 

Performance Sailing

This course – taught on our lively Colgate 26s – is the next step up from Learn to Sail for anyone who wants to continue sailing performance boats of any size. If you intend to sail on your own (rented or purchased) or a friend’s boat and you’re an inquisitive person who likes to be challenged, Performance Sailing is for you.

You’ll learn how to make a sailboat perform to its highest level – trimming sails and rig for speed, placing you and your crew where weight does the most good, mastering the art of spinnaker flying.

When Doris Colgate took Steve’s racing course in the Bahamas back in 1968, a crew mate called the spinnaker “that machination of the devil!” Well, in Performance Sailing flying that chute will feel like opening your window shades when you’re finished.

Performance Sailing expands and solidifies your knowledge and confidence level of safety procedures aboard with repeated exercises to master techniques with out even thinking about them. Even if your ultimate goal is cruising, you'll find this course invaluable in re-establishing your understanding of sailing.

“This experience exceeded all of my expectations. I learned so much and had a great time!”
Patti Caldwell – Tucson, AZ

 Racing Programs

Our annual Performance Race Week with North U celebrity racing speaker, Bill Gladstone, is the absolute best for a whole lot of reasons. You’ll get more starts in practice and real-regatta-time than you’ll probably ever experience in a whole year of racing back home.

Every minute is occupied with super racing drills, coached by Offshore Sailing School instructors and guest coaches with racing in their blood. Upwind, downwind, on a reach – you and your crewmates will push your Colgate 26 hard to get to the first mark, and eventually the finish line, first!

Some people call thi course "boot camp" but everyone says it's the best race-training experience they've ever had. The people you meet are friendly competitors with a desire to learn. The activities surrounding your racing and seminar schedule include video recaps, beach barebecues and a gala awards dinner. Best of all – you’ll likely go home and win next season, and (though we hope not) suspect you'll keep your learning vacation a secret from your amazed racing pals.

Fast Track to Performance Racing

 If you don’t know anything about racing and have only taken our Learn to Sail course or sailed  small to mid-sized boats back home with not a lot of go-fast knowledge, put it all together in Fast Track to Performance Racing. The boats in the photo adjacent are about to round a mark  in pretty good winds. They are preparing to set their spinnaker. The second boat is a little late, but who cares – it’s all in the learning process and improvement is seen race after race, day by day.

Fast Track to Performance Racing gives you all the skills you need to start winning in one terrific getaway. You’ll take our accelerated three-day Performance Sailing course first and then immediately join the Performance Racing course. What a hoot! What satisfaction when you go home with a silver award and a whole lot of knowledge to put you in the winner’s circle.

Steve Colgate's New Book - Available Mid-March

Steve has taken his years of racing, and teaching people how to race and win, and consolidated all that knowledge in a superb new textbook that you will get when you sign up for a Performance Sailing or Performance Racing course, as of mid-March.  You can order autographed copies for yourself or to give to your crew and friends now. Just click on the book to see how.

Big Boat Racing Too!

If you want to race big boats, take a look at our new Caribbean Sail-Race Challenge in the British Virgin Islands. Non-stop racing and fun in the warm waters and steady breezes when folks "up north" are starting that long winter slog. An expert coach on each boat, racing on 50 footers - a program from Offshore Sailing School, innovators of race training going back to 1967 when Steve Colgate ran Sailing Symposiums with One Design & Offshore Yachtsman, predessor to Saling World magazine.

So what are you waiting for – click here to get a quote on any of the above options. 

Call 888-454-7015 to talk to one of our friendly sailing advisors.