Sailing Lessons in Vancouver

[julien16]

Hi folks! I was just wondering if any of you know of any good one day sailing courses or something of the like out in the vancouver area. Me and my brother are both going out there this summer to visit my sister and her husband. We have always been interested in sailing and are hoping to use that oppertunity to try some sailing. That being said, i;ve been looking online to see what they offer and it seems like all i can find are 4 - 5 day courses (which costs 1000$+) which is fine but since none of us have sailed before and it seems a little steep and time consuming for someone who just wants to go out for the day to see if it is something we would like.

Anyways what im getting at is does anyone know of any good (and preferably less expensive) courses or day trip that people offer out in that area? any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

[terminalcitygrl]

I've been looking at sailing courses a lot lately but didn't see any one day classes although if the 4 of you are interested I'll bet you could hire someone to take you out for the day to teach you. We signed up for a class with Telltales Sailing but haven't done it yet (June) so can't speak at all to the guy or the course but we liked the price/ boat/ website reviews/ 3 weekend days format. He has a 30 Catalina and takes a max of 4 students. I did see he does custom classes/ charters so maybe email him and some of the other guys around. Folks have spoken highly on this site of Jim Lavers as an instructor. We met 3 guys at the boat show who have their own sailing schools and weren't overly impressed. I think Coopers teaches on the smaller daysailers (and 5 people!) and we thought the slightly larger Catalina would be more what we would like to sail ourselves. Anyway, charter may be a good option for you to just do 1 day and learn what you want.

[belizesailor]

Just bear in mind that 1 day is not enough time to complete a basic sailing class following any recognized curriculum (like ASA or US Sailing). This this is why you don't see any advertised anywhere.

Sounds like what you are looking for is what we used to promote as "Discover Sailing" program. Basically, book a day sail, gain a little introductory knowledge of sailing during the day sail, and apply a portion of the day sail fee to future sailing instruction. Text from flyer below as an example.

You may well find someone who will do something similar for you, but don't expect this will be sufficient introductory training.


----- original flyer text ----

Curious about learning to sail? Then try our “Discover Sailing Special” priced at $35US per person. Booked in conjunction with a day-sail, the “Discover Sailing Special” includes a one hour introductory class followed by hands-on participation during the day-sail. During the class you will learn basic sailing theory, boat parts, and sail handling. During the day-sail you will put this knowledge to use by participating in sailing the boat. Want to learn more after that? Then sign-up for one of our ASA classes and receive a $25US discount! (Our “Discover Sailing Special” does not result in ASA certification, but our other classes do!).

[julien16]

Hi thanks for the replies! I think you are right, i might of worded that wrong, i am not looking so much for an official course to certify me at this stage. i have never set foot on a sailboat (i have other boats) and who knows maybe after one day i find out its not for me so before getting myself into an actual course i think maybe a charter or the "discover sailing" would be more around what we are looking for. me and my brother will most likely only be in vancouver for a week so we could not do the multiple weekend scenario.

I will keep looking maybe more towards chartering to get the feel of what it is like. im not a big fan of taking classes, i learn while doing it so that it kinda what im leaning towards. If anyone on this forum offers personal charters or know of any please bring them my way, as for now i will keep looking online to see what i can find. i still dont have a set date as to when i am going but would like to this summer. Oh and in case this matters, i am 24, my brother 22, my sister 26 and her husband 29. were not party animals so dont think we would trash the boat (although we woudl never turn down a night of good beer, good people and good music!)

Thanks!