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Eyes Open, Mind Aware

Awareness is the sailor’s true graduation—seeing wind, water, and traffic before it happens. Sharpen your senses and belong on the sea.

Singlehanding

Capt. Roger Philips shares practical tips and lessons on mastering the art, safety, and satisfaction of sailing solo.

Balanced Crew

Balanced Crew: Explore how communication, trust, and inclusion create harmony onboard—and why gender balance strengthens every crew.

Sailing Small, Living Large

Sailing Small, Living Large: How life aboard a compact cruiser fosters teamwork, resilience, and unforgettable family adventures.

Destination, Destination, Destination: Sailing Instruction Through The Years

Turning Lessons into Games: ASA instructor Dave Simpson teaches new sailors navigation through fun, destination-based sailing games.

P.E.T.T: Prepare Execute Trim Tidy Up

The P.E.T.T. method: Prepare, Execute, Trim, Tidy Up. A simple framework for mastering smooth, safe, and efficient sailing.

How to Extend Your Boat Battery’s Lifespan

How to Extend Your Boat Battery’s Lifespan. Smart maintenance, charging, and monitoring tips from cruising experts Gio and Julie Cappelli.

Sailing Beyond Sight and Sound

St. Augustine Sailing and FSDB empower students with visual impairments to learn sailing through touch, sound, and inclusive, hands-on experiences on the water.

The Art of Anchoring

The art of anchoring. Learn techniques about types, scope, setting, and tips to keep your boat secure and your time on the water stress-free.

Don’t Hog The Helm

Sharing the helm turns passengers into sailors. Engage your guests, teach with patience, and make every sailing day unforgettable.

The White-Knuckle Shuffle

Sometimes the greatest barrier to freedom on the water isn’t the sea itself but the stories we tell ourselves at the dock.

Heaving To

Sometimes the most valuable skill on the water is knowing how to pause. Creating balance between wind, sails, and sea allows sailors to find safety, rest, and clarity when it matters most.

Two Important Things

Key Lessons in Safety, Sail Handling, Docking, and Navigation

Situational Awareness

Pilots know exactly what this phrase means. For everyone else, the concept becomes clear with practice – lots of it. True situational awareness eventually becomes intuitive, but it starts as a conscious effort.

Sailing Lingo Decoded

Every community has its own language, and sailing is no different. Step aboard a sailboat, and you might suddenly feel like you’ve stumbled into a secret society with its own code. “Ease the sheets!” someone might shout. “Mind the boom!” another warns. You nod along, pretending to understand, while quietly wondering why ropes are called lines and the bathroom is a head.

Smooth Sailing Starts Ashore

Before you chase the horizon, take the time to inspect the boat that’ll carry you there. A smooth sail starts with smart preparation – topside, below deck, and in every system in between.

Prepare to Cross an Ocean

You might join a finely tuned crew with a seasoned skipper – or a boat making its first big leap. Either way, preparation is critical. Success offshore starts long before you leave the dock.

Wind vs. Wifi

There’s an old saying passed down through seasoned skippers: You don’t really know sailing until something goes wrong. No matter how many hours you spend watching videos or reading manuals, nothing prepares you quite like the sudden slap of wind, the crunch of a bad tack, or when your rigging breaks in the middle of a daysail.