Category Archives: News and Specials

Susie Goodall.

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Susie Goodall is a British offshore ocean sailing instructor. She bought and restored a Rustler 36 “Ariadne”. At 29 years old,  she is single-handing around the world in the Golden Globe. (Won by in 1968 by another “Sailor we Love” Robin Knox-Johnston).

This race is around the world solo, limited to 32’36’ sailboats without GPS – as if this is not enough for me to go head over heels for this sailor… she had to go and say in a video interview, :”What appeals about it; the pure challenge, the raw adventure, just you, your boat and the ocean”.  YEAH NOW!

A Sailor through and through

A Sailor through and through.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

V. I. Sailing School featured in the Boston Globe!

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Tropical Blue Caribbean Sailing School

Come on down. The waters great.

We were both honored and delighted that such an esteemed news organization as the Boston Globe took notice last month of our little ASA sailing school in the Virgin Islands. Not hard to imagine around this time of year this bit of fantasy; sliding smoothly through warm turquoise waters on a tropical breeze would sound appealing to their readers. See the whole story here.  Not to sensationalize, school does take concentration and a motivation to learn, but it’s hard to beat this classroom!20150623RJ_6420

Hope to see you soon.

Cheers,

Capt Scott

ASA Assisting Sailing Schools in Hurricane Hit Areas with Direct Financial Incentives to Students.

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Silver Lining with Tortola in the background. Looks like the 70s. (No Crowds)

Silver Lining with Tortola in the background. Looks like the 70s. (No Crowds!)

Virgin Island Sailing School students are elligible for a $200 payment direct from ASA on all of V.I. Sailing School’s 6 to 8 day cruising courses. Check Schedule Here.

Here is ASA’s “fine print”:

To qualify for the $200.00 dollar reward on charters or sailing lessons, each customer must:

  1. Book by January 15, 2018 and complete your trip prior to May 1, 2018,
  2. Spend a minimum of $1,000 on the charter or lesson, and
  3. Be 21 years or older at time of booking, and
  4. Be a resident of the United States.

Since offer is limited to one student per class, V. I. Sailing School is taking it one step further by adding $150 discount for each and every student booking by January 15th, AND V.I.S.S. will extend the trip period through July 31, 2017. So be the first to open a class and get a total of $350 for single occupancy or $500 double occupancy in savings! Even if you are joining an already booked class, V.I.S.S. will discount $150 per person. Total savings of up to $1100 per week possible! So now is a good time to invite a few friends. You must email, call or register through the V.I. Sailing School website and mention “ASA Offer” to be eligible.

More ASA “fine print”:

To claim reward, customers must submit proof of payment and age via this claim form prior to June 30, 2018. Proof of payment must include ASA Affiliate name, location, date of booking and date of trip. Only one claim permitted per charter/sailing course. Only the first 100 claims will be issued a reward. ASA reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject a claim for any reason.

VI Sailing School/Charter: 1st ASA school back up in the V.I.s

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ASA School Open the the V.I.s

Class is in session!

V.I. Sailing School was the first to begin classes again from their base in Red Hook, St. Thomas USVI for the 2017/2018 season both as an ASA Certified School and Charter company.

For whose who follow our blog, you know that we sailed out of harms way and came back at the end of October. (If you haven’t read up on our adventures, just scroll down). We’ve already had three classes and we are solid and functionally for the new season. But people are slow to return, not sure of what they will find.

Now that we have been up and running for the month of November, we can report the following:

Getting around and having adequate power are still problems for those dwelling on land. But the beaches, the ocean and even all the foliage is looking better than ever. If you want to be loved to death by people seeing boaters (and their livelihood) returning, if you want to get a mooring ball at the most popular resorts like Foxy’s or Pirates Bight at Norman Island (both now open) at 4pm… you can. If you want to anchor in the most beautiful bays and have them all to yourself. You can. 

So in addition to people even being MORE welcoming, the crowds being non-existent, we are adding our own incentive:

Low Season Rates over All the Holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.(that’s 15% off).  So while the cold of winter has started to bite, there has never been a better time to come down and advance your sailing know-how (or just get out of the cold for some tropical fun) during High Season. You can do so at low season cost, without high season crowds.

Cheers,

Capt Scott

Tropical Blue Caribbean Sailing School

Come on down. The waters great.

After the Hurricane, time to help

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the moorings after

Irma came through the first week of September. Jose was close behind, delaying the departure of Silver Lining from my hurricane hole in St Croix. I finally did leave at 3am that Monday, taking 16 hours to get to St Kitts.

Silver Lining came out of the water the following Wednesday. That Friday, September 15th I took a commercial flight back to the mainland. The following Tuesday, Hurricane Maria (now also a category 5) hit St Kitts, then St Croix and with particular cruelty, the island of Puerto Rico. But our little boatyard in St Kitts held up well. When I will return there on October13th, I will post photos of why we weathered Hurricane Maria.

I, along with a small crew will return to the VIs on October 22rd or 23th with both Silver Lining and Speculation. My #1 mission will be helping with whatever I can in the VIs (Both US and British). Their needs are changing as the situation develops, but currently there seems to be a lack of understanding about the situation on the ground, along with bureaucratic red tape… which does not exist for me.

Though I will be one of the first (if not THE first) sailing schools back on line, I will be overly provisioned and fueled up, with water-maker running and in contact with (communications willing) ANYONE I can raise in the VIs, and take it from there.

Anyone that has a line of communication with the VIs, please contact me directly. All help is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely, 

Capt Scott

VI Sailing School

805 850 8135

scott@visailingschool.com

Welcome Aboard!

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Thanks for checking out our new website! We truly hope you can sail with us in the real world some day – although the USVIs certainly seem beyond real – but until then we’d love it if you would hang out with us here now and then.

We admit we’ll be doing our best to get you to check “Learn to Sail in Paradise” off your bucket list. For instance, check out these pretty dreamy photos of the islands taken during an actual week at “school.”

Mostly, though, we’re hoping to convey the power that sailing has to help us transcend the ordinary and to imagine new possibilities, on the ocean and in the every day.

We’ve got lots of exciting things planned over the next few weeks to celebrate our “christening”, so stay tuned!The ocean is waiting. See you soon?

Able Seaman