On Wed, 21 Apr 2004 10:30:59 +0000 (UTC), John Forkosh
wrote:

I'm interested learning to sail, from the ground up, so to speak,
in the New York City vicinity. There appear to be three schools
in the area: Manhattan Sailing School (www.sailmanhattan.com),
Newport Sailing School (www.newportsail.com), and Offshore Sailing
School (www.offshore-sailing.com/locations/nyharbor.htm and also
www.offshore-sailing.com/locations/chelsea.htm).
So far, I've taken the basic keelboat course twice (once each
from two different schools), coastal cruising (just once, and
joined the sailing club of one school for two seasons so far,
now coming up on three. Lots of fun!
But my observation was that the "real sailors" at all these places
learned to sail elsewheres, then moved to New York and joined the clubs.
As far as I can tell, none of these schools seems to teach real sailors
from the ground up, which is what I'm looking for. The basic keelboat
course and club day sails were great, as far as they went. But the
coastal cruising course was a joke as far as learning anything new was
concerned -- just one long day sail. And now I'm not sure how, and
with whom, to proceed.
Any suggestions appreciated (I avoided publicly making any specific
negative remarks about any specific school, and please feel free to
email me if you want to do the same). Thanks for the help,

I know that Newport SS has weekend overnight trips on a J36, or at
least has for the last two seasons. Sometimes it leaves for longer
trips. They also organize winter charters in the Caribbean where one
could gain experience.

I haven't done any of these myself. I know a couple that took the
basic keelboat course there on the J24s, and seemed happy with it. I
afterwards had them out on our boat and they had certainly learned the
baics.

Colgate's, the next school downstream, has a Hunter in the mid 30s
that I see out quite a bit, but it might be just a daysail as you
said.

Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a


Capsizing under chute, and having the chute rise and fill without tangling, all while Mark and Sally are still behind you