Do you dream of buying a cruising sailboat and living aboard part- or full-time? We offer courses in cruising proficiency, which give you the opportunity to learn from a skilled sailing instructor with extensive personal experience in outfitting cruising sailboats for comfort and safety, preparing for long passages and safely sailing offshore over long distances.

​

Elevate your sailing skills by learning how to plan longer passages, sail safely at night, handle the boat unassisted, and get into and out of anchorages without relying on an engine. Learn advanced galley management techniques including long passage provisioning, food safety and storage skills, and advanced meal preparation. Begin to understand the tools and equipment you need aboard for long passages (including smartphone apps and safety and navigation tools), as well as how to use them. Gain experience troubleshooting problems that could arise while at sea.

​

We will use weather routing software to plan for our passages from St. Thomas to St. Croix. These passages will be long enough to necessitate a watch schedule, and we will time our passages to include some night sailing. We will practice the skills necessary for you to pass the competency evaluation at the end of the course.

​

​

​

Your tuition includes:

• 7 days and 6 nights on a first-class, well-maintained sailboat

• About 65 hours of interactive online theory classes with NauticEd

• Provisioning the boat with food for breakfasts, lunches, and half of dinners on board

• Mooring fees

• Fuel and water for the boat

• Online log book

• Automated online sailing résumé generated from log book

Not included:

• ~3 meals ashore

• Alcoholic beverages

• Instructor gratuity (10-15% at your discretion) and instructor's meals ashore, as is customary