The
B-V-I Sailing School focuses on
the art of sailboat cruising in the BVI (the school is private, but
please visit our
Online Cruising Course).
Sailboat cruising has a great appeal
in general. What if you could take your
accommodations and your familiar backyard patio and
grill setting to exotic places, with means of cooking
and basic entertaining at your side?
This is the world of sailboat
cruising.
The delights of swinging on a hook in
a modern yacht, the view from the cockpit in a new
water neighborhood and early morning sunrise in the
tropics.
Why is sailboat cruising so popular
in the BVI in particular? In short, the BVI makes
sailboat cruising elegant. Elegance is the concept of
something that is simple but works very well.
Coupled with the B-V-I Sailing
School's focus on the art of cruising, rather than
sailing instruction in general, a sailor with basic
sailing experience can graduate with the knowledge
and experience for cruising the BVI!
Let's look at the details of why the
BVI makes cruising simple and elegant.
Very little docking is
required, the most difficult cruising art to
master, usually only at the beginning and end
of a trip. Nonetheless, we teach docking in
an effective and fun "hands on"
way.
Even anchoring, another
difficult skill, can be avoided with the use
of moorings. We teach the mooring system and
the location of moorings, and how to pick up
a mooring.
Archoring itself, rather than
being neglected, is made enjoyable by
incorporating some snorkeling/skin diving to
actually see how that anchor actually sets!
Difficult anchorages are dissected to distill
that valuable perspective on the anchoring
art, especially the need to protect the
marine environment.
Problems with the ocean swell
or ground seas likewise are taught from both
weather-pattern discernment to location
exposure, so your choice of anchorages will
result in less potential for dragging anchor
and a more comfortable, less rolly, sleep.
Another factor making BVI
sailing simple is the ease of navigation.
Navigation is largely by sight with the
islands within visual range, so this most
critical and sometimes difficult art is
largely avoided. We teach the student captain
how to detect reefs and rocks by sight.
Accordingly, with the
exception of specific instances which are
emphasized, navigation in the BVI can be
easily mastered. The use of picture
charts (Virgin
Anchorages, a coffee table masterpiece
with panoramic shots of anchorages with a
chart overlay, at the B-V-I Bookstore) makes
the actual practice of navigation an usually
enjoyable exercise in which the whole crew
can participate.
Please visit our
Online Cruising Course.
