Sailing is an amazing sport that has seen a huge rise in fame over the past few years. With the rise of adventure sports and boats being available at cheaper prices, more and more aspiring sailors are turning to the sea. If you are one such sailing enthusiast who wants to enjoy the sea, the very first thing that you need to do is to learn sailing. While there is no lack of classes that focus on sailing, online classes are also a good idea if you do not have enough time.
Sailing is an activity that demands the utmost focus, zest, agility, and reflexes, at all times. To become a master at sailing, you need to keep up with your practice on a regular basis. An online class can help you get a good grasp on the basics of sailing. What is more, with new advancements, they can actually get you the feeling of sailing even while you are on your couch. Most online classes will obviously cost less as compared to physical lectures. To learn to sail online, is a great idea.
The one thing that you still need to keep in mind is, no amount of practice in theory, can ever match the practical aspect of sailing. You may get the best tutor, the best technique, and the best atmosphere in which to learn. But the real test of your skills can only be done on the sea, not on your couch. You can learn to sail online, but how well you have grasped your lessons can only be understood when you take the boat into the sea for the first time. So, let us now discuss how you can learn to sail online?
Idealistic Online Training Program
What should an ideal online training program contain? When you start any course, you need to start from the basics and then move ahead in a systematic manner. In a similar manner, when you are about to begin your online sailing program, you should get started by getting a firm grasp on the basics of the boat and how the sea can aid you in sailing. There are tons of courses available that can help you in becoming a better sailor as time goes by. All you need to do is give 100 % and practice with your boat whenever you get the time to do so.
The skills of sailing should be taught and learnt in a progressive manner. There are many classes where you can get a partner with whom you can compare your progress and help each other get better. Most instructors are also well trained and know exactly how to go about the course. You can ask and clear your doubts and get some useful and handy tips before you take your vessel into the sea. To get the best out of the online sailing classes, you should opt for the one that can allow you to learn as per your time.
Not everyone of us has the luxury to enroll ourselves in classes and attend them on a regular basis. Many of us are also bound by time. Online classes for sailing can be a boon to such aspiring sailors. You can opt for a course that allows you to learn how to sail online, as, and when it suits you. You may take five lessons a day or not a single lesson in a week, and it would still be the same. Such kind of freedom will also allow you to give your best, as you wouldn’t be working under any kind of pressure.
Another thing to be kept in mind while opting a class to learn to sail online is the certification. It won’t be a good idea if all your efforts have no documented proof. Certificates can help you to sail in many places where such a requirement is present. It can also help you to become an instructor yourself or open a channel to talk about your experiences in the sea. The opportunities are endless if you make sure to enroll in a class that offers you certification at the end of your course.
Then comes the cost. Though there are many free channels available, about which we will be discussing soon, the paid courses are priced for a reason. Certified instructors, real life simulations, and an all-around-the-clock help team are some of them. If you are going to learn something new, you should do it with all your heart. If the instructor is not qualified, all your efforts would be in vain. That doesn’t mean that you should go for the costliest course there is!
Choose a course after doing thorough research and understand your needs from the lectures that you would be taking. You need not go for a heavily priced course just because a known instructor is going to teach it. Choose a course that will offer you a good grasp on the basic concepts, while at the same time making sure that you are ready to face any challenges that you may have to tackle once you enter the sea.
The First Step
Before getting enrolled in a course or even before buying a boat, the very first step would be to make sure whether or not sailing is a good choice for you. This is where the free courses would come in. NauticEd offers many free introductory courses that you can take to help understand the basics of sailing. They would also help you in deciding whether you are up for sailing or not. Free classes are a great way to do so. Basic Sail Trim and Rules of Prevention of Collision at Sea are the two lessons that are free on NauticEd. You can go through them to get a grasp on how things work in the sea.
Once you are done with your free online lessons, you can try out what you have learnt, in the real world. This will give you a major boost and you may then proceed with the full course if you like what you are taught. The paid online courses offered by NauticEd will help you in becoming a better sailor as time goes by. It can be a great confidence booster, if you practice the lessons by taking out your boat to the sea, on the same day.
The Skipper Rank course by NauticEd will help you to become a better sailor in a few weeks’ time. After taking this comprehensive course, you can easily manage a mid-sized sailboat and use it to enjoy sailing. The course will go over all the basic core sailing theories that you need to have an idea about. Weather and Sea Conditions, lessons about Anchoring and Mooring, Slip Departure and Return, the basics of Communications & Navigation, Coping with Emergencies, Sailing (of course), and many more such concepts would be covered.
This course is more than 20+ hours and will give you loads of insights as to how to go about when sailing on the sea. With so many hours of content available, all you need to do is take your boat out onto the sea and practice your lessons in the real world. It should not be a hard task once you are familiar with all the basics. As time goes on and you become better at handling the vessel, you will be able to enjoy the gentle breeze and the soothing surroundings around you.
Going At It, The Old-fashioned Way
Videogames are one of the best ways to pass time and enjoy quality moments with friends. Well, guess what, they are now available in a bigger, better version, to help you to learn how to sail online. This may sound silly, but it is actually one of the most amazing ways to learn to sail online. With new updates and recent transformations, videogames are not limited to using a joystick. Now you can simulate real world and hone your skills as a sailor by playing a videogame.
The Sailaway videogame will help you to learn how to sail online. The game can act as a great way to become better at sailing. It can give you are real life experience and present different scenarios that you could be faced with while going out into the sea. As is the fact with every game, it is not only fun but also helps an aspiring sailor in becoming better at handling the boat. The tutorials of the game act, at the same time, as lessons in sailing that could help you in many ways.
Another great aspect of this game is it is totally free. This means that you get to learn sailing without spending a penny. For individuals who are new to the world of sailing, using this game to learn to sail online can be a good way to start off. You would be having fun, saving money, and becoming a better sailor as you keep on completing the different levels of the game. That’s a win-win situation in all ways.
Getting Certified
As discussed above, it is absolutely vital that any course, whether free or paid, should provide you with some kind of certification at the end of it. Getting a certificate not only helps you in your future endeavors but is also a great way to make sure that the instructors were satisfied with your progress. There are many online classes where the instructors can interact with you and keep a track on your progress. Many classes make you take a theoretical test to test your knowledge.
Certified courses should be the one that you should opt for when searching for courses on how to learn sailing online. NauticEd is a great sailing resume company, which focuses on eLearning and giving aspiring sailors the right directions. You can browse through the different courses that they provide and then choose the one that suits you the most. Starting from the basics, they will help you in choosing the best route to become a better sailor.
The highly interactive multimedia courses offered by them act as a boon for aspiring sailors who, due to the lack of time, couldn’t join a physical class. NauticEd is also approved by Royal Yacht Association and offers the RYA Day Skipper course to its students. After completing the beginner’s lessons, you should then move ahead with the different advanced lessons that are available on their online platform.
The Sailing Resume offered by them, has an algorithm that keeps in mind, the already passed coursework of the student. This means that if you already know a lesson or two, you may need not start from the very beginning. Although we recommend taking the first free lessons too, as they will help you brush off any dust on the skills.
The International Certificate of Competence (ICC) is required to sail in European waters. This highly esteemed certificate can also be applied for by enrolling in different online courses. As stated earlier, the sailing instructors would be able to practically verify your progress and the practically logged time would also be taken into account before handing you any of the above certificates. This is done to ensure that anyone who has the necessary certificates gets them after working with full dedication.
Here are the different courses we recommend:
Navigation Rules Clinic (40 Minutes): This is a free online sailing lesson and is a great course for every aspiring sailor.
Basic Sail Trim Course (30 minutes): Whether you’re learning to sail, or you have already become an advanced sailor after taking this free sailing course – you will get to know it all. The core concepts of the sail trim have been explained using many multimedia interactive html5 animation technology. This means that you will have a variety of trim controls at your mouse tip, and you’ll be watching wind effects right in front of your eyes on the screen.
Anchoring A Sailboat Clinic (4 hours): Doesn’t matter if you are sailing your own vessel in the coastal waters or you are chartering in the Caribbean or beyond it, skillfully knowing how to anchor your vessel safely and effectively is one of the most liberating and vital skills you should have.
Bareboat Charter Clinic (5 hours): Are you thinking of taking a sailing vacation? All hands-on deck – this is the Bareboat Charter course made for you and your crew. It will have all the vital points needed to enjoy the trip covered in a crisp manner.
Catamaran Sailing Confidence Clinic (3 hours): This will help you in learning the basic difference between sailing a catamaran and a monohull. This is the lesson that is going to give you the confidence that you need. It also includes an interactive online game to practice maneuvering in a marina
Sail Trim Clinic (4 hours): This lesson will help you in learning the true art and the skills and finesse of trimming the sails. This is a course that will teach aspiring sailors, when to adjust the Cunningham, the fairleads, the downhaul, the traveler, the outhaul and all such skills related to trimming the sails.
Coastal Navigation Clinic (10 hours): This course will help you in learning how to navigate your sailboat. If you are planning on sailing offshore or are making up your mind in taking a sailing vacation, you should try this course. It will help you get hold of all the core concepts of navigation in the sea.
Maneuvering Under Power Clinic (3 hours): This is an absolutely essential maneuvering and docking course that should be taken up by every aspiring sailor. It is a course that will save you thousands in bumps and scratches and dents at the marina.
If you aspire to become an amazing sailor, these are some of the courses that are offered by NauticEd that you should take. These courses have all the essential material that can help you in upgrading your skills. What’s more, the instructors would be able to make adjustments to your techniques as and when required. This coupled with the fact that the certificates they provide are valid in all international waters makes taking the courses a good deal.
Going To Sea
None of the lectures or online classes can be fully helpful to you until you take your boat out onto the sea. All the simulations can never be as helpful as the real challenges that you would be facing on the sea. Once you are taking your boat out on a regular basis, you will yourself notice change in your confidence levels and skills. After doing this for few weeks, you will learn more about your own capabilities and how you react to a situation.
So, the best way to learn to sail online is by getting yourself enrolled. Then, follow up the classes with some real-life sailing to become better at it. Bon Voyage!