Frequently Asked Questions About Our Sailing Charter Certification Course

Learning the skills necessary to become your own captain can be easily achieved in a fun filled weekend. With our Sailing Charter Certification Course, you will be trained to lead a sailing cruise for your family and friends.Even if you know the fundamentals of sailing, you will become confident with your newly acquired "bareboat" cruising skills. Since 1980, Sailboats Inc. has certified over 11,000 sailing skippers.What will Sailing Charter Certification do for me?

To captain a large cruising boat you need specific training, even if you already know how to sail.  Our certification programs have been perfected, since 1980, to train the weekend sailor who longs to experience deep water on larger yachts, as well as the person who has never sailed.

Sailing is like anything. Learning how to do it from an experienced instructor will increase your enjoyment and dramatically shorten the time it takes to be proficient.

Will I be able to bareboat charter directly after I take the Sailboats Inc. Learn to Sail course?
What skills will I learn in your Learn to Sail course?
What comes with the Learn to Sail course?
Do I stay aboard during the course?
What can I expect during the on-the-water training?
What kind of yachts do you use?
Are your instructors licensed and experienced?
Do I need prior experience?
What is the difference between the Sailboats Inc. certification programs and the ASA or US Sailing programs?
Do the courses provide some written notes we can take away with us?
Do you cancel for inclement weather?
Can you accommodate family groups?
May I bring a youngster along to take the course with me?
Do you permit unpaid riders during the course?
How can we practice our new skills?
What is bareboat chartering?
Once I receive my Sailboats Inc. certification, are there advanced training opportunities?
What is Learn to Sail Plus?

Will I be able to bareboat charter directly after I take the Sailboats Inc. Learn to Sail course?

Yes.  Upon successful completion of our Learn to Sail Course, you will have the skills to safely captain or crew on a 30’ yacht in light to moderate conditions, in familiar waters or crew on similar sized yachts in open water and more challenging conditions.  If your dream is to sail larger boats or in more exotic locations, you can do this by simply practicing your newly learned skills and building your sailing resume (see our Advanced Coastal Course or Advanced Offshore Course).

What skills will I learn in your Learn to Sail course?

Our comprehensive three-day, (two hours classroom, twenty two hours on-the-water) 'mini-vacation' course, is intended for those with or without prior sailing experience, and is taught on 29’-30' cruising yachts, by a team of veteran U.S. Coast Guard licensed captains, both men and women, who are also professionals in other fields.

Student skippers learn the fundamentals of CHARTERING, as opposed to sailing instruction alone, and practice classic charter skills: engine use, docking, anchoring, reefing, sailing, navigation, etc. Emphasis is on precisely those skills and no time is wasted. As Sailing Magazine in Here's Proof notes, "Technical terminology, useless jargon and irrelevant theory are kept to a minimum."

What comes with the Learn to Sail course?

The 3-day comprehensive bareboat charter course includes all home study materials, lunch for days 2 and 3, beverages each day, 2 hours classroom and 22 hours on-the-water training.  Sleeping on board is available on a per case basis.  Please see ‘Do I stay aboard during the course?’ for further details.

Do I stay aboard during the course?

We want you to get the most out of your learning experience.  The reality is we teach an intense three day course filled with many new techniques and terminology.  We have found that being able to step ashore at the end of the learning day and retire to the quiet of a hotel room or campsite for a ‘full size’ shower, some privacy and undisturbed sleep pays dividends in more alert learning.

Please keep in mind that there may be a total of 5 adults on board a 30’ yacht (including your instructor).  While there are sleeping berths for 5, at least two students would be required to share a bunk.  There is also the consideration of privacy, sleeping habits, etc.  Please give us a call to discuss and we will do the best we can to accommodate your needs.

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What can I expect during the on-the-water training?

During the two and one-half days (approximately 22 hours), our instructors (average teaching experience: 10 years, many with 20 years and more), will encourage you while you take the helm of a 29' or 30' yacht and perform carefully planned drills and exercises. You will enjoy constant practice in safe, professional and skillful boat handling, learning cruising tips that would take years to acquire on your own.

What kind of yachts do you use?

The Sailboats Inc. Learn to Sail Course uses full-size inboard-powered 29'-30' cruising yachts, since the weight of these vessels at 7,000#-10,000# provides the real heft and small ship performance of the larger (35'-55') boats used in charter the world over. Our vessels also have galley, engine room, navigation equipment, along with creature comforts and features that many smaller vessels do not.

Are your instructors licensed and experienced?

ALL of our 30 male and female instructors are U.S. Coast Guard examined and licensed, with an average of 10 years of 'sea-time' as instructors, some with 20 years and more. Their training entails a minimum of 2,880 hours on the water, an equivalent of more than 5 years of full-time study. After their 'sea-service,' each must pass rigorous USCG examinations in regulations, seamanship, first aid/CPR, and then retest every 5 years.

After they are licensed, we train our instructors to teach a tight schedule of systematic on-the-water drills designed to promote safety and build cruising skills.

Most are professionals in other fields as well--business, law, medicine, teaching, and include ex-Navy, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine veterans. Many are veterans of 20 years and more.

Do I need prior experience?

NO, you do NOT need to be an experienced sailor to take the Learn to Sail Program, and the course does not presume you have any. In fact we joke with students the first day that it is an industry secret that nobody who charters boats to the public really cares if you are an expert sailor or not. They are much MORE concerned with your skill at docking, anchoring, reefing, man overboard, avoiding running aground, times when the boat and crew are at risk. This is what charter experience really provides. No one hurts themselves sailing. Also, even very experienced sailors need practice at chartering, a separate art form, if they have sailed or raced smaller boats. Do NOT be concerned at all if you are inexperienced at sailing; you will be among your peers.

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What is the difference between the Sailboats Inc. certification programs and the ASA or US Sailing programs?

We began our certification program in 1980 with the goal to teach adults the skills necessary to charter a cruising sailboat.  Our curriculum is the result of 30 years of experience with over 11,000 graduates who attest to the success of the Sailboats Inc. Learn to Sail program.   We offer a 3-day intensive course that focuses on boat handling, basic navigation and sailing to allow our graduates to safely charter a 30-32’ cruising sailboat.  No association fees, no hoops…just learning the necessary skills to enjoy time out on the water.

Our philosophy differs in that you begin your training immediately on a full-sized, 29-30’cruising yacht with an inboard engine and wheel steering – the same type you will charter.  We don’t spend your time or money, on small boats that do not teach big-boat charter cruising.

As Sailing Magazine states in their "Here's Proof" article of our program, "Technical terminology, useless jargon and irrelevant theory are kept to a minimum."

There is no government agency or association which regulates certification course content or certification to bareboat charter.  There is no organization you must be a part of to bareboat charter – just the skills necessary to handle the size boat you wish to charter and familiarity with navigating the cruising grounds.

When comparing sailing schools, please ask these key questions:

1. How long has the sailing school been around?  Sailboats Inc. – since 1980
2. How many students has it trained to date?  Sailboats Inc – over 11,000
3. Do they begin training on full-sized, inboard engine cruising yachts? Sailboats Inc – Yes
4. How much time will it take to have the skills necessary to bareboat charter? Sailboats Inc – 3 days.
5. Are all of the instructors USCG licensed? Sailboats Inc – Yes.  All Sailboats Inc. instructors must hold a captain’s license issued by the U.S. Coast Guard.  Their training entails a minimum of 2,880 hours on the water, an equivalent of more than 5 years of full-time study.  They must then retest every 5 years.

Our licensed instructors are trained to teach a schedule of carefully planned drills and exercises, tailored to promote safety and build cruising skills.

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Do the courses provide some written notes we can take away with us?

Each graduate receives a waterproof, laminated, 'flip-book' of key sailboat cruising skills, a 'CRUISING CHECKLIST', with field-tested, cautious, step-by-step routines designed to jog the new captain's memory. Each topic contains the exact steps we recommend for each cruising skill the new skipper has just learned. These great class-notes are a useful and safe guide for any future cruising, and avoid the problems of note taking on a moving boat.

Do you cancel for inclement weather?

Since our training boats are cruisers intended for offshore use in a variety of weathers, we rarely if ever cancel class for weather reasons. Certainly class is never canceled for merely inclement weather. Much of our training involves ship-handling, skills like docking, anchoring and close quarters maneuvering that can be done in rain, with or without wind, and skills like navigation and knot work that can be done in harbor, rain or shine. Sailing drills could wait for an excessively high wind to ease. In any case, summer winds rarely exceed 25 knots at all of our locations, a manageable speed for these boats, and squalls above that are short-lived and often avoidable, as they would be on an actual charter.

Naturally, our instructors are under strict orders to avoid alarming students or sailing into an obvious squall that could be skirted, and we try to time the sailing sessions to exploit appropriate winds for beginners.

It is also a blessing that in the 3 days of class, we usually have a representative variety of winds and weather, enough wind to teach sailing and enough crosswinds to make docking practice realistic.

Can you accommodate family groups?

We regularly accommodate family groups, and can accommodate yours and even tailor the instruction to suit your needs. Typically our groups are 4 individuals per boat. If you need or anticipate that 4 of your family would want separate certification, you constitute a full boatload and we can give very individualized instruction. If however, you have younger children who need some delicate handling but do not wish to be certified (indeed, they cannot legally charter until 18 yrs. old) we will be happy to set up a special session to accommodate your needs.

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May I bring a youngster along to take the course with me?

Since 1980, we have taught many parent-child combos and had a uniformly great time doing so. Our only thoughts for you are the following:

1. Age 15 is a good lower limit for young people. Two problems with youngsters--the big one is attention span. As you are both likely to be with other adults, the course has an adult pace that is likely to stretch a 15 year olds tolerance. Secondly, younger students, their parents tell us forget the lessons rather soon. At that point the training serves only to whet their interest for when they are older, which is not bad itself, but may be a reason to wait a season or two.
2. Enthusiasm and motivation are the keys--a youngster on a holiday course he did not choose and does not want is not a motivated student, and young people fake interest badly and resist learning. But every one of our instructors have taught youngsters who were utterly captivated by sailing and boats and made inspired sailors, a real joy to teach. You would know best where your child fits on this continuum.
3. If your son or daughter is a minor, he or she cannot really charter a boat in their own name since he cannot sign the charter contract-- yet. This is usually not an issue since most youngsters are not really interested in chartering by themselves, and rarely has the wherewithal to do so anyway. We issue a completion certificate for such students, but withhold the charter privilege until they are of age. By then they will have had lots of extra experience too!
4. We encourage parent and child to sail on separate boats if possible. This is not mandatory, but highly recommended. Both parties have a lot invested in the success of the other and this extra chance for 'mutual stage-fright' let's call it, affects performance. That said, we have taught family members together, who assured us this would not be an issue, and it wasn't.
5. A highly motivated youngster is invariably a fabulous sailor, with youthful bravery and video game reflexes, and few of the mental distractions of adulthood. We have had to deal with the occasionally embarrassing situation where the child is the noticeably better sailor! On separate boats, of course, this is less of an issue.

With all that said--come join us! There is nothing more fun that learning a task with ones child, you remembering what it is like to be young and gung-ho, he seeing you at your most proud and accomplished. It has all the makings of a memorable family event.

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Do you permit unpaid riders during the course?

The space available on the boat is limited.  With 4 students plus 1 instructor, there is no room for riders who would just audit the course even in the company of paid family members. It is just impossible to accommodate riders without doing a disservice to the students or the instructor.

How can we practice our new skills?

Graduates receive discounts on Sailboats Inc. charters and are entitled to charter as Captain, without further training, immediately after the course. Because swift practice is the best teacher, we encourage back-to-back, school-then-bareboat charter--that is, booking an immediate first charter on the very same type of boat you sailed in school. To encourage a prompt bareboat charter (just you and your experienced crew; no paid captain needed) for each new graduating skipper, we extend a 20% discount on a first Sailboats Inc. charter during the same season.

Then, of course, you will want to save 5% on a British Virgin Islands charter with our affiliate Sunsail in the winter. In less than a season you'll be a veteran charterer!

What is bareboat chartering?

You 'bareboat' charter when you rent (sailors say 'charter') a sailboat without a hired captain or crew. Bareboat chartering avoids the annual cost of keeping a sailboat year 'round or paying crew wages and tips on a 'crewed' charter. Bareboat charterers are expected, however, to provide their own experienced crew and to have the skills to manage the boat they charter. For the active, involved, vacationer, bareboat chartering is a far more satisfying vacation than being a mere passenger, and so has become a popular and affordable vacation alternative. Because bareboat chartering demands very specific skills to keep the captain and his crew and the boat safe, charter companies increasingly demand charter skills acquired in the organized fashion that a school provides. Hence the sort of instruction Sailboats Inc. provides: drills and exercises specifically designed to teach the needed skills of chartering--docking, anchoring, navigation, reefing, sailing, emergency drills, etc.

Once I receive my Sailboats Inc. certification, are there advanced training opportunities?

Yes! While additional training is not required to bareboat charter, participating in an advanced training course will refine your newly learned sailing skills and increase your experience level. Click to find out more about our Advanced Coastal Course or Advanced Offshore Course.

What is Learn to Sail Plus?

Learn to Sail Plus offers you the opportunity to gain additional sailing experience at a discounted rate.   Sign up for a combo course, an additional day of instruction or a charter and build upon your newly learned skills!

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We invite you to sign up for this fun-filled, sailing experience!