Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SAILING SCHOOLS
get your sea legs on a sailboat
ANYWHERE THERE'S AN OCEAN, LAKE, RIVER, OR INLET
It was such a good reminder that you're in control of a lot of your destiny.
You just set your course, adjust your sails, and keep moving forward.
—Katherine Souka, participant in a Womanship sailing school
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For years, sailing was considered an inherited passion, the exclusive preserve of Ivy
Leaguers in white linen pants, navy blazers, and boat shoes. Not anymore. At last count, there
were something like 500 sailing schools in the United States alone, ranging from huge oper-
ations that offer ocean classrooms at eight current locations around the country to mom-and-
pop schools docked at one luxurious resort allowing students to spend half their day mastering
sailing skills and the other half golfing or lounging around the pool, mai tai in hand. Many of
the schools offer live-aboard courses, which means you'll sample the delights of galley cook-
ing, take showers in the head, and rarely leave your classroom for the week.
Before you sign up, it's wise to decide how serious a sailor you want to become and what
you'd like to accomplish. Although most schools offer beginning courses where you literally
start with “This is a boat…,” there are also courses in racing, cruising, bareboat chartering, and
celestial navigation. The big vacation sailing schools offer a variety of courses, so half the va-
cationers may be brushing up on racing strategies while the other half familiarize themselves
with the bare bones.
For those just wanting to get their boat shoes slightly wet—so to speak—start with a be-
ginners' learn-to-sail course that usually combines classroom lectures with hands-on-the-tiller
instruction. You'll learn the vocabulary (they may
look
like ropes, but they're actually called
“lines”), how to rig the sails, how to read the direction of the wind, and how to set a course.
You'll master the basics of water safety, knot tying, and navigation and get lots of practice
coming about and jibing (that's sailor speak for changing course into the wind).
NAUTICAL LINGO
