Where would you go live to learn to sail?

[darylat8750]

I haven't sailed there but the recommendation for the S coast of England sounds intriguing . Sounds like it could be a great experience for the kids as well.

[svfinlandia]

I took two weeks and took a course to learn to sail at Barefoot Sailing School in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Beautiful Island, wonderful people, low cost of living. tropical climate and great sailing grounds! I envy you! If I were in your position, that's where I'd head.

Al, S/V Finlandia

[Captgps]

Sydney Australia

[verb88]

Grenada, West Indies.

[sail sfbay]

Ditto TrentePieds' remarks about paperwork to go live in a foreign country. My wife and I returned from a 3 year stay in Wales where we each needed a visa which required biometrics, immigration attorney, UK sponsor, residence, proof of income to confirm you are not going to be on the dole (welfare) and justification to confirm you are not taking someone's job away and finally an exit date. Same for a 3 year stay in Scotland. The visa process took several months.

Ditto Augi, acem and Paul Annapolis Chesapeake Bay recommendation. That is where I learned to sail when it was freezing cold and snowing.

Let us know your plan!!

[JensenJourney]

Oh, I'll let you know when we have a plan. We're letting our H.S. Senior graduate this spring before we move anywhere, so it'll be some time before we move. But when I do I'll definitely reach out and try to meet some people face to face when we do... not a lot of sailors to talk to here in the Rockies.

Because of the lead time before we move, we could consider other countries (like England, Croatia). My wife was a few days from paying for study abroad program in London when I proposed, so she likes that recommendation a LOT!

[old pirate]

Cape Town or Knysna, South Africa !
Every cruiser I've spoken to who visited on their circumnavigation said this to be a highlight.Some took a couple of months, some took years !
Cheaper cost of living. Cheaper boats. Big selection available. Plus a varied and rich land and geographic culture to experiance.
Once you're up to scratch on the sailing, and decide to move on, its a short downwind to South America ! RSA boats are built for the Atlantic.By then the travel bug will have got you ! I'm envious of your children as it would be the start of a very exciting lifestyle.

[roland stockham]

I think you are approaching this from the wrong end. If you have kids at home you need to be thinking about where is a good place for them, schools, health care and a culture you can feel safe and happy in. That will probably narrow the choice to a few countries. Then look for good sailing locations in those countries.

While I agree that sailing schools in England are great with all the chaos around Brexit it would not be high on my list. Housing prices, especially on the south coast are also some of the highest in the world. You don't say anything about your cultural background so I don't know if you speak any language other than English but places to look at in Europe would include Holland/Denmark - great education (mostly in English) and health care plus high standards of sailing. S Brittany - again services and good sailing (but all in French).
I would say that for learning to sail the RYA training is some of the best in the world but mostly you need to be in a place where you can practice and build experience. Any decent sailing club will give you that so I would say find a place close to the sea with a good sailing club in an area that suits your family life. Do the initial RYA competent crew course as a family holiday to give you a start and all the boat safety training. Then buy a small day-sailor, a small keel boat under 26ft would be ideal, plus a 16ft dingy. You and the kids can all practice in these sticking to sheltered waters while you get experience. If the kids are teens they will love the independence when they can take the dingy out by themselves and it will give them solid experience of water safety. You will learn much better and faster in very small boats than in a cruising boat! Once you have the basics do the shore-based navigation courses which can be done anywhere as online courses and progress to coastal skipper, again doing this as a holiday course. Once you have coastal skipper you can charter for some holidays in places you like the look of and see how you like life on the water and get a better idea of the sort of sailing you like. Plan to take 2-3 years of this before looking at buying a cruising boat and you will be in a much better position to find the right boat and location.

[acem]

For cost of living and year around sailing weather st petersburg florida is hard to beat. However it probably would be even cheaper to live near a large lake in the south and lake sail.

lake ouachita in arkansas is great and the cost of living is low. Many good safe schools are available. Winter sailing is ok on the right days and lots of swimming weather from April to October.

Thx-Ace

[john61ct]

Aha that St Petersburg! I had assumed in Russia 8-)

Originally Posted by Precision 21

St. Petersburg Sailing Center is located across from St. Petersburg Municipal Marina and offers both adult and youth programs.
St. Petersburg Sailing Center – St. Petersburg Sailing Center

[acem]

St petersburg russia would be interesting but the winter would be brutal to a southern boy. They might be ok since they are from Colorado.

St petersburg florida is nice this time of year. Highs in the 70s F with lots of sunshine.

Thx-Ace

[33trippindaisy]

To the OP......of course you can learn to sail anywhere in the World. The real question might be where can we go and enjoy life while learning to sail in a town that is small enough that the people have coffee together, the dogs are allowed to run free after 5:00 and in general, they simply live a full life, very little crime, and a place your children can walk alone downtown when age appropriate......well there is such a place. It's called Oriental, North Carolina. Lovingly known as the "Sailing Capitol of the World". Not taking away from the lads and lasses across the pond, why go somewhere you can not stay forever? Not taking away from our brothers and sisters "NORTH" of us in the Chesapeake, but we simply have better weather, big enough water, places to sail that no one else in our Country has to offer, and here is your link to their home Newspaper, if you wish to call it that. https://towndock.net

[Group9]

Somewhere warm.

[AKA-None]

Not knowing or caring for that matter I’d pick a place I could afford with 8 children. I’d vote also for North Carolina

[JensenJourney]

I've had a couple NC locations on my radar, Jacksonville being one of them... Does anything in particular make Oriental that much better re sailing?