Reputable and Challenging Sailing School/Courses in Caribbean

[In Training]

We did the week at water sailing">blue water sailing school 3 years ago in St. Thomas on a 43 ft. monohull, then rented a condo and dived for a week. Next year some time plan to do the week at St. Vincent and the Grenadines, that svfinlandia mentioned earlier. This time on a catamaran, and then stay an extra week diving. We expect to buy in two years and wanted a week on each before we made a decision. Helps to give you an idea about the size you will need also. Have fun looking at the different boats and dreaming.

[Lihuedooley77]

Good on ya.....

In Training:

Smart move actually researching and checking out each of your selections as to purchasing a residence.

Were it us, and it is not us, but we would probably prefer St. Thomas....over St. Vincent.

U.S. territory and the positives that come with that, , and close to the BVI for sailing and snorkeling, ( 16 different BVI sailing vacations for us ) , and St. Johns a beautiful USVI is a day sail away.

We have not been to St. Thomas, but have sailed the windwards and grenadines, French West Indies, Bahamas, and of course the BVI .

We have sailed the Caribbean over 34 years , including St. Lucia, Tobago Cays, Bequia ,(sp) , Palm Island and Petite St. Vincent. We did not stop at St. Vincent in those days as there were problems and the Moorings did not want us on land there.

Also, Island living, is not like visiting, a lot of things come into effect. So, look at all aspects including medical, local govt., unrest, getting supplies and food, fuel, and incident of crime, and quality of life of the islanders themselves Poverty level, and education. Also, electrical power reliability . Also availability of supplies and items of any kind. Food, medical, clothing, car and boat parts, electronics, etc. and health care if needed. Also road conditions and maintenance .

We are familiar with Island Life, living as full time residents on Kauai Island, Hi for 10 yrs. ( visited for 12 yrs prior to moving over ) It is not like the mainland USA, and is a Hawaiian Island which is a U.S. State.

We have been back on the mainland in Dana Point, Ca. now for three years.
We loved kauai and the people, and still do, just returned from a three week return visit a couple of months ago.

Just FYI, and seeing the island from diving, or from a boat , will be very different than living on island.

[In Training]

We just plan to buy boat and live on it, probably go to Bonaire or Grenada during hurricane season. Do not want to be tied to any one area. Still not sure if we will go mono or cat. Also don't think we will make a decision as to all year on boat or 6 months on and 6 months off until we live on the boat. I don't think you can really have a feel for it before you actually do it. A week gives you an idea if the boat is large enough. However, while you might enjoy a week, after a month or two will you be dying to get off of it. Who knows.

[Lihuedooley77]

In training...

OOOOPS !

Sorry about that, I see now that you are thinking of buying a boat, not a home, and my long info on island living is probably not applicable .

Oh well, might help some one else who may have questions about island living .

Enjoy the sailing life and living on board . Fantastic.

As to length and type of vessel..., how many in your family, andr will you have a group of friends to come sailing the islands with you. That decision is pretty much a personal choice.

Regardless, a well found, good sailing vessel might be a major component. The wind does blow soundly down there, and the passages can be pretty long.

Lucky you, my friend.....

Great sailing , making fast knots, and life will be pheeeenominal .

[In Training]

Just my husband and I, I'll retire in 2000. Pretty much open minded on what and where. No rush, no concrete plans. Doubt we will have company very often on our boat. That was why we wanted to go to school this time in the Windward islands, more wind. At St. Thomas it was like floating on glass. Calm was an understatement. We were happy there though but St. Thomas is loud -- music from the resorts while at the condo was annoying. Thus our desire to be on a boat so we can move when we get annoyed. My husband is a people person, me not so much.

[Lihuedooley77]

Just the two of you, and free to change anchorages when you please. Perfect !

There are two of us, and we sail vessels in the 35 to 37 foot range. and up to 55', but the larger vessels, we had more people on board.

The last 15 to 20 years, we have gravitate to the mid to high 30 range and just the two of us. We can handle those vessels easily in all kinds of weather and situations. However, the room below is not overly huge. But neither are we, so it works out.

We get by just fine. BBQ on the stern pulpit, mostly eat up in the cockpit, some times down below.

Been sailing professionally for years as well as fun on monohulls. But, for living on board, maybe as catamaran would be more comfortable. I have not skippered a sailing cat, so not sure of their real sailing ability. We see lots of sailing cats and 90 % of them are motoring, sails up or not.

We really like to sail and not use the engine except for charging batteries and picking up moorings, etc.

We would also have a simple reefing system, lead back to the cockpit , if possible .

What we do like about the catamrans, is that the cabin and aft deck have lots of room, and muy comfortable. like to be invited on board to enjoy sun downers, but usually, they are 8 to 10 to 12 people on board, and so far no invites to cat.

Also, what are you two comfortable with handling sailing, reefing, mooring , anchoring, and using as a dive platform, and snokeling and swimming platform as well.

also, you will need plenty of stowage space for provisions, personal items, and gear and ships inventory. And the size of the water and fuel tanks is a consideration as well.

Will you need a generator, and refer, or get along with just the engine charging up your batteries and keeping the electrical system juiced up. But, can you get ice for the ice box at your harbor.

We have found that refers on most of the boats we sail, that are charged up by engine and batteries only, generally required us to get ice every other day.

We also prefer anchorages that are easy, friendly, and somewhat peaceful, but that is not always available. Usually, we take a good look at what type of boat or boats that would be close to us. And, we pick what looks like the most peaceful.

We also get away , as much as possible, from the loud beach bar music in the evenings. Not always possible, so we just jam in the ear plugs when it is time to hit the rack.

Yep, having a boat is very special, since we can always haul up or drop off and find another place that feels good or the diving and snorkeling is better.

[TriggerHappy]

Hi, I can recommend Nautilus Sailing. I did a course in April with 3 other buddies, ASA 101,103, 104 in a week Saturday evening to Friday afternoon. We did our certification out of Grenada which has a fabulous Marina. Right off the bat on the second day you will be getting a taste of blue water sailing as you head from the top of Grenada to Carriacou. Lots of wind, currents, swells.


I also did a non ASA certification in 2014 (not recognized which is why I ended doing the ASA course again) through Fair Winds Sailing school out of St. Thomas - STAY AWAY do not go with them!


I can recommend going with other sail schools out of the USVIs or BVIs however. BVIs are one of the easiest sailing grounds in the world. protected by swells, easy navigation, relatively constant wind, lots of mooring balls and anchorages.


The great thing about the BVIs is that it is a natural progression from doing the ASA sailing course and then chartering a boat on your own the next time. You are familiar with the sailing area and anchorages, navigation, etc. It was not that great a leap for my buddy and me to charter a 40ft Cat through Moorings for our first bareboat charter.


I am not sure I would have had the confidence to charter on my own after my certification if a) I did my certification in Grenada and then chartered in the BVI as I would not be familiar with the sailing rounds or b) did my certification in Grenada and tried my first bareboat out of Grenada and the Grenadines! Yikes!


Another point if you do the ASA 101 and ASA 103 and 104 in one week, I think you will get a lot more out of it if you have the ASA101 and know basic sailing concepts, points of sail, etc. I think for a couple of my other buddies it took them so long to get the basics that you don't appreciate some of the finer learning points within 103 and 104 as much.