STAYING THE COURSE

Learning to sail is an organic process. Often we’re introduced to the sport by a family member or good friend who loves sailing and wants to share their passion. As such, one learns in bits and pieces. The problem is you can end up with lots of missing bits, and thus many sailors with decades of experience have huge gaps in their training. As it turned out, I was one of those sailors.

It was my grandfather who first taught me how to sail. Later, as an adult, I purchased a C&C 30 and cruised and raced for 10 years on Chesapeake Bay. I’ve also skippered long ocean passages, crewed in numerous races and chartered across the globe. However, it wasn’t until I applied for my United States Coast Guard (USCG) Master’s Credential that I realized I still had a lot to learn.

Simply said, the test is massive, covering a wide range of material, much of which was foreign to me. It was clear I’d need some help getting prepared. So I did some research and found a highly recommended online maritime school called the Training Resources Maritime Institute that offered a series