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Sailing School in South Florida

7K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  christianvargas1982 
#1 ·
I have been reading recent as well as old post and have gone over the following schools
a)Blue Water sailing school in Ft. Lauderdale
b)Florida keys Sailing
c)Coconut Grove Sailing Club
d)Miami Sailing club
e)SailtimeMiami in the Groove

I am sure I can learn from any of them. Having limited monetary resources I have to choose carefullly.

I meet one captain during the Miami Boat show aboard a hunter 33 who gave me contact info for e). The rest I have just learned about through this forum. I am leaning towards the c) because is seems more like a community apart from just giving lessons.
When I buy a boat and take my girlfriend and family around I am to be competent and keep them safe. Any advice or experience with these or other nearby options would be greatly appreciated. I already contaced them via email and awaiting their advice.

Lu
 
#3 ·
Lu,
The Coconut Grove Sailing Club has an excellent location in Coconut Grove, you would be able to keep your boat at a mooring or on land (depending on the size of the boat), it has excellent facilities, a great member community, and they are a US Sailing school. They currently offer Sunfish courses, a Basic Keelboat course (on a fleet of 23 foot Pearson Ensigns), a Basic Cruising course, and a Bareboat Cruising course. If you take the courses and the certifications, you could rent, for a relatively modest price any of the several Pearson Ensigns for daysailing, or a Beneteau First 265 for daysailing or cruising for several days...

They also host several regattas and have a committee designed to organize weekend trips to nearby locations such as Elliot Key, the Ragged Keys, Soldier Key, Key Largo, Rodriguez Key, and even Bimini and the Abacos!

I am a member myself, I highly recommend that you go check it out or visit their website at Coconut Grove Sailing Club

Christian
 
#5 ·
I have had good luck with private lessons because the instructors attention is only for you and your particular problems and level of experience. You can also get expert opinion on boats in the area for sale and someone to go with you to look at them. Go to craigslist.com, then click on state, Florida > south Florida > services offered > marine services, search on lessons. There are three or four offerings on sailing instruction. Try lessons with more than one person. Clicking with an instructor is important.
 
#6 ·
Coconut Grove is a fine location to learn with very experienced instructors. It has an excellent and low priced sailboat rental program for members.

However, more importantly it is a sailing community that encourages new sailors to sail on regattas, races, sailing trips to the Bahamas and join the race committee even if you are a total novice.

One lady that walked in 5 yrs ago and said "Anyone need crew?" has sailed with my wife and I in the Keys, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, France and England. Other member have sailed over 4,000 offshore miles on our boat.

Phil and proud to be a member.
 
#7 ·
Thanks guys.. As of yesterday, I signed up with Coconut Groove Sailing Club for a basic keel boat course. More than likely I will join the club so I can sail/practice using their small boats before continuing with the next lessons of sailboat cruising and then bareboat.
 
#9 · (Edited)
The course was awsome. I had not realized how demanding sailing was. The staff was pleasant to be with and also the other students were fun to have around. Having taken the keelboat course, I have been trying to get back in the water with the instructors ASAP so that I can take the certification but the process has been slower than I had exptected. Apparently there is an influx of students due to the exposure the club had at the Miami boat show and they might be shorthanded with instructors. Besides that, I am trying to figure out where to get my sailing on before I get rusty. Even the little sailboat like lazers or sunfish I have to take more lessons and be approved by an instructor before I am allowed to play with them.
 
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