Seeking Sailing Instructor Recommendations in Florida

[Midwesterner]

Originally Posted by Lance Monotone

Thank you for clarifying that. That does make sense and I admire how seriously you took your education and preparation for your boat!

It's not normally my style, there are often things I've done, learning "by the seat of my pants". My wife and kids know this, and I have a reputation with them about this. When I announced that I, a landlocked life long mid-westerner, was planning to buy a boat, and sail it out on the ocean, my family was skeptical. I took my wife on the week long charter and she was very impressed with the professionalism and depth of the course, training and the test.

It has given my family a great deal of confidence that dad got "formal training". I have a sister and brother-in-law, who are both retired military, and are rather regimented in their thinking. They live fifty minutes from my boat. For them, knowing that their wild kid brother, has a certificate, and that charter operators trusted me five different times, to take their boats out, has given them the confidence that they have said they would go sailing with me.

That's why I did it.

[Lexi22]

Originally Posted by Lance Monotone

He's living the life I want!

Your story is also as interesting as his. The rest of this paragraph will be written assuming you wanna do what he has been doing; if my assumption is wrong, I apologize. If I were you, I'd start the video channel now. Because if you plan to live on a sailboat one year from today, then this will be heck of a year for you. What you do at this moment is a big portion of your new endeavour. I think we would all watch your channel and enjoy witnessing your progress. You being an artist will make the difference, I believe.

I used to have a Sunfish, a great beach-launched sailing dinghy. I gave it to a friend when I moved. What I remember about that boat is lots of smiles and fun, fun, fun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunfish_(sailboat)

Good luck, man.

[Midwesterner]

Originally Posted by John_Trusty

First, welcome and good luck Lance. You've gotten some good advice here, and some references. As others detailed, I fully support the ASA program as a good standardized set of courses and instruction quality. ...

...One aspect of ASA courses that I've seen people make mistakes about is taking three courses in a week vacation time. It's just too much information to absorb that quickly, and you need practice between times.

It worked well for me. I'm a very hands on learner, and it helped me to get out on a boat and do it all in one week. It helped me integrate everything I wanted to learn and do, to put it all together at once.

It allowed me to begin chartering right away, and build my skills.

I think that breaking up the training can create problems in the other direction. I've seen people take ASA 101 and then not feel enough confidence to get out sailing alone. They may rent some little boats that don't have the equipment of larger boats, like winches, and they lose some skills.

I think that taking the three courses in a package, helps a person develop the whole picture of what they are learning all these skills for. It depends on your learning style.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by John_Trusty

...
One aspect of ASA courses that I've seen people make mistakes about is taking three courses in a week vacation time. It's just too much information to absorb that quickly, and you need practice between times.

Taking ASA 101/103 is possible in a week time frame but it is a HUGE amount of work if the class is done correctly.

My wife and I lived on the boat for the 6 or so days of the class. We got up in the morning, ate breakfast, got ready to go sailing, and then started studying the books and practicing knots before the instructor arrived. After spending the day sailing, it was to the showers, dinner, and back to the books and knots. It was fun but hard work.

ASA recommends a minimum of 80 hours between 103 and the 104 class. Not sure how one does 101/103 and 104 in a week and get anywhere close to 80 hours without an instructor on board. ASA 104 itself is a 4 day class...

This should not be about ticket punching but it is for some.

Later,
Dan

[Lance Monotone]

Originally Posted by Lexi22

Your story is also as interesting as his. The rest of this paragraph will be written assuming you wanna do what he has been doing; if my assumption is wrong, I apologize. If I were you, I'd start the video channel now. Because if you plan to live on a sailboat one year from today, then this will be heck of a year for you. What you do at this moment is a big portion of your new endeavour. I think we would all watch your channel and enjoy witnessing your progress. You being an artist will make the difference, I believe.

I used to have a Sunfish, a great beach-launched sailing dinghy. I gave it to a friend when I moved. What I remember about that boat is lots of smiles and fun, fun, fun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunfish_(sailboat)

Good luck, man.

Haha, you know me too well. I have already started working on some stuff. My channel is going to be called 'On the Run to Nowhere'. I don't care about becoming famous but I like following those channels (especially in their early days) and watching how they solve problems. My motivation is helping someone who has a similar issue and letting my family and friends know I haven't been eaten by dolphins. Deer of the sea, dolphins are. Vicious, cold-blooded killers. Some of those YT sailors are badass though. Sam Holmes and Erik Aanderaa come to mind. (I think someone mentioned Sam upthread and I didn't realize that was his name.)

Anyway, I appreciate the encouragement and well wishes. How goes your boat hunt?

[Lance Monotone]

Originally Posted by Midwesterner

It's not normally my style, there are often things I've done, learning "by the seat of my pants". My wife and kids know this, and I have a reputation with them about this. When I announced that I, a landlocked life long mid-westerner, was planning to buy a boat, and sail it out on the ocean, my family was skeptical. I took my wife on the week long charter and she was very impressed with the professionalism and depth of the course, training and the test.

It has given my family a great deal of confidence that dad got "formal training". I have a sister and brother-in-law, who are both retired military, and are rather regimented in their thinking. They live fifty minutes from my boat. For them, knowing that their wild kid brother, has a certificate, and that charter operators trusted me five different times, to take their boats out, has given them the confidence that they have said they would go sailing with me.

That's why I did it.

I am also a seat-of-my-pants-er. It's taking all the adulting I can muster to not quit my job and move to Florida last week. I typically can't stand winter but this year it's even worse because I finally see a light at the end of my New England tunnel but it's at least 2 months away.

[Lance Monotone]

After talking (and listening!) to a folks here and elsewhere, I've decided to take a short day out with a seasoned skipper to see how I like it, then go for the ASA combo course afterwards. I do pretty well at learning under pressure and I don't have a lot of time to make multiple trips to Florida for courses (I am NOT waiting for stuff to start up here...in JUNE).

By the time things thaw out and boats are being shown I should have a decent grasp of sailing and I'll better know what to look for as I shop. Laila's dinghy idea sounds like a lot of fun too. I could tow it when I visit boats and sail around for a bit after viewing. This is going to be a great summer!

This is probably a dumb idea, but does anyone know if a 14' sailing dinghy will fit on a boat, for use in getting to shore from anchor?

Thank you all very much for your responses, stories and advice. I am in your debt. I will name my boat after all of you.

[Liberta T48]

water sailing">Blue Water Sailing School out of Ft Lauderdale.

Great instructors, a very nice fleet and the best part - you spend the entire week on the water living aboard doing all the class work and practicals- the best experience in my opinion.

And yes - getting your initial ASA certifications in a week is not a problem.

www.bwss.com

[lo2jones]

I’ve taught at ASA and US Sailing Schools. US Sailing is superior. ASA is only as good as the company makes it. There are some good ones, but lots of bad ones. Someone’s recommendation of Colgate is great advice. Taking lessons is the best way to know more than enough to be dangerous. I’ve told students for many years, “taking lessons might seem painful, expensive, but it will greatly reduce the possibility of getting your name in the local sailing magazine for a bad reason!”

[merrydolphin]

When I took my US Sailing instructor exam in San Francisco (very challenging conditions) we had, classroom presentations, written exam and on and in the water tests.
On the water test quite challenging. There were about 20 people testing. 5 of the 20 didn’t make it. 4 of those 5 went on to quickly and easily pass their ASA instruction rating.
There is no question that US Sailing has more stringent skills requirements than ASA.
I am also a Scuba instructor. And with both sailing and Scuba, beware of quick or accelerated training offers where you go from zero to hero in a “live aboard” class of a few days to a week. It takes time and practice to be confidant and safe on the water. And cramming doesn’t work for sailing or Scuba. You need some experience to get to say, Bareboat level certification. Our school required 10 trips out ( on any sailboat) 32 feet and under, with you in charge after Basic keelboat and Basic Cruising Cert levels before going on to the Bareboat level. No class will give you the skills and confidence to sail on your own like getting out there were you are in charge of the trip. This builds confidence in yourself. Something you can’t fully develop in a class scenario. Of course you need the basic skills to do this first.
Crash courses are just that!

[mbj]

Originally Posted by Lance Monotone

Hi all,

I would like to make my way to Florida from the frozen hell that is NY sometime in February or March to take sailing lessons. I found a few schools online, but I would prefer to take them from someone who comes recommended by the CF community here, so if you know of anyone please let me know in the thread or PM me.

Perhaps I'd like a bit of advice too. I have no plans to sail professionally, so I feel like taking ASA classes are an unnecessary expense at this time. Feel free to convince me otherwise, but I'm assuming I can get the same training via a private instructor or a non-certificate course?

I realize I'm probably being vague and I'm happy to answer questions. I don't really know what I'm looking for at this point. I just want to get on the water and learn how to sail without breaking the bank.

Thanks in advance!

I had a very good experience at Emerald Coast sailing School, https://www.ecsailing.com/default.htm but they have experienced significant storm damage, so check. I chose them because i could live aboard during the class. If you're willing to learn on a Florida lake, I would highly recommend Isail.com in Sanford, FL on Lake Monroe. I lived aboard there also, and thoroughly enjoyed walking around the village every day. ASA cert is available there, but they'll teach without it. I dropped my ASA membership because they seemed to have sloppy business practices--not unethical, but sloppy. The advantage was structured, sequential learning and a discount on my boat insurance. I was able to get that through another membership.
Fair winds to you, and let us know what you choose to do.

[BoatBumm]

Capt D.J. at U-Sail of Central Florida. Highly recommended based on my own personal experience with her.. Based in Sanford Florida.

[John_Trusty]

Originally Posted by Lance Monotone

This is probably a dumb idea, but does anyone know if a 14' sailing dinghy will fit on a boat, for use in getting to shore from anchor?

Typically, I try to keep my dinghy no longer than the boat beam, even if I don't sling it across the stern in davits, as reasonable 'looking' for the main ship. Everything on a boat is a compromise (cost, speed, comfort, maintenance, etc.), so you balance it out. A 14' sailing dinghy would probably be very comfortable and fun, but heavy and a pain if you had to man-handle it to the deck or on the beach. That said, if you bought one now, you could prob sell it, if you didn't want a fleet, with minimal loss in a few years.

If you look at the 30 - 40' sizes of monohulls that you'll likely buy, most of them are around 12-14' beams. Naturally, cats are wider. Here's a useful link - https://sailboatdata.com/

[D A McElwreath]

We took whole family to Key Lime cottages in Key Largo. They have an on site instruction available, and I think they have asa certification available if you want it but our kids took the shorter version. It worked out very well for us and kids and grandkids.

[laila23]

Originally Posted by Lance Monotone

if a 14' sailing dinghy will fit on a boat, for use in getting to shore from anchor?

https://youtu.be/RGjBz6s2Nqk
https://youtu.be/wB0psZSbJj4
Although I'd recommend a Sunfish or a Laser, and selling it afterwards. Why wait till summer?