Learning to Sail - Miami, FL

[AtomicPhil]

Hi i have been very interested in boats and the sea it self since i was a kid. now 27 now i have saved up and still saving up to buy a boat. small one first then hop to bigger ones. well let me get to the point. I live in miami,fl and wanted to know a place to learn how to sail. from to to manage that boat it self and names of parts of the boat, reading and how to navigate with a chart. I work in coconut grove and next to my hotel is an arena with alot of sail boats anchored and a place that i think teaches how to sail. so if anyone here know about that place or any other please let me know gotta make a move thanks

[b-rad]

Shake a leg is right down on the water before you get to montys they do classes and they have a website. You could also joint a racing crew website and maybe get lucky if you find somethat needs a body and is willing to train. BByra has a looking to crew place on their website.

[blahman]

Coconut Grove Sailing Club (CGSC) offers courses, but there are other ways to learn. Go down and tell the harbormaster or the sailing coaches that you're interested in crewing on boats to learn and they can put you in touch with folks. Many sailors are looking for able-bodies, whether or not those bodies know what they're doing! That's half the fun.

Aside from that, there is Shake-a-leg as was previously mentioned, and Castle Harbor Boating School. All three groups mentioned here offered ASA, and Shake-a-leg US sailing, certifications. But if you're creative, you can learn to sail for free - just go to a club and make friends

~Aaron

[imagine2frolic]

Jumping on other peoples boats is one way. A structured learning class is another, and it focused on you, not the finish line. After some basics racing is a great way to expand your new knowledge..........i2f

[AtomicPhil]

I work in the Sonesta Hotel by the way. always looking out at the boats. im going to pass by CGSC and find out how much is it to learn. what i would like to learn more about going to a class is boat parts which i am lacking right now and what difference does it make by sizes. such as the pole. also i am thinking of going back to the coast guard auxiliary to get more knowledge.

[blahman]

Phil,

Check out this link; there is a lot of good info.
US Sailing - Online Sailing Course and Lessons

Go down to CGSC and find some people to go sailing with to see whether or not you like it before investing in courses. You ought to have been at Sonesta when Phil and Nell still resided there - Phil and I would've got you sailing Sadly, my Westsail is on the west coast of Florida and I no longer work as an ASA or US Sailing instructor. Life has moved toward music full time.

You won't likely get very much useful sailing information from the CG Aux - they aren't sailors. Most of them aren't even boaters, even by Miami standards.

~A

[loupdemer]

Phil -

Check out these folks. They run a good program out of Matheson Hammock:

http://www.castleharbor.com/SailingSchool.html

[CapnDon]

I learned sailing at CGSC when I was about 10, but I recommend an ASA school for adults. Learn the theory and science instead of the racing rules. When I took my first ASA course, I learned there is a lot more to know than how to make a boat go fast.

But try to learn on a small boat, not a 30+ footer. You will never be as good a sailor if you start on big boats, because you don't get the "feel" as well as on a small boat.
Would you start teaching a kid to drive in an 18-wheeler, or a small car?

Whatever you do, you have a great place to sail. I grew up in Coral Gables/Coconut Grove, but I left in '73 to work in Chicago. Finally returned to FL in '95, to Jax. Good luck.

[AtomicPhil]

well 4 years later from this original post i learned how to sail, now for the boat this week . just an update but up in nyc