-the "boutique" school, where we give you MORE
of what you go to sailing school for!TM
TEACHING AIDS:
Obstacle CourseSM, Model Sloop, etc.



 
NYSC & YC
HOME
Location
See naked boats!
Experience
Comparison
shopping
FAQ (frequently
asked questions)
Instructors
Teaching Aids
(Obstacle Course
& Model Sloop)
Keep Sailing
SCHEDULES, SIGNING-UP

I want to start...


Sailing

Cruising

Navigating

Bareboating

Racing

 

 
Video!  Take a ride around our Obstacle Course.  A class does a lap around, performing the four major sailing maneuvers.  Other typical Obstacle Coursesm scenes follow.
At New York Sailing Center, we don't just put you in a classroom for awhile (and put you to sleep), and then put you on a boat and sail around for awhile.  We keep things structured, effective and entertaining!  (Of course, there are the occasional breaks to simply absorb and enjoy.)

Our teaching aids are unmatched in the region, if not the industry in general.  Our two best examples are the Obstacle Coursesm and our gigantic Model Sloop.  The Obstacle Coursesm is an on-water teaching and practice aid that makes learning much more fun and efficient.  It's also an apparent NY Sailing Center exclusive.

Some other schools occasionally employ a model boat, but we have yet to see any others that are large enough, can roll around a classroom floor to simulate maneuvers, or have real sails and marine hardware.  Ours has all that.


 
Why is this woman smiling?  We'll show you shortly...

 

Whether it's light winds or a blow, nothing is more
effective and fun than our Obstacle Course.sm
 
We adapted this concept from skiing decades ago: set some markers in the water and have the students sail around from time to time during the course to test and sharpen their skills.

Nothing teaches you more quickly or effectively, and it's fun as well.
 

"When you turn, you learn."
Rick Tucker, instructor.

 
 
 
... she's smiling because she just singlehanded around our Obstacle Course!SM  You can too.

Essential skills don’t rub off on you by just sailing around.  Amazingly, however, we seem to be the only school actually using this method,* which is now even advocated by the American Sailing Association.  Of course, our location lends itself to this practice.  Most other schools would have a hard time trying to set marker buoys each day without running afoul of commercial traffic or their local harbor police!

While this shot was from a private lesson, all our Start Sailing courses include singlehanding, where everyone keeps out of the way while you sail the boat.  If you take our course, you'll do this too!

  
Each turn around our Obstacle Coursesm requires students to perform at least one of each basic manuever in sailing: heading up, bearing away, tacking & jibing.  Almost more importantly, it makes them do it "now." Each student sails to buoy A, has to perform some maneuver, then on to B where a different maneuver is required, and so on.

Sailing around the course also gives students strong confidence in passing close to other objects, which is critical to maneuvering around docks, crowded anchorages, and on busy summer days with lots of boat traffic.  And while no sailing school is deliberately trying to cheat you by allowing you to simply sail in a straight line, it's just too easy to fall into that trap without a regimen.

One of our competitors, a large school, claims that they give more "quality time" than any other sailing school - a very bold claim (and how exactly did they arrive at that conclusion? C'mon - there are over 400 sailing schools in the US alone!).  Our Obstacle Coursesm  is one of the ways we deliver on our promise - to give you MORE of what you go to sailing school for!


 
NYSC & YC
HOME
Location
See naked boats!
Experience
Comparison
shopping
FAQ (frequently
asked questions)
Instructors
Teaching Aids
(Obstacle Course
& Model Sloop)
Keep Sailing
SCHEDULES, SIGNING-UP

I want to start...


Sailing

Cruising

Navigating

Bareboating

Racing


One Beneteau 210  as seen from another as they progress around the Obstacle Course.sm
 
Obstacle Coursesmmakes you do what you came to sailing school for!  And we'll make you use it a little each day.  We're sure you'll really enjoy it, too.  That's what our students have always told us.

* We're aware of one other school that used to advertise the use of this method, but they no longer do.
 



 
 
 
 

Model
Sloop
 
What's the big deal about a model sloop?  After all, you're supposed to learn on the water, right?
Right - but only after you've been properly prepared ashore.
 
"P6: Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance."
-Paul Elvstrom (a/k/a The Great Dane), the most successful sailboat racer in history, with 4 Olympic medals (just missed 5th at age 53 with daughter Trina as crew); at least 13 world championships;  numerous Danish and European championships, all in a variety of one-design and handicap boats ranging from singlehanded dinghies to large ocean racers.
 
The big deal about the model sloop we use in classroom settings is - well, it's big.  A classroom of students can clearly see what the instructor is demonstrating - and try it out for themselves.  It's big enough to equip with real fittings that closely resemble what you'll use on the water.

Even the sails are real, cut and stitched from standard Dacron sailcloth with all the accessories. It's on a swiveling base with wheels, and it pivots and tilts.  It's too big to roll out the door!

We use it to mimic real-life maneuvers as a preview.  Your instructor might invite you to come up and work out maneuvers with the model to be sure everyone "gets it."  When it's time to head out on the water, you'll be ready to actually do it.

 
Our model sloop isn't the only effective classroom aid we employ.  In the picture of our model sloop at the top of the page, you probably noticed the huge erasable ink board for which we have colored markers.  (The smaller one in the picture above was temporary when we moved to our new location in 2007; the large one replaced it.)  We use a TV and DVD player to show carefully selected short video clips, some of which we shot ourselves.  Combining these visual and audio aids, we make classroom time far more effective - not to mention a lot more interesting!
 
On the water is where you learn to perform your basic skills.  But some classroom time is needed to introduce concepts and give you a little 3-D preview.*  The better and more efficient your preparation ashore, the better you'll learn on the water.  And the less time you'll have to spend in the classroom.
*That's why it's preferable to hold the classroom session
before the equivalent sailing session.


Home Contact Us Sailing Instruction Club/Marina