The Inns of Sanibel

SAILING

Learn to sail with a team of experts at Steve and Doris Colgate’s Offshore Sailing School

- BY BETH OLIVER

Learn to sail at Steve and Doris Colgate’s Offshore Sailing School

Instructor­s at Steve and Doris Colgate’s Offshore Sailing School have taught more than 150,000 adults and families to sail for over 55 years. America’s No. 1 sailing and powerboati­ng school has maintained its stellar reputation, and it’s taken great pride in getting more people to enjoy the inclusive nature of the sailing and boating lifestyle.

What is most rewarding for the Offshore Sailing School staff is the impact that learning to sail has on so many lives. Grandparen­ts return to take courses with their grandchild­ren, providing three generation­s with the sailing skills that allow the family to be together and enjoy time on the water. As a result, electronic devices become less important and the focus shifts to fun, relaxation and rejuvenati­on. Family members and friends are eager to learn both a new skill and a shared activity that they can enjoy together for years to come.

Solo sailors and couples take one course, then another, and another—sending Steve and Doris Colgate their thanks, along with photos and exciting comments on their new “love” of sailing and boating.

In fact, sailing and boating are recognized for instilling a sense of freedom, while at the same time feelings of empowermen­t and confidence, as well as a sense of taking charge of one’s destiny.

What’s unique to Offshore Sailing School is the full range of sailing courses and experience­s that are offered—and you’ll learn in “The Greatest Classroom in the World”! You can select from basic Learn to Sail classes to advanced Performanc­e Sailing courses and special racing events. Students can learn bareboat cruising aboard 40- to 50-foot monohulls, and sailing and power catamarans. Then you can continue to learn all levels of navigation and passage making.

Offshore Sailing School offers Women’s Weeks Fast Track to Live Aboard Cruising courses for up to four women who live and learn together for one week aboard a yacht,

earning three U.S. Sailing certificat­ions to skipper boats up to 50 feet.

For families, there are special value family-sailing vacation packages available at South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island and at a resort on Fort Myers Beach, Florida. The ’Tweens & Teens Learn Free package is designed for up to three children (ages 7-17) to learn for free with two paid adults. This half-day Learn to Sail course, from Monday through Friday, is the perfect family adventure; it leaves you plenty of time to relax and enjoy the resort’s amenities and the area’s activities, from swimming, paddleboar­ding and kayaking to visiting wildlife parks and cultural sites, as well as shopping and dining. The company also offers corporate team building and group regatta events.

With six resort locations, Offshore Sailing School makes planning your sailing education in beautiful vacation destinatio­ns in Florida and the British Virgin Islands easy and fun. But the fun doesn’t end there, you’ll be set for a lifetime of adventure. In fact, Steve and Doris Colgate founded the principle of hosted sailing flotilla vacations nearly 48 years ago and have personally hosted more than 100 sailing vacations for Offshore Sailing School graduates and guests in exotic ports such as Tonga, Tahiti, Spain, the Greek Islands, Italy, and destinatio­ns in the U.S., along with many beautiful islands in the Caribbean.

Colgate Sailing Adventures for 2020 will sail in Tahiti, St. Martin, the Greek Islands, the Bahamas, and Apostle Islands in Lake Superior.

FOR MORE INFO

OFFSHORE SAILING SCHOOL

offshoresa­iling.com

888-385-6857 or 239-454-1700

sail@offshoresa­iling.com

 ??  ??
 ??  ?? Participan­ts in Offshore Sailing School’s Women’s Weeks Fast Track to Live Aboard Cruising course
Participan­ts in Offshore Sailing School’s Women’s Weeks Fast Track to Live Aboard Cruising course
 ??  ?? The Gray family’s vacation memories included learning to sail with the Offshore Sailing School.
The Gray family’s vacation memories included learning to sail with the Offshore Sailing School.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States