San Francisco Bay Area Sailing Lessons

We’ve been teaching many people how to sail on San Francisco Bay since 2002. We truly enjoy teaching sailing and bring a combination of skills that allow sailing to be approachable to everyone.

 

All of our captains are highly qualified sailing instructors. Some are American Sailing Association (ASA) certified. Some excel at racing or oceans crossings, and they’re all fantastic at teaching the basics and the intricacies of sailing. We provide private or group lessons.

 

Our approach to teaching sailing is very "hands-on". We will hand you the helm and let you feel the boat as we go through different maneuvers. We start with the basic skills and work up as your skills develop. Because we offer private lessons only, we have the unique ability to tailor your lesson to where you are at.

 

We teach sailing to first-time sailors, intermediate sailors and experienced sailors getting ready for chartering and coastal cruising.

 

Effective sailing instruction is actually surprisingly difficult, because there are three things that are required at the same time.

• The instructor must have excellent teaching skills.
• The instructor must be a very good sailor.
• The instructor must be able to let go and allow the student to experience the boat, wind and waves - Allowing the student to push boundaries, while maintaining safety and comfort as skills are developed.

We have spent many years providing San Francisco sailing lessons and refining our sailing and teaching skills. We truly enjoy teaching others the joy of sailing San Francisco Bay. We will gladly teach any or all passengers on any of the sailing charters.

 

Our best yacht for lessons is an ex-racing sailboat boats that is excellent for learning to sail. The boat is very responsive and there is instant feedback to the student from changes in rudder or sails. Because of this feedback, the student is able to learn faster on a responsive boat. Some of the large sailing schools provide slow, heavy boats that are difficult to steer and terrible for learning "like driving a big cement truck with bad alignment" - not what you want for learning. Our three boats are well-maintained, responsive and a joy to sail.

 

Give us a call and we can discuss our approach to sailing lessons and get you out sailing on the bay.

 

Sailing lessons can be included (at no extra cost) on any of our sailing charters. See Prices

 

The cost for San Francisco sailing lessons is the same as for any of the charters we provide - there is no extra charge for lessons. The minimum charge for sailing lessons is the cost of the three-hour cruise, although the minimum amount of time needed for decent lessons is four hours. Others can be brought along on the charter - so one person can get a sailing lesson, while five of their friends get a sailing trip on the bay.

 

A sailing gift certificate for lessons makes the perfect gift (anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day, birthday, graduation, etc).

 

Because we are a small sailing charter company, we can be flexible on the approach to the lessons. Please call us to discuss any details or questions you may have.