Experiencing a Liveaboard Course — A Student’s View
Where do I Start my Sailing Journey?
Have you ever dreamed of sailing? What’s it like to learn to sail on a week long liveaboard course in an exotic destination? Recently Nautilus Sailing was featured in one of North America’s most respected sailing magazines, Cruising World (November ’20). Jon Whittle, staff photographer and writer, joined as a student. He paints a vivid picture of what an incredible week he had learning to sail with Nautilus Sailing in the Caribbean waters of the Grenadines. Check out the full story below!
We’ve had so many of our alumni who started with a simple question, “What if I took sailing lessons?”
Then they came across an ASA School called Nautilus Sailing that offers live aboard sailing lessons in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Mexico and Tahiti.
Initially they were looking for the typical “sailing schools near me” and realized they could create a learn-to-sail-vacation in tropical locations. As they began to look around they decided that a sailing catamaran would be just the ticket for their spouse and maybe a couple friends to join them. What a great way to learn how to sail!
What Should I Expect From a Sailing Course?
Jon writes, “I considered myself lucky to be part of a live aboard sailing course offered by Nautilus Sailing, an ASA-affiliated sailing school founded by Tim Geisler in 2010. Geisler had learned to sail in Southern California, and at the outset, over the course of a two-year period, took lessons from more than eight instructors. “They were very accomplished sailors, but sadly were not natural teachers,” he remembered. “I was disappointed at what passed for ‘instruction.’ Just because someone has a ton of sailing experience doesn’t mean they can effectively break down complex skills and material and teach people how to sail.”
With a strong background in education that involved teacher training and developing experimental education programs, he knew there must be a better way to train new sailors. Nautilus was born, and a partnership with Dream Yacht Charters now allows its instructors to teach formal ASA sailing courses in exotic locales across the globe such as Tahiti, Mallorca, the Sea of Cortez…and, of course, Grenada.”
Why Choose a Liveaboard Course?
“Nautilus offers a curriculum designed to both cater to individual student’s needs and also to ensure that the instruction doesn’t get in the way of the fun one should have while sailing. Because the class takes place entirely at sea on a catamaran, each student is completely immersed in sailing concepts every moment of the day…and later, at night over drinks. All of this occurs in a paradise of tropical sunrises and sunsets, and stargazing late at night in picturesque anchorages.”
This article encapsulated the experience sailing on one of our courses. Yes, we want to have fun while learning to sail. Our instructors work hard to break down complex or intimidating concepts using many tools. We use the floating classroom, our catamaran, as the primary tool. Our instructors often say, “This is an open-boat test!” before a test. If a student gets stuck, they can walk around onboard to jog their memory; since you won’t be sailing without a boat in the future, right?
Why not take a week to learn some of the foundational skills of navigation, points of sail, anchoring, docking and reefing. Owning these skills will pay dividends in the future. With enough practice, you’ll be able to fly into most any destination, charter your own catamaran while treating your friends and family to adventures.
To find out more, contact us and we’ll discuss how we can help you embark on your own adventures.
