Choosing a Sailing School
The American Sailing Association and US Sailing make it easy to find a school.
If your goal is to learn new sailing skills, consider going back to school! No matter what your goals are—cruising, racing, catamaran sailing, whatever!—there is a sailing school that's right for you. If you're just looking to get your feet wet, or are looking simply for an easy and affordable way to get out on the water, check out a community sailing program near you. Most offer affordable lessons and boat rentals, and some offer special programs for disabled or elderly sailors. To find a program near you, just Google the name of your town along with "community sailing".
Most traditional sailing schools offer a curriculum deigned by either US Sailing or the American Sailing Association in the U.S., or the RYA overseas. Overall, the courses are fairly similar, but do your research to see if one approach is more suited for you that another. To find a school near you—or consider making a vacation out of it!—visit http://www.asa.com/find_a_sailing_school.html for ASA schools, or http://sailingcertification.com/ for US Sailing schools.
If you are a true newbie, take a look at this e-course designed by the ASA called Your First Sail (http://www.asa.com/yourfirstsail.html).
