Lose
sight of land and experience the splendor of blue water
cruising.
Introducing
Offshore's most exciting course for cruising sailors…
Fast
Track to Coastal Passage Making™
Setting
your sights on some serious, long-distance cruising with
only the deep blue sea on the horizon? If you've mastered
basic cruising and navigation skills, you're ready to get
down to the brass tacks of coastal passage making.
********
Tortola/St.
Martin
September 11-20, 2008
December 4-13, 2008
December 18-27, 2008
********
The
world is 75% water. This course makes every drop of it a
friendlier place by giving you the skills and confidence
for smarter, safer cruising. This is blue water cruising
– your ticket to the world under sail. And, the most
advanced cruising course you'll find.
Like
Fast
Track to Cruising®, this course combines two courses:
Coastal
Navigation and Coastal
Passage Making in the balmy Caribbean.
After completing your 4-day in-depth Coastal Navigation
course ashore in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, you’ll
set sail for the Leeward Islands, tacking into the easterly
trade winds. Depending on weather conditions, you'll make
landfall on Anguilla, St. Martin or St. Barts and return
on an 80+ mile journey each way across the Anegada Passage.
Here's
how it works:
While
staying at the Mariner Inn at the Moorings charter base
in Tortola, you spend four days (approximately six hours
per day) learning the skills that insure safe and successful
navigation in coastal and offshore waters. The course is
filled with hands-on chart work and navigation exercises,
conducted by a senior US SAILING certified instructor, and
culminates with a comprehensive exam. With US
SAILING Level 4 certification in hand, you now possess
the confidence to safely navigate through challenging conditions,
shallow waters, changing tides, currents and low visibility.
Immediately
following graduation of your Coastal Navigation course,
you board a 50’ Moorings yacht and start testing your
skills and confidence 24/7 offshore! You’ll do night
watches as you lose sight of land, cook underway, and make
at least one nightfall landing. You’ll navigate each
passage; learn about dealing with whatever the weather brings,
shipping and other vessels identified by lights at night,
and practice safe and efficient boat handling skills.
Length
of passages and final destinations depend on wind and weather
conditions.
| Fast
Track to Passage Making™ Schedule and Sample Itinerary:
(Subject to change) |
| Arrival
Day: |
Arrive
in Road Town, Tortola, BVI |
| Day
1-3: |
Coastal
Navigation Course ashore, with accommodations at Moorings
Mariner Inn |
| Day
4: |
Board
your Moorings 50 yacht and prepare for offshore passage |
| Day
5: |
Depart
Tortola on Moorings yacht |
| Day
6: |
Make
landfall at one of the Leeward Islands |
| Day
6-8: |
Short
passages between Anguilla, St. Martin, St. Barts,
practicing boat handling skills |
| Day
9: |
Downwind
overnight passage back to Tortola |
| Day
10: |
Arrive
in Road Town, Tortola and move ashore to Mariner Inn |
| Departure
Day: |
Depart
for home |
Pre-Requisites
for US SAILING Certification:
Coastal
Navigation Course – basic navigation skills required
Passage
Making Course – US SAILING Coastal Navigation and Bareboat
Cruising certification required (the latter may be achieved
any week in the BVI in Offshore’s Live Aboard Cruising
course).
Fast
Track to Passage Making graduates are tested at US SAILING
Levels 4 and 5 provided all pre-requisites have been met.
Need
more knowledge, experience and certification first?
If
you have Basic Keelboat certification, you can take our
Live Aboard Cruising course offered each week in the BVI
right after the Coastal Navigation course.
“"Most
memorable was our first night sail, leaving the BVI and
tacking east to St. Martin…awesome. I was on the final
watch of the night, steering by the stars, a very peaceful
experience, when suddenly the horizon turned pink and the
sun rose above the calm. I had never experienced a sunrise
at sea before, and I'll never forget my first one."
– Jason P. Hines, Littleton, CO
Coastal Passage Making
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Use
up those vacation days this fall on the most fun, eco-friendly
learning adventure you've ever had!
Attention,
Florida residents – this one is too good to pass up.
With four family-friendly Florida campuses, you needn’t
go far this summer for the best learning vacation you’ve
ever had. As a matter of fact, we’ll give you a $200
discount off each 
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Offshore Cruising Club®, Offshore Sailing Club®, Fast Track to Cruising®,
America’s #1 Sailing School®, Learn to Sail in a Day®, Corporate Sail-Race
Challenge®, The Greatest Classroom in the World!®, C26®, Family Sport
Boat®, Power Cruise School®.