What is sailing? It's different things to different people. Some people use sailing as a social event for family and friends. Other people want to travel to far away places using a sailboat as the mode of transportation. Most people don't have a specific reason to sail other than they like the idea of being on the water and moving around in that environment without the noise of a motor. All are good reasons to sail and everyone interested in sailing should be proficient in the sport. Maybe the most interesting part of sailing is that it gets better with time.

How can we measure our proficiency as sailors? A beginner sailor feels like and sometimes looks like a person on roller skates for the first time. Some people may think that sailing is a complicated and difficult sport to master. Many new sailors give up on sailing because of these feelings. The reason that they shouldn't give up on sailing is that they will get good at sailing if they continue sailing and they do it for a long enough period of time. The same thing happens when we learn how to drive an automobile. Learning to drive an automobile can be difficult at first. Then several years down the road, we drive our cars without really thinking about the details of driving. We do it automatically and mastering sailing is done the same way. When you get good at sailing, you and your boat will move like a graceful couple on the dance floor and the boat will let you lead.

Our On-Line Sailing School is training for sailors that would like to fine tune their sailing skills and accelerate their technical sailing performance. All students will have their own personal instructor. A prerequisite for the course is that you own your own sailboat, a GPS (Global Position System) receiver and a digital camera. Your instructor will help you with the hardware and software used during the instruction. The course training syllabus will be conducted on-line and your homework can be completed anytime on your boat. We will be able to measure your improvements with the GPS and camera as we proceed with the course. You can finish the course at your convenience when the weather and sailing is good in your area. The power of on line instruction is that it can cover a much longer period of time. No one can learn how to sail in one week or one weekend.

The way we can evaluate your performance on the water is by having you sail an upwind course in your boat. Sailing this same course in different wind conditions at different times will tell use a lot about you and your boat's sailing capabilities. The course needs to be a starboard tack followed by a port tack. The distance for each tack is not important, but we would like to have between 1/4 and 1/2 mile per tack if possible. You need to take a time and position fix with your GPS at the start and finish of the starboard tack. After completing the starboard tack, jibe in a counter clockwise circle and cross your starboard course at a right angle. Start your port tack by taking your time and position fix again at the beginning of the tack. The tack distance is not important. Point as close as possible and sail as fast as possible. Take your position and time fix again at the end of the port tack. Your GPS will give us a good position fix for all four positions. Your times need to be recorded in hours, minutes and seconds at those positions. You will be able to see where and how you sailed on your computer and we will be able to make suggestions for improvements. Camera shots of the bow, the horizon and the sails from your boat's cockpit will identify angle of heel and sail shape for different conditions. When you get good at sailing upwind, your going to be a good sailor.

Completion of the course will include a report evaluating your skills and the dynamics of your boat. The report will include recommendations about your boat and your sailing area. Computer performance files recorded during the instruction and a satisfactory certificate of completion will be issued at the end of the course.

The cost is $100.00 for the on line course and is available to anyone anywhere in the USA. Use the contact link below to ask your questions about our program. Look at the training syllabus to see if we can help you improve your sailing.

Click this link "Questions" to ask questions about our on line instruction.