Sailing School Part III

This is part three in a three-part series where I describe our sailing school adventure in St. Petersburg, FL! See Sailing School Part I here. See Sailing School Part II here.

Thursday: February 9 

The Final Test

We got a late start on Thursday, so while we motored out of the marina, Kelly talked about anchoring and mooring in windy conditions. And with that, we drank our percolated coffee and took our final test, the Bareboat Cruising Exam. 

The Longest Afternoon

We repeated the process to get through the Anna Maria drawbridge and motored back to St. Petersburg. Then it got intense. In the yacht basin just north of St. Petersburg pier, we each took turns at the helm as we practiced approaching the dock. But the space was tight and would require a special technique to turn the 48 feet of sailboat on a dime. A “back and fill” has the skipper standing sideways at the helm (for a better view), pumping the rudder, shifting the motor from forward to reverse, back to forward then reverse, and using  “prop walk” from the propeller to our advantage. All of it was overwhelming as we were in the midst of multiple million dollar yachts! Beads of sweat were dripping down my face and I wished to do this exercise in a simulator instead. 

A Reprieve

Once each of us had sufficient opportunity to torture ourselves trying to move our boat about without wreaking millions of dollars of havoc, we traversed back to slip 13 in the St. Petersburg marina. There, we showered up, hung out in the cockpit, and took our time to decompress. That evening, the four of us headed to a lovely restaurant where we had dinner and drinks on the patio and ran into other OSS students whom we’d met earlier! See our Day 6 recap here.

Friday: February 10 

The Reward

It was as if Kelly had planned the whole thing. Throughout the week, the wind had been spotty, coming and going, not always timely. Eager students, such as we were, it was difficult to roll with. All we wanted to do was sail, like, really let ’er rip. But there had been none of that, because we weren’t ready. In due time….

But on Friday, it all changed. The wind came and this time we were ready! We four had passed all of our exams and had complete charge of the boat! In short order, we motored straight out into the bay. 

Like a well-oiled machine, we moved into position and prepared to sail – at the helm, I headed us up into the wind; Joe and Christian hoisted the sails; Kent worked the sheets and trimmed the sails. When we were set, I slowly fell off of the wind, and we felt the 48 footer break away. On a close haul, we reached 6 knots!

After my turn at the helm, we shifted positions. Christian took the helm this time, then Joe, then Kent. Tacking and jibing, we zig-zagged the bay. With a rail almost in the water, at times we maintained over eight knots! (“Knots” is the maritime unit of speed: 1.15x miles per hour. Why that’s the measure is another story.) It went like this for nearly six hours. By the end of the outing, we’d gotten our fill. 

The day ended with steaks on the grill in slip 13. See our Day 7 recap here.

Saturday: February 11

Our last day on board was the last time I had percolated coffee. This very special morning, Kelly ceremoniously presented us with our Sailboat Log books and all three or our credentials. What an achievement.

At this point, we became certified sailors and sailing school was officially over. We were free to leave and go about our business. If you’d like to see actual edited videos of our experience, please enjoy Sailing School Part 3

Conclusion

Sailing school was one of the most fun, stimulating, and expanding things we’ve ever done. I would recommend it to anyone, even if you don’t aspire to live on a boat! It was a great, fun way to spend a week. For us, it is the beginning. We’ve got a long way to go, but already, we are able to see a path behind us, and a way forward.

Special shout out to Offshore Sailing School. I know I’m not the only one to say this but it was such a special experience, truly life changing.

Thanks for sticking with me here! Leave your questions/comments in the comments!