Sailing Courses Should Offer Drills That Teach

Offshore Sailing School Tip: There are lots of sailing courses available. Many teach the same basic material, but only Offshore gives you more quality time on the water than any other sailing school. Some schools claim more time on the water but are they teaching the whole time? Offshore spends every minute on the water teaching, and bringing you ashore for lunch and other much appreciated personal needs.

A good sailing course is one that emphasizes drills to prepare you for difficult and unusual circumstances. A drill emphasized by sailing expert, Steve Colgate is a rudderless drill. You may never experience rudderless sailing, but at sea, you have to be prepared for anything. Here are a some steps used in a rudderless drill that you might learn in an advanced sailing course:

*Trim your jib mostly flat and ease your mainsail until the boat is balanced and sails straight ahead when the helm is released.

*Change course by trimming the main to head up and push the boom out to fall off the wind.

*When the bow starts swinging in one direction, you must immediately begin opposite procedures to counteract the swing.

*To tack, free the jib sheets and trim the mainsail hard. When the boat is past head-to-wind, trim the jib and ease the main to force the bow down. If you need to, back the jib.

To learn more advanced sailing courses and high performance sailing tips by Steve Colgate, visit sailtips.com or offshoresailing.com.