Bartley Sailing Club; sail; learn to sail; watersports; dinghy; boat; sailboat; canoe; windsurf; water; fun; friendly; reservoir; dinghy racing

Consider Buddy-Boating or Flotilla Chartering Being part of a group can add to your enjoyment and you can learn from other sailors. If you're not part of a yacht club or other privately organized group, there are still ways to get mutual support and enjoy the company of other charterers. Some Sailing Club/schools offer group flotillas that you can join as individuals, couples or even whole boat loads of cruisers. Many cruises organized by sailing schools offer sailing instruction and even certification during the trip. Flotilla members can get to know each other before the trip, and group organizers go along to make the cruise as enjoyable as possible. Major charter companies like The Moorings and Sunsail offer flotilla group chartering opportunities where you join the flotilla with your own charter boat. The flotilla is led by captains from the charter company who stay with the fleet and take care of any problems that might arise.

Chartering is a great way to experience the best cruising locations around the world. It's a lot easier getting to these locations by chartering rather than sailing all the way from home. It's also cheaper and safer. It's the only way if you don't have many months of free time. Just follow good practices seamanship and navigation and you and your shipmates will have a great time and will want to go back again and again. To gain the experience needed to get your handle on sailing, sailing schools and clubs are the best possible route to consider gaining access to the sea as a sailor. If your hearts desire is to go from a sailing novice to captain of the ocean you must start by getting the right education. Sailing schools will provide you with all the information you could possibly need. A Sailing Club can be where you can get the practice you need. Sailing Clubs usually provide the vessels on which to practice and gain more experience to sail.

Depending on what you need to learn and how much experience you have and are looking to gain, it's of imperative importance to research where to go. To begin, you should know that there are many programs open to your specific needs and budget. There are many for profit schools that will help you learn the ways of the seas on week long eight hour session programs, others can be scheduled for those of you that prefer the weekends to sail. There are also non profit programs that can be scheduled for fun filled weekends, in which one can learn the basics to begin. To get started a little more than simple desire is required. Before you entrust yourself and your family to any given organization or program these are things you should be aware of: - Your instructors training and certifications. You will probably want who you are learning from to be certified by the A.S.A. the American Sailing Association or by U.S. Sailing, the national sailing authority. - How will you, the student be certified? Will your certification be recognized by other schools and sailing organizations and clubs?