Learn to Sail And Take The Family Cruising

AMERICA’S #1 SAILING SCHOOL®

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Learn to Cruise & See the World

AMERICA’S #1 SAILING SCHOOL®

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Learn To Cruise And Charter Catamaran Sailboats

AMERICA’S #1 SAILING SCHOOL®

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Go From Couch To Captains Chair In One Week

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Choose Sailing For Teambuilding & Leadership Skills

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Make New Friends On A Fast Track To Cruising Adventure

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Learn to Cruise And See The World Under Sail

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Make Winning Races Your Next Best Getaway

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OFFSHORE SAILING SCHOOL – CELEBRATING 60 YEARS!

Sailing & Boating Adventures That Change Lives!

Learn to sail, learn how to confidently handle a live-aboard yacht, or head over the horizon on a passage making course at one of our Florida or British Virgin Islands getaways. Embrace the sailing and boating lifestyle with an Offshore Sailing School Fast Track® experience and open a whole new world of fun adventures on the water!  Take sailing lessons or boating lessons, then join one of our amazing hosted sailing vacations in the Caribbean and exotic locales, and see the world under sail!

At Steve and Doris Colgate’s Offshore Sailing School, in-depth sailing lessons and powerboat courses give you the skills to captain your own yacht or skipper a chartered yacht in idyllic island retreats. If you are new to Offshore Sailing School, we welcome you to a whole new lifestyle.  If you are already an Offshore Sailing School graduate, welcome back and thank you for being one of our more than 160,000 graduates!

America’s #1 Sailing School® is celebrating 60 years!  Join us in applauding the amazing Offshore Sailing School team, dedicated to providing The Greatest Classroom in the World®!

Call us today at 888-454-7015 or 239-454-1700; or email info@offshoresailing.com to learn more.

Happy Sailing! Have Fun Boating!

Steve & Doris Colgate

…and the entire Offshore Sailing School Team!

 

“Fast Track® Sail and Power Lessons are Amazing,” Say Offshore Graduates!

Close-up of a man sitting side-by-side on bench of cockpit, with his wife who is steering a large catamaran

At Steve and Doris Colgate’s Offshore Sailing School, in-depth sailing lessons, power cruise lessons and sailboat cruising lessons on big catamarans and monohull cruising boats give you the skills to see the world on your own yacht or on charter vacations in idyllic island retreats. Our two most popular courses are Learn to Sail OSS 101 and Learn to Cruise OSS 101/103/104. Combine both courses in our rewarding Fast Track to Cruising® eco-friendly learning vacation, and go from novice to navigator in one week! If you are new to Offshore Sailing School, we welcome you to a whole new sailing and boating lifestyle.  If you are already an Offshore Sailing School graduate, welcome back! And thank you for being one of our more than 160,000 graduates! Offshore Sailing School is America’s #1 Sailing School®, celebrating our 60th anniversary in 2024!  Find out why sailing is so much fun. Join our team and our graduates in applauding this amazing milestone!

If you enroll in a 3-day or longer sailing course at Offshore Sailing School between January 1 and September 30, 2024 you will automatically be entered into a raffle to win a charter with The Moorings in the British Virgin Islands. So what are you waiting for? Contact our Sales Team today!

The Greatest Classroom in the World!®

OUR COURSES AND PROGRAMS

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Dockside Chats with Steve Colgate

Tune in to Offshore’s YouTube Channel chats with Steve Colgate, whose life-long passion for sailing is vividly described in Steve and Doris Colgate’s biography “OFFSHORE High.” written by acclaimed author Herb McCormick. Steve’s love for sailing is truly addictive!

Procida - start of Colgate Sailing Adventures flotilla cruise

Get Your IPC for Med Chartering!

If you already have US Sailing Bareboat Cruising Certification but not the International Proficiency Certificate from US Sailing required to charter in the Med, this short Weekend Warrior Course upgrades and tests your skills to get that IPC!

Four women on Offshore Sailing School Colgate 26 learning to sail in Gulf of Mexico

Learn to Sail

OSS 101 Learn to Sail is a rewarding, amazing start to an exciting new lifestyle.  With just three full days of classroom and on-water sailing lessons on our sleek Colgate 26 sailboats, you gain the confidence and skills to handle a sailboat up to 30′!

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Learn to Cruise on Live Aboard Monohulls

OSS 103/104 Live Aboard Cruising Course is the next step up from OSS 101 Learn to Sail. Gain the skills to skipper your own yacht or on a bareboat charter in phase 2 of Offshore’s popular Fast Track® to Cruising course.

Distant full boat shot of three people sitting on bench behind a gal steering a Moorings Leopard 4500

Learn to Cruise on Live Aboard Catamarans

OSS 103/104/114 Catamaran Live Aboard Cruising prepares you to sail and skipper big twin-hulled yachts. New to sailing? Enroll in a Fast Track to Cruising Course and get ready to charter or purchase your own private yacht.

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Join a Flotilla Cruise Vacation

Offshore Sailing School grads and experienced sailors love our Colgate Sailing Adventures® flotilla cruises. Organized and hosted by Offshore cruise leaders, you get to explore the world with fun-loving adventurous sailors who often become lasting friends.

Learn to Race Sailboats

Learn to Race Sailboats

OSS 102 Performance Sailing is all about sail-fast techniques. Racing Clinics and the original Performance Race Week® OSS 109, give you the skills to join the winners’ circle!  Learn from and sail with renowned racing expert coaches and go for the gold!

Learn to Skipper Power Yachts

Learn to Skipper Power Yachts

OSS 112 Fast Track to Power Cruising gives you the skills and confidence to captain your own  power yacht and charter power cats with family and friends worldwide. Gain ultimate confidence while living and learning on a beautiful power cat in the British Virgin Islands.

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Learn Long-Distance Passage Skills

OSS 106 Coastal Passage Making and OSS 108 Offshore Passage Making are the ultimate blue water sailing school experiences. Discover how to safely sail at night, navigate round-the-clock in open waters,  achieve skills and confidence to fulfill your cruising dreams!

Team Building Programs

Take Your Team Sailing

Give your team a rewarding half- or full-day Team Building escape on our 26′ sailboats, or a week-long in-depth Leadership Training Adventure living together on a fleet of big cruising yachts. Two rewarding and memorable experiences – all under sail!

OUR LOCATIONS

Captiva Island, Florida 

Captiva Island, Florida 

Sail where dolphins and manatees play. Come to ‘Tween Waters Island Resort & Spa on Captiva Island, where shelling is amazing on vast sandy beaches, and  sailing on warm waters surrounded by wildlife is so much fun.

Scrub Island, British Virgin Islands

Scrub Island, British Virgin Islands

Learn to Sail or earn your Bareboat Cruising Certification at this gorgeous private island oasis in the British Virgin Islands. Do both courses in one week and start your sailing lifestyle!

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Earn Bareboat Cruising Certification on a 40′-50′ Moorings sail or power charter yacht. Start in the busy Moorings charter base on Tortola.  Learn as you sail from island to island, stopping each night in a different port in paradise.

St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg, Florida

Your vacation learning to sail on Tampa Bay starts from the waterfront Hampton Inn & Suites, in trendy downtown St. Pete, surrounded by terrific museums, restaurants and night life.

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Ft. Myers Beach, Florida

Stay at Pink Shell Beach Resort & Marina to learn to sail, race sailboats, or head out on a catamaran or monohull cruising course while dolphins play and island eateries beckon along Gulf of Mexico sandy shores.

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Key West, Florida

Learn to sail or take a catamaran cruising course from Stock Island Yacht Club & Marina in fun-filled Key West, where azure waters lap beautiful sandy beaches and great restaurants and night life abound.

Couple Sailing

Fast Track to Cruising®- OSS 101/103/104

Our most popular learning adventure takes you from Couch to the Captain’s Chair in just eight days. You earn three US Sailing certifications — Basic Keelboat, Basic Cruising and Bareboat Cruising — starting with two days on a 26 footer, then six on a gorgeous big cruising monohull or catamaran yacht. At course end you’re ready to pursue the cruising lifestyle with confidence and ease!

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TESTIMONIALS

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I’ve had sailing courses from other organizations but this is the best set of courses I ever experienced.

Jesse JohnsonAustin, Texas
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"Colgate’s Offshore Sailing School is truly the best sailing school. Everything is first class, and well worth the money and time spent."

Tom BisanzFrisco, Texas
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"Fast Track to Cruising gave us the knowledge and skills to enjoy cruising for the rest of our lives."

Karen and Kevin MarcilliatMableton, Georgia
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"Amazing course! I’ve done a lot of sailing, and learned a lot during week. My wife went from novice to knowledgeable and reliable."

Robert and Betsy LahueWyckoff, New Jersey
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"This was our third course with Offshore. The instructors really set Offshore apart from other sailing organizations."

Andrew and Erin DeakRocky River, Ohio
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"Offshore made it easy to learn! One of the best weeks ever. My dad and I couldn’t have had a more productive and enjoyable adventure."

Mark WaltzMuskego, Wisconsin
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"I took the Fast Track to Cruising Course and went from non-sailor to confident cruiser in one week!"

Gabriel EmanuelliMiramar, Florida
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"What a fantastic experience! Our Fast Track week was fun and educational from beginning to end."

Todd and Lois GillenwaterCharleston, West Virginia
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"The instructors were amazing. I learned a lot, had fun, and can’t stop telling everyone how cool this experience was."

Charles ZahalkaLas Vegas, Nevada
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"We are amazed at how much we learned in such a short period of time. We left feeling confident and eager to step aboard again."

Danielle SteinbergGeorgetown, Kentucky

JOIN OUR TEAM

If you are looking for a new opportunity, to work in a field you love, we have several key positions available that are all about sailing!

New Total Immersion Fast Track Sailing Course

Offshore’s new Fast Track course covers Basic Keelboat, Navigation and Small Boat Cruising in 6 packed days of experiential learning.

Sailing Magazine Features Offshore Sailing School

Instead of lazing around a pool, sailors are packing their seabags and heading for learn-to-sail vacations in tropical locations, says Sailing Magazine in their February 2020 issue.

Canadian Yachting Magazine Publishes "Dear Doris" Story

An avid sailor falls in love with a NON-sailor and writes Doris Colgate for advice on how to turn him on to sailing.

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GET IN TOUCH

Call Us Today

888-454-7015     or    239-454-1700

Ask our experts about training, group packages, vacations, and more!