Something has you curious about us, and you want to know more. You are likely asking yourself, why not go with an ASA, or US Sailing school? I’d like to tell you why NauticEd makes sense to me, and why we are a NauticEd sailing school.
Blended Learning
In the world of training and development, the standard around the globe is to blend online learning with real world skill practice. In the world of sailing and cruising instruction, this same blended methodology is used by NauticEd and has many advantages over the way things have been done, and are still being done.
From the student’s point of view, for example, the great thing is that she can get an interactive lesson in the theory and practice of sailing before ever setting foot on the dock. So, rather than spending half the first day listening to the instructor explain how a sailboat sails, the student can get right to the fun of sailing and put the theory to immediate use on the water. And from the school and instructor’s point of view, the student is more fully engaged, learns to sail more quickly, and achieves a higher level of competence and confidence. That’s a win, all the way around. Get 2 Free sailing courses from NauticEd right HERE to check it out.
Higher Standards
Many ASA Schools, and at least one notable US Sailing School, promise to teach you to learn to sail and cruise in one week, often as a live aboard experience. As a US Sailing and ASA instructor, and one who has taught the week long live aboard courses for an ASA school, I’ve seen that the average person simply cannot go from non-sailor to competent and confident in that time frame. The student gets experience and a “license to learn” so to speak, but she is not going to feel ready to skipper that new 45 foot Beneteau, and if that’s all she has on her sailing resume, a charter company will require a professional captain on board. Hmmm.
NauticEd’s Bareboat Charter Master rank on the other hand, is earned with 50 days of sea time, and 25 of those days as Master of the vessel - that’s exactly what the charter companies are looking for. Further, those days are verified through the online resume and logbook. At Santana Sailing, we use NauticEd’s ANSI compliant rubrics (scoring guides) to verify your level of competence for a particular rank during instruction. That’s a much higher standard and it’s the right way to get it done.
Competence and Confidence
In the end, it is really about competence and confidence. Your spouse, your kids, your family and friends, and of course you, all want to feel like you can handle it. Isn't that what makes it fun?
You do want to know that you can trim the sails, reef down when it’s windy, navigate the shoals to anchor in a secluded cove, and confidently manage whatever comes up during your weekend at Catalina, or your week in the Caribbean, don't you? Those moments, when you’ve done just that, are some of the best in life.
The Bottom Line
It’s the training you get, and the resume you build that is going to make it possible to achieve your sailing dreams, whether day sailing for fun, crossing an ocean, or chartering a catamaran in some exotic location. Helping you get the competence and confidence you need to do just that is what we do.
