Sailing Instruction Level: Beginner Experience Women-Only Sailing Program
You know your way around a sailboat. You’ve handled a tiller, tacked through the wind, and felt that perfect moment when the sails fill. Now, you’re ready for the next step: to take your experience to the helm of a cruising monohull in blue water.
This trip is designed for sailors who want to bridge the gap between day-sailing and confidently cruising. We’ll spend a week living aboard a modern monohull in the British Virgin Islands, focusing entirely on the practical, hands-on experience needed to become a more capable sailor.
To maximize your time at the helm and ensure truly personalized instruction, we keep the program intentionally intimate. The program consists of two monohulls sailing in tandem, each with an expert instructional captain and only two students on board. This unique format guarantees extensive one-on-one guidance and means you will have your own private cabin for the week, giving you personal space to relax and reflect after a full day on the water.
This is an immersive week, not a formal, by-the-book course. We’ll operate as a working crew, with everyone taking an active role. The goal is to build your confidence through repetition and real-world scenarios.
Our focus will be on:
- Monohull Handling & Helming: Getting a feel for the momentum and systems of a larger sailing vessel. We’ll spend plenty of time at the helm so you can build your confidence in various conditions.
- Navigation & Passage Planning: We’ll move beyond following a line on a chartplotter. Together, we’ll plan our routes, read the weather, and make decisions as a crew while navigating through the islands.
- Anchoring & Mooring: This is a core skill we’ll practice extensively. You’ll get hands-on experience selecting an anchorage, securely setting the hook, and picking up mooring balls until it becomes second nature.
- Advanced Sail Trim: We’ll work on dialing in the sails for performance, balance, and comfort during our open-water passages between islands.
Beyond the specific maneuvers, this is a week to immerse yourself in the rhythm of boat life—from provisioning and onboard systems management to sharing galley duties. It’s the most authentic way to understand what it truly takes to charter a sailboat.
The BVI provides the ideal environment for this kind of skill-building, offering a perfect mix of protected coves for practice and open-water passages to practice essential sailing skills.
This is your opportunity to step up, take on more responsibility, and leave with the practical experience you need for your own future adventures. If you’re ready to build on your foundation and become a more competent and confident cruiser, we’d love to have you on board.
