Sailing Lessons in BVI

Posted By: Kryssa

Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 12:14 AM

I have significant sailing experience, but not enough to skipper my own bareboat, and my husband and I were thinking it would be nice to have the opportunity to just go out the two of us sometimes.

What do you guys think is the best way to take sailing lessons in BVI? I think I would prefer to take a class where I'm also staying on the boat, but I would be open to staying on land as well.

Does anyone have an instructor or a company to recommend?

How important is it to get ASA or US Sailing certification?

The goal would be to take the lessons on the next trip (7-10 days) then on the following trip, we would book a bareboat with a captain for the first day or two, then it's just my husband and I off on our own for the rest of that week

Posted By: rm3

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 12:39 AM

I would call Rob Swain. http://www.swainsailing.com/ He can set you up to do exactly what you are asking to do. They are an ASA as well as a US Sailing school and can get you certified for either one. The formal certification is not a hard and fast requirement but it will make it easier to fill out your resume when you want to charter on your own.

Posted By: Subaqua

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 12:57 AM

Quote

Kryssa said:
I have significant sailing experience, but not enough to skipper my own bareboat, and my husband and I were thinking it would be nice to have the opportunity to just go out the two of us sometimes.
[color:"blue"]You are wrong, if you have significant sailing experience and a credit card, you can charter a boat. For sure.[/color]

What do you guys think is the best way to take sailing lessons in BVI? I think I would prefer to take a class where I'm also staying on the boat, but I would be open to staying on land as well.
[color:"blue"]Sailing courses, where you stay on the boat, are pretty much the norm. But really, if you can sail, I'd forego the class instruction. Sailing isn't that difficult. And in the BVI it's like beginners paradise.[/color]

Does anyone have an instructor or a company to recommend?
[color:"blue"]If I was going to recommend one for you it would be an ASA course, take it out of Tortola, check with Sunsail and see if Matt Holt is still instructing. I think he's moved up the ranks some because he was real good.[/color]

How important is it to get ASA or US Sailing certification?
[color:"blue"]Not important at all. If you are concerned about doing the bareboat thing in an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar boat, hire a skipper for a day or two.. He can show you the ropes, familiarize you with the boats and it's nuances. He'll make a $150 or so a day.. but you'll save thousands over ASA courses. The charter company you rent from will have a list of skippers you can hire for a few hours.. They may even just send one out with you for 1/2 day to check your abilities and also familiarize you with the boat.[/color]

The goal would be to take the lessons on the next trip (7-10 days) then on the following trip, we would book a bareboat with a captain for the first day or two, then it's just my husband and I off on our own for the rest of that week

[color:"blue"]Seriously, if you can sail and know your stuff.. just go for it, you may not even need a skipper for a day. More likely, for 1/2 day.. take you out, raise the sails, drop the sails, pick up a mooring. Can't get easier than that.[/color]

Posted By: SuburbanDharma

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 01:27 AM

"sailing isn't that difficult..."

Really? Spoken like someone who was probably sailing before they were riding a bike and doesn't remember just how complicated it is. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Posted By: Subaqua

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 01:43 AM

Quote

SuburbanDharma said:
"sailing isn't that difficult..."

Really? Spoken like someone who was probably sailing before they were riding a bike and doesn't remember just how complicated it is. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

No, I just started sailing about 5 years ago.. I remember well. I spent a week with a skipper on 38' catamaran, and then took it from there. 3 of those days that week there was no wind so didn't really learn "sailing" much those days. Before that, our family had a little 14' boat with a main and a gib when I was a kid and I kinda got the basics of how things worked on that. But that was 35 years before the cat.
She says she is an experienced sailor.. well, if so, then it ain't going to be that hard.
There's a gib sail, a main sail, a furler, a halyard, 2 gib sheets, a main sheet, and travelers.. and there's a motor to use if you don't want to raise the sails. I still say it ain't that tough.
Now, 1000's of miles under my belt.. never broke the boat.

I should edit that to "40 years before the cat".. time goes fast..

Posted By: agrimsrud

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 01:51 AM

Subaque,

Oh boy..... I really try hard not to jump on anyone's post. But in this case I'm not able to let it slide.

Kryssa - please don't listen to ANYTHING Subaque wrote. Your plans sound great. You should definitely see about getting certified. I sailed since I was about 8. And still found that I learned a lot of things when I took the ASA classes at 50.

And even after you have certification you should definitely take on a captain for the first day or two or however many days it takes to make you comfortable. There is nothing fun about being even a little bit in over your head - stress is not a vacation.

I don't know anything about classes in the BVI - I'm sure there are others here that can comment on that.

take care!

Posted By: GoneSailing

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 02:19 AM

I agree taking a course is a good thing. All of us learn differently and have unique circumstances. I too took an ASA course when I was starting out and it was a great experience. I guess for me it is like any other interest, how far and how deep do you want the knowledge to go. At this stage I spend a lot of time trying to develop skills. A few years ago I wanted to be comfortable to charter. One of the things I most like about sailing is that it is one of those sports / hobbies that you can spend a life time to explore and experience or it can be a part time interest.

Above all else: enjoy and explore at your own pace and interest. The rest of us are just "talking heads".

Posted By: CottageGirl

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 02:22 AM

Krystal, we did just what you're talking about.
We've been on boats (power and sail) all our lives in the Great Lakes. But captaining a 40' cat is a lot different than scooting around in our 19' sailboat or 25' powerboat on the lake. We took ASA courses 101, 103, 104 and 114 from Virgin Islands sailing school in Nov 2014. It was a week long live aboard school out of St Thomas. The next year, March 2015, we took our kids plus a few other family members on a charter in the BVI's for a week with us captaining. November 2015 we took friends for a week. April 2016 we're going to be back down with another set of friends. My humble opinion is that unless you've got experience sailing these 40'+ boats I'd take a few classes.

Posted By: Subaqua

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 02:29 AM

Quote

agrimsrud said:
Subaque,

Oh boy..... I really try hard not to jump on anyone's post. But in this case I'm not able to let it slide.

Kryssa - please don't listen to ANYTHING Subaque wrote. Your plans sound great. You should definitely see about getting certified. I sailed since I was about 8. And still found that I learned a lot of things when I took the ASA classes at 50.

And even after you have certification you should definitely take on a captain for the first day or two or however many days it takes to make you comfortable. There is nothing fun about being even a little bit in over your head - stress is not a vacation.

I don't know anything about classes in the BVI - I'm sure there are others here that can comment on that.

take care!

Hey! Be nice!
I didn't say "go out and sail in a hurricane". geez.. I'm still learning.. and get this.. after sailing for 3 years on the cat my wife and I took ASA 101, 103, 104.. we tested out of ASA 101. We had to take the ASA to be able to charter in certain Mediterranean countries.
[color:"red"]The gal said she is an experienced sailor [/color] and if you think you need more than that and a day or two with a skipper you are wrong. You do not. I am proof. I knew virtually nothing about sailing and have chartered a ton now. She is experienced. She has way more knowledge about it then I ever did. And if that's the case, go sail, go charter.

Posted By: warren460

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 02:40 AM

As the boat gets larger, mass and therefore momentum grow exponentially. Fend off with your foot on a dinghy, save the boat from damage. Do that on a large boat, you may lose the limb.

Winches can be very dangerous as the loads are large. The concepts of sailing remains the same. The implementation is very different.

Take some lessons and develop your skills for the appropraite size boat.

Posted By: Kryssa

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 03:38 AM

Hi All,

I know that I know just enough to be dangerous and need some lessons on the bigger boats. My experience is skippering Catalina 14s and Hobie Waves and crewing on bareboats with my dad. He would run the electrical/plumbing/cooking systems and I sailed.

Could I sail a 48' cat back to base if I needed to? Sure. But to enjoy a week on our own, I need some lessons beyond rigging, points of sail, and knots

Right now we are looking at Rob Swain because they seem to have a program of sailing lessons & recreational scuba diving - a good combination for us

Posted By: Jccarr

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 06:36 AM

Not sure it matters but I did not see any association with any acredited organization such as ASA or RYA. The course names look like Asa but I just don't see Asa listed, you may check on this.

Posted By: beerMe

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 08:42 AM

Quote

Subaqua said:

Quote

If you don't feel confident then courses are a great idea. I started out on a 10' sailing dingy and then a 17' sloop and I sailed my *ss off all around the Chesapeake Bay! When I was thinking about chartering I got the standard line from the wife of an ASA instructor how would someone put you in a 40' boat worth $300K. When 911 hit I found plenty of outfits in the BVI that were more than happy with my "credit card" sailor experience in smaller boats. I had also worked at a marina and I'd operated much larger boats around the docks. I think I was qualified, I think I was more qualified than most. I didn't find the big boats that much of a challenge out on the open water. I don't berate those with a few weeks of training at school but I find it highly offensive that many think they can say their hundreds of hours of training is better than thousands of hours of real world experience. I've operated many boats in tricky docking experiences, fickle winds and run into weather and waves so high that would turn your hair grey. I parlayed my first experience in the BVI's to sailing the windward islands, leeward islands and the med. There is more than one route to Dublin and I think either is acceptable. I've felt quite confident each time we left on an adventure, if you don't then then feel free to get some more experience and training.

Posted By: LivinLarge

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 01:51 PM

I second BEERMAN and others who recommend the classes. I sailed an 18 foot Hobie for several years -- just enough to get the sailing basics. But taking off on my own with a 47 foot cat was nothing I wanted to take on without some formal instructions.

If you don't feel comfortable ...take the classes !!!

As with COTTAGEGIRL, we did a week-long live aboard with Virgin Island Sailing School out of St. Thomas. Sure glad we did !!!

Posted By: casailor53

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 03:38 PM

If chartering with SunSail is within your budget, check the availability of their instructor Matt Holt.

Posted By: denverd0n

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 04:05 PM

If your "significant sailing experience" is all in small daysailers then I would agree with those who say, take the class. I would suggest one of the classes where you live on the boat. This type of class is offered by Sunsail as well as The Bitter End.

If you have sailing experience in boats larger than 30' LOA, with a diesel auxiliary, though, and especially if you have any experience anchoring or picking up a mooring, then I have to agree with Subaqua. With that kind of experience you do not need a class, or any certification, in order to charter in the BVI. Nothing wrong with taking a class, of course, if you want to, but it would not be a requirement.

Good luck.

Posted By: mcevog

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 06:35 PM

I started out on dinghies as a kid, moved to dayboats, spent time learning how to operate single screw and twin screw power boats, gained RYA qualifications for both Power and Sail, and learned navigation from first principles before GPS was common, and have chartered many times in the BVI and elsewhere, but I still take great comfort from guidance and instruction.

Seriously - my guess is that there are quite a few charterers (and maybe some owners?) that are not so frequent in their use of 40-50ft sailing cats as some locals may be. Given that, recognizing the limits of ones capability in dealing with local freaky weather, gear failure, grounding, collision, close quarter maneuvering etc and thinking that additional instruction from time to time to polish skills would be beneficial can only be a good thing - right? Doesnt really matter wether the rules say you have to or not.

I know it helps me!

Posted By: UncleLuff

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 06:53 PM

I don't have as much sailing experience as the poster, but I did have my CSA basic keel boat certification that I got hear in Canada.

I did a live aboard sailing course last ay with a friend (search fair wind sailing and you should find my review). Although I would not recommend this operator I would recommend taking a live aboard course. It's a great introduction to the islands and will give you the confidence to challenge them on your own next time. There are a few draw backs with going with a live aboard sailing course, you may be teamed up with 2 or 4 more people (this could make or break the experience), the days are long and there is a lot of material to cram in. My buddy and I did extensive prep and read/memorized all the material before going on the course. The couple that we were sailing with did not and they struggled! Started getting frustrating towards the end of the course when we were trying to refine our sailing skills and they were still struggling with basic sailing terms and maneuvers (e.g. "Prepare to tack!"....response, "what do I do again?" <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />)

My buddy and I and respective wives are chartering in May and feel confident that we can handle a 40'...go slow and reef early! We are still mulling over getting a captain for a day to refresh our skills. We'll see.

Anyway, all that to suggest that if you have the money you may want to consider chartering a boat and getting a captain to take you through the certification. Good luck!

Posted By: casailor53

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/20/2016 06:59 PM

Quote

UncleLuff said:
...go slow and reef early!

"reef early" is the best sailing advice ever.

Posted By: Bow

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/21/2016 04:36 AM

Very entertaining thread.

I especially like the part where Subaqua says he has sailed �1,000�s of miles� in 5 years.

Just off the top of my head, I've sailed a Trans-Atlantic Delivery, Hawaii to LA Delivery, Seattle to LA Delivery, at least 5 deliveries up the Coast of Mexico back to LA, at least 3 LA to SF�s, at least 6 Newport to Nantucket, over 50 shorter deliveries in the SoCal area, taught sailing for 9 seasons (part time) in NYC Harbor and 4 seasons in MDR, CA, done 13 or so charters, 7 Santa Barbara � King Harbor Races, 3 Ensenadas, one Islands Race, 4 Stamford/Vineyard Races, over 1,000 buoy races, grew up sailing on Nantucket and figure I�ve sailed about 25,000 miles in over 40 years.

I�ve calculated that in an average charter in the BVI you sail less than 100 miles � the last charter I did was St. Lucia to Grenada and I don�t think that was more than 200 miles or so.

You must have been very busy, Subaqua.

BTW, the best sailing advice is �Start first and increase your lead.�

Posted By: Subaqua

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/21/2016 05:23 AM

Quote

Bow said:
Very entertaining thread.

I especially like the part where Subaqua says he has sailed �1,000�s of miles� in 5 years.

Just off the top of my head, I've sailed a Trans-Atlantic Delivery, Hawaii to LA Delivery, Seattle to LA Delivery, 5 deliveries up the Coast of Mexico back to LA, 3 LA to SF�s, 6 Newport to Nantucket, over 50 shorter deliveries in the SoCal area, taught sailing for 9 seasons (part time) in NYC Harbor and 4 seasons in MDR, CA, done 13 or so charters, 7 Santa Barbara � King Harbor Races, 3 Ensenadas, one Islands Race, 4 Stamford/Vineyard Races, over 1,000 buoy races, grew up sailing on Nantucket and figure I�ve sailed about 25,000 miles in over 40 years.

I�ve calculated that in an average charter in the BVI you sail less than 100 miles � the last charter I did was St. Lucia to Grenada and I don�t think that was more than 200 miles or so.

You must have been very busy, Subaqua.

BTW, the best sailing advice is �Start first and increase your lead.�

Glad you like it...
Yes, we've been busy... 6 to 10 weeks every year on the boat.. not just hanging around the BVI.. last time in the BVI we went to St. Croix and back so that was about what.. 80 miles in just a couple of days out of 4 weeks in the area..back and forth and around the usvi and the bvi... Same with when we've gone to St Martin.. then it's 300 miles or more.. in a short time.. Barts, eustatius, nevis, kitts, antigua.. same thing happens when we do grenada, or st lucia.. guadeloupe.. belize, or thailand, or wherever... we're not your average charterers.. So yeah, it's been interesting.. and now we're way beyond where we were 5 years ago, and been through a lot of interesting days and nights.. We could tell stories.. but thankfully most all the bad ones are ones we've heard on #16.

Posted By: Subaqua

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/21/2016 08:18 AM

Quote

Bow said:
Very entertaining thread.

I especially like the part where Subaqua says he has sailed �1,000�s of miles� in 5 years.
[color:"blue"]You could learn to be nice too.. if you wanted to get me riled I guess it worked because here I am, adding to this thread. Is anyone else going to bash me? If so.. next time I'm not giving the time of day.[/color]

....[color:"blue"]clipped the unnecessary stuff[/color]

I�ve calculated that in an average charter in the BVI you sail less than 100 miles � the last charter I did was St. Lucia to Grenada and I don�t think that was more than 200 miles or so.
[color:"blue"]I'd say the average charter doesn't sail 20 miles on a BVI charter, everyone motors! Probably don't even come close to 100 miles total. And I'm not sure, but I think it's only some over 100 miles from Grenada to St. Lucia..[/color]

You must have been very busy, Subaqua.
[color:"blue"]Yes, yes.. fortunate. ... It's sad.[/color]

Posted By: CaptainJay

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/21/2016 10:30 AM

Quote

Kryssa said:
I have significant sailing experience, but not enough to skipper my own bareboat, and my husband and I were thinking it would be nice to have the opportunity to just go out the two of us sometimes.

What do you guys think is the best way to take sailing lessons in BVI? I think I would prefer to take a class where I'm also staying on the boat, but I would be open to staying on land as well.

Does anyone have an instructor or a company to recommend?

How important is it to get ASA or US Sailing certification?

The goal would be to take the lessons on the next trip (7-10 days) then on the following trip, we would book a bareboat with a captain for the first day or two, then it's just my husband and I off on our own for the rest of that week

To try and put this thread back on track. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

There are lots of great options for sailing classes on board down here. We have (CYOA Yacht Charters) a partnership with Black Rock Sailing School they teach ASA courses on our boats. You can do a private charter with instructor or a group class.

Rob Swain does a good job with week long classes. The Tortola Sailing School seems to get good reviews as well.

Jay

Posted By: JudyG

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/22/2016 01:02 AM

Kryssa, you are right on; the more you know, the better you become. More education in any field of learning is better than less. After watching some credit card dimwits over the years, I commend you for knowing what you don't know! Happy sailing!

Posted By: jboothe

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/22/2016 01:02 PM

Quote

Kryssa said:
I have significant sailing experience, but not enough to skipper my own bareboat, and my husband and I were thinking it would be nice to have the opportunity to just go out the two of us sometimes.

What do you guys think is the best way to take sailing lessons in BVI? I think I would prefer to take a class where I'm also staying on the boat, but I would be open to staying on land as well.

Does anyone have an instructor or a company to recommend?

How important is it to get ASA or US Sailing certification?

The goal would be to take the lessons on the next trip (7-10 days) then on the following trip, we would book a bareboat with a captain for the first day or two, then it's just my husband and I off on our own for the rest of that week

Can you define "significant sailing experience"? If it is on a boat in coastal waters in something bigger than a Hobie Cat, than an ASA certification is probably not important. I have been through the ASA program up to 105 and 114 and have never been asked show my ASA logbook.

And for the most part I will agree with Subaqua but it does depend on the person or the couple. Sailing in the BVI, just isn't that difficult but you have to have the basic knowledge and some common sense. Unfortunately the saying that common sense isn't that common anymore is more often true than not...

Posted By: Kryssa

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 01/24/2016 07:50 AM

Looks like we've pretty much settled on the Rob Swain Sail & Dive program. I think we'll be out there April 16-24!

Thanks everyone for your help!

Posted By: stormster

Re: Sailing Lessons in BVI - 02/17/2016 03:53 AM

I took a liveaboard class with Offshore Sailing about 11 years ago. We used Moorings boat. I enjoyed it and learned a lot.