Newbie from Ft. Lauderdale

[DougB954]

Basically I just came back from a trip w/ my gf to Negril, Jamaica. At this particular resort I was staying at they had 14ft Hobie-cats that you could rent for an hour at a time. After some brief instructions from one of the locals I was out on the water sailing all by myself, needless to say I had a blast. I'm looking for any reccomendations in the Ft. Lauderdale area for some formal training in sailing (schools, private instruction).

Thanks

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Doug,
Welcome aboard! Try a local marina or club to get you started on local schools. Also look in the Yellow Pages of your phone directory. The most popular schools are U. S. Sailing and ASA. Both are about the same curricula and I would pick the cheapest. I recommend the book Start Sailing Right! that you might find in the library.
I would say that the instruction you got was enough to let you have some fun and a taste of sailing but might be just enough to make you dangerous (just kidding).
Kind regards,
JohnL

[Pblais]

Resort Hobis is how we started sailing. I still love them too. It's different but I wouldn't stay out on one for more than a few hours at a time.

The most popular schools are U. S. Sailing and ASA.

These are nationally certified instructors with a good program that you should even enjoy. Most of it happens on the water so you'll like it. These really are geared more to adults so it's not like you get stuck in a class with 10 year old kids.

You can take the various courses almost any place. Some are liveaboard and can be used as a vacation if you do the book work before you attend. It might seem like a lot to spend on training but it does get you started right. Compared to owning your own boat I think the cost on a per hour basis of actually sailing is cheaper.

[DougB954]

Hey guys thanks for the replys. I'm gonna look into both of the schools mentioned and compare.