Thursday, February 2, 2017

Carribean Adventure

This winter i have been able to make use of the new qualifications I got last winter.  In August I started job hunting looking for a charter base or school that i could work for for the winter.  In the end it turned out that the places that a canadian can work are mostly in the Caribbean, and mostly American Sailing Association (ASA) schools. Fortunately i was able to cross over my rya qualifications to the equivalent ASA instructor qualifications.  After that I had more luck job hunting.  I had a few skype interviews, and then a job offer from Barefoot Offshore Sailing School.  Here’s a link:

http://www.barefootoffshore.com

So I arrived before christmas planning to teach my first course the week before christmas.  Unfortunately the students canceled that course due to a very rainy forecast and i worked for the base helping in the rigging department.  I was able to learn about the boats and how the base works and such instead.  I did get out for an orientation sail in 25 kn and 2 meter seas.  Average for the end of December i’m told.



Next I went out for a 7 day with a family of 3.  They found the waves a bit much so we focused on skills instead.  Spent a lot of time around Beckway.  Here’s a couple pictures:



Returned to base, switched boats and crews and went again.  The second crew was two couples with a bit of sailing experience, so we worked on a lot of skills and got everyone through to bareboat skipper.  I learned a lot about the ASA standard in the process and now I have a much better plan for the next time I get a full boat load of people who want bareboat skipper.  Basically get the middle level done by day 3 and then get ready for the harder skills.  Here’s some pics