On Sun, 12 Jun 2011 13:57:31 -0400, Gogarty
wrote:

Steve Colegate's Offfshore Sailing School used to be located on City
Island but they moved to New Jersey under the Colgate clock. They now use
a boat designed as the Colgate something but originally used Solings. This
is akin to learning to drive in a Ferrari. Sent my wife there second year
we had our boat. First week in April, it was. Brutal. Great for learing.
The most important fact she learned was that her husband sometimes knows
what he is talking about.

Yes, we are somewhat familiar with the history of Offshore Sailing
School. In August 1971 we took our first real vacation together and
went to the OSS at Edgartown, Marthas Vineyard where they were
teaching in Solings. At that time Steve and Doris were operating out
of Manhattan and we were living on West 85th just off Riverside Drive.
We used to see them at the New York Boat Show and they advertised
heavily in the sailing magazines.

About a month after getting back from the Vineyard we took a ride out
to City Island one weekend for no particular reason other than it
looked interesting on the map. Along the way we ran across an
operation on the north end of CI run by a fellow named Bob Taylor.
Bob had suposedly been partners with Steve in the early days of OSS,
or so the story goes. At any rate they had parted ways and Bob
renamed his operation on City Island to Offshore Yacht Club or some
such. He had a brand new Abbott Soling sitting on a trailer in the
driveway so we stopped in to take a look having enjoyed sailing them
at the Vineyard. One thing led to another and Taylor ended up
offering to sell us the Soling for $100 over factory invoice and let
us have the use of a mooring for the rest of the season.

The Colgates now live in Ft Myers, Florida not too far from us and
have their headquarters there. One of our fellow club members in Ft
Myers works for them as a part time instructor at their Ft Myers Beach
school.