Every time I start planning a trip I am racked with
indecision… my list of “must see” places increases on an almost daily
basis. Do I go somewhere just for fun
(Morocco, Chile or the Canadian maritime provinces)? Go see friends and family (Key West, LA or
Seattle)? Or take a look at a potential
retirement location (return to Panama, Costa Rica, Columbia or maybe
Ecuador)? Or do I take a week to go
through the basic sailing courses that will allow me to charter a boat while
traveling? My problem is that I want to
do it all.
If I go to Costa Rica or Panama I can get some dental work
done at the same time and save money. I
could do a stay-cation by doing the sailing training in St. Petersburg or
Sarasota. And if I go to Key West I will
just drink a lot of beer and maybe get in some diving.
So… sailing or retirement research? After going out on a friends little daysailer
two weeks ago, the decision became easy.
I’ve been putting off sailing lessons because I hadn’t done the research
and so I just didn’t know where to put it in the list of priorities. Well, I got so excited after a day on the
water that I knuckled down and got the research done.
There are literally dozens of sailing schools in the
Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota area.
Lessons range from single classes taught at the various schools and the
several yacht clubs, to weeklong get-the-basics-done courses. In the course of my research I decided I want
to get the three basic American Sailing Association (ASA) classes done all in
one shot, so I can take single more advanced courses as I have the time and
money.
As I dug a bit more, I discovered that I could take the same
course somewhere in the Caribbean for only a few hundred dollars more than
staying at home and get a great vacation out of the deal. Until all of the frequent flyer miles I
picked up with new credit cards post to the various mileage accounts, I really
have to use either Delta or American. So
after comparing the locations of schools that offered what I wanted, had a
reasonable cost and matched where I could fly for free using miles, I pared my
list down to eight American Sailing Association
accredited schools.
At a minimum I wanted to take the Basic Keelboat Sailing
(101), Basic Coastal Cruising (103) and Bareboat Chartering (104). Since I am very interested in someday having
a catamaran (I think they tend to have more living space) I also want to take
the Cruising Catamaran (114) course.
Many schools offer the first three as a combo because they only have
monohulls, but three schools (Barefoot Offshore
Sailing School, Belize
Sailing, Blue Water Sailing School)
offered all four classes. All three looked good, but I really wanted to attend
Barefoot because it is located in St. Vincent and you spend the week sailing
the Grenadines, a place that would be new for me. Going to Belize was my third choice, in part
because I have been there a couple of times in the last two years and would
like to go somewhere new. I figure that
once I reach my destination I would spend a few extra days playing tourist and
relaxing and while I could hop over to San Pedro to see my buddy Michael, I
reallllly want to go somewhere new.
As it turns out, both Belize Sailing and Barefoot Offshore
Sailing School were booked up and Blue Water Sailing School (BWSS) had
availability, but not for the 101 through 114 course. I suspect that if I had acted a few weeks
earlier I would have had my pick. So I
will spend November 3 through 9 with BWSS taking the 101 through 104 courses in
the gorgeous blue Caribbean waters around St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. I wish I had been able to pick up the Cruising
Catamaran class, but that will have to be done later either locally or on
another trip.
I am really excited about this trip and I haven’t been to
the Virgin Islands since 1986 (?) so it will be almost like going for the first
time. I am actually departing on Friday,
November 2 before the cock’s first crowing and will arrive at Cyril E. King airport
in Charlotte Amalie around 1:30 pm. BWSS
is located on the St. Thomas East End in the Red Hook area. The folks at BWSS made a few suggestions for
lodging and I chose what appears to be a charming B&B within walking
distance of the American Yacht Harbor on Benner Bay where the BWSS boats are
berthed.
Two Sandals by the Sea
Inn only has a handful of rooms and I was able to get a single night
reservation for November 2. We board and
start our voyage and classes approximately 3:00 pm. Between now and then I have several books to
read and pre-exams to take; this is going to be pretty intense. There will be a maximum of six students
aboard so our instruction is fairly individual and I anticipate studying
together in the evening. Our rates
include the boat, instructor, provisions, fuel, ice, customs and immigration
fees, books, certification fees and sales tax. I noticed some other schools charge extra for
books, taxes and a whole variety of things including the certification! Our trip covers all costs except
alcohol. I may need to try out the local
rums (Cruzan makes a black strap rum that is supposed to be quite good).
After six days at sea, we return to Red Hook and the balance
of my vacation. More on those details in
my next post.
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