Bay Sailors  A Tampa Bay Sailing Club for Singles

Education

You need to know what's going on for your safety as well as the safety of those around you!

Sailing is considered a risky activity. The level of risk is minimized through the education and safety practices of the participants. Bay Sailors, Inc. strongly encourages its members to participate in education programs both within and outside the club.

Bay Sailors helps its member through:

- the "First Mate" program,
- providing practice on-the-water,
- providing educational sessions, and
- encouraging outside education.
- a library of good sailing books.

The "First Mate" program consists of self-guided text to read at leisure and "Skill Sign-Off" sheets to document the skills that have been demonstrated. The materials are available and free to any full member.

Bay Sailors provides practice on the water during day sails and weekend sails. Participants are encouraged to ask questions and to not be afraid to take the helm. The assigned crew for each sail includes at least one "experienced" member to act as first mate to the skipper, and thus experienced members may receive preference in assignments.

Bay Sailors presents educational programs at the monthly membership meeting. Periodically, training weekends or special sessions are scheduled.

Learning the sailors' knots

All Bay Sailors are trained to do ALL jobs,
including steering.

There are many established education programs outside the club. Bay Sailors encourages its members to take advantage of these resources. On a national level, the U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and U. S. Power Squadrons are dedicated to boating education. There are chapters throughout the United States. The links below will take you to the most current list of courses near you:

U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary public boating courses

U.S. Power Squadrons public boating courses and click on the "Boating Education" tab at the top of the screen

(DISCLAIMER: The following is for informational purposes only, Bay Sailors, Inc. does not make any specific recommendations or endorsements)

In the Tampa Bay area, the following schools have been providing various levels of hands-on education for many years:

Offshore Sailing School offers day sailing, coastal cruising, and offshore courses according to the standards of the U. S. Sailing organization.

Sea Sense, Inc. specializes in women teaching women on live-aboard coastal cruising and offshore courses.

The American Sailing Association (ASA) and U. S. Sailing organizations provide certification through schools across the United States. For locations in the Tampa Bay area, use the following links:

U. S. Sailing and select "FL" from the "State" category and all Florida schools will be listed.

American Sailing Association click on state of Florida and all Florida schools will be listed.