Beginner from Vancouver, Canada

[flyagaricus]

Hi All

I just joined the forum here and wanted to say hi. I'm a beginner and interested in learning how to sail with the objective to eventually get my own boat (probably a 20-something foot cruiser) for day sailing, possibly more in the further future.

I live in Vancouver, Canada and I'm currently researching beginner skipper courses in the Vancouver area.

I would love to hear anyone's experience or suggestions on schools/courses/requirements etc. I'm not new to boating in general. I took some sailing lessons when I was a kid and my family had a cottage with a power boat and a small dinghy sailboat. I love being on the water, so I know this isn't something I won't enjoy!

Looking forward to hearin g from you

Cheers!

[JPA Cate]

Welcome aboard CF, flying agaricus,

There will be many opportunities around Vancouver, and some of our favourite sailors have come from BC. Enjoy!

Ann & Jim

[maxingout]

You are in a great location to get started in sailing. Adventure awaits.

[Gary Mc]

Hi I would strongly recommend that you get in touch with the Canadian Power Squadron there. They have excellent courses on sailing, navigation and maintenance etc. they should be your first stop.

Good luck

Gary

[chris mac]

Welcome, my wife and i took a live aboard course with ocean forest voyaging, out of Vancouver. It was fantastic.
We also chartered this spring with Coopers out of the Granville Island base. Their recent emails show that they are affiliated with ispa now, so should be good for lessons as well.
You have a wonderful cruising area, enjoy it:-)

[Emerald Sea]

We are liveaboard cruisers presently in Victoria and have a pal in Vancouver who is an active and excellent certified sailing instructor. Ive spent many a day on the ocean with him and he's well qualified. I will email you and give you his email address.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, flyagaricus.

[krafthaus]

Originally Posted by Gary Mc

Hi I would strongly recommend that you get in touch with the Canadian Power Squadron there.

I'd second Gary's suggestion to check out CPS. The Vancouver website is: Vancouver Power and Sail Squadron.

You are in one of the best locations in the world and we've enjoyed sailing there a number of times.

Good luck!

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by flyagaricus

Hi All

I just joined the forum here and wanted to say hi. I'm a beginner and interested in learning how to sail with the objective to eventually get my own boat (probably a 20-something foot cruiser) for day sailing, possibly more in the further future.

I live in Vancouver, Canada and I'm currently researching beginner skipper courses in the Vancouver area.

I would love to hear anyone's experience or suggestions on schools/courses/requirements etc. I'm not new to boating in general. I took some sailing lessons when I was a kid and my family had a cottage with a power boat and a small dinghy sailboat. I love being on the water, so I know this isn't something I won't enjoy!

Looking forward to hearin g from you

Cheers!

Coopers actually has a small fleet of Martin 244s. The info about them is hard to find on the site, but maybe give them a call. I think they have some sort of club that goes along with them as well. They also have a Catalina 28 in their regular charter fleet.

Nanaimo Yacht Charters has some Catalina 27 and 30s for charter as well. And I know they offer courses.

[rmesfo]

Originally Posted by flyagaricus

Hi All

I just joined the forum here and wanted to say hi. I'm a beginner and interested in learning how to sail with the objective to eventually get my own boat (probably a 20-something foot cruiser) for day sailing, possibly more in the further future.

I live in Vancouver, Canada and I'm currently researching beginner skipper courses in the Vancouver area.

I would love to hear anyone's experience or suggestions on schools/courses/requirements etc. I'm not new to boating in general. I took some sailing lessons when I was a kid and my family had a cottage with a power boat and a small dinghy sailboat. I love being on the water, so I know this isn't something I won't enjoy!



Looking forward to hearin g from you

Cheers!

I love Vancouver. I am not familiar with you sailing schools in Vancouver but there is a really good one in Bellingham, Washington. San Juan Sailing. The instruction is great, the instructors are knowledgeable and know their stuff and the boats are really nice. They have a number of ways to obtain your qualifications and it is not very far from Vancouver. My buddy went through the courses and thought they were very professional and thorough. We also charter every year from them.

Good luck have fun.

[desodave]

Welcome aboard Fly. The CPS is a good suggestion but probably not for the sailing how-to skills, more the general boating stuff you need. I took lessons (about 20 yrs ago) through Coopers - CYA courses. Combo of classroom study and on water sessions. This was for a refresher - I hadn't been sailing for about 10 years before that and felt I needed to have the refresher before we took off on a charter. Worked well for me. I also took Basic Navigation and a Weather course through Coopers but those are also available through CPS.

[westwon]

Cooper Boating is a great place to start. As said previously by desodave, they have a good mix of classroom and on-water training, and they have a number of courses throughout the year.
Good luck and great sailing!

Steve

[Scorpius]

Get some CYA (Canadian Yachting Association) courses under your belt. They are based on the old Jib Set curriculum - which was originally developed in Vancouver.

If you are interested in off-shore cruising eventually, join the Bluewater Cruising Association. They meet once a month in south Vancouver (Oak and Marine Drive approximately) and are an amazing organization supporting "Do-ers" (those currently offshore - a few hundred members), "Don-ers" (those that have been off-shore and are imparting their wisdom) and "Dreamers" (those planning or dreaming of off-shore voyaging). Lots of educational programs from Diesel mechanics to fire-fighting and first aid to Spanish and guitar lessons, support, and encouragement.

[LanceT]

Another way to improve your sailing skill is to join in one of sailing club, such as Barnet Sailing Cooperative. You can go with other members for day sailing, or weekend cruising to learn. Also you can get huge benefits from working on the boat repair/maintenance. It also give a chance to assess yourself whether you really like sailing, how big of boat you'd like to own without throwing big money.

[mossback]

Welcome aboard.

I've been sailing in the Vancouver area for 25 yrs. I'd check out Sail Canada( formally CYA) before the Power Squadron for sailing lessons(nothing against them, just had a radio course through CPS). I'd also check out Simply Sailing School as a less expensive alternate to Coopers. You might like to look at the Barnet Sailing Coop (I'm a member) for inexpensive sailing on 27 Catalinas(great boats to learn on and gain experience, we have 6 of them).