Florida Sailing School Certified by the American Sailing Association in 1999, the Flagship Sailing School utilizes facilities located in Clearwater, Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida and Muskegon, Michigan.

Sailing Lessons:

Our ASA sailing classes are scheduled as nearly as possible at the convenience of our students instead of utilizing a completely predetermined schedule with specific classes on specific dates. Private sailing lessons can be scheduled at any time for two or more people. And, we offer discounts of 10%, 15% and 20% (respectively) for groups of two, three or four people who register together for the same class on the same dates.

Students completing BKB 101, BCC 103 and/or BBC 104 at the Flagship Sailing School are eligible to join either the Flagship Sailing Club or the Tampa Bay Sailing Association.

Designed to be a source of continuing education and sailing experience, the Flagship Sailing Club enables its members to sail a variety of boats without the high cost and hassle of ownership. Sailing club membership, is open to any sailor holding (or interested in obtaining) certification from the American Sailing Association or the Tampa Bay Sailing Association as well as to any sailor with equivalent experience.

Flagship’s objective is to instill in its beginning students the techniques necessary to sail boats up to 30 feet safely and enjoyably in near shore waters in good weather. By learning the basics – points of sail, rules of the road, overboard procedures, heaving to, reefing, required and recommended safety equipment, maneuvering under sail and power, anchoring, general maintenance, and radio communication – our students master the techniques of sailing, which, when combined with on-going practice and experience, will turn them into increasingly competent sailors able to sail further and further from their home ports in various weather conditions.

Advanced students (BBC 104 and ACC 106) expand their basic cruising knowledge with additional onboard training that includes an actual cruise, spending a night “on the hook”, cruise planning, basic coastal navigation, weather, lying a hull, emergency procedures engine/systems maintenance, and sail trim.

Every sailor, regardless of his/her experience level must learn to balance skill levels of skipper and crew with the capabilities of the boat being sailed and the existing and forecast weather conditions.

Schools that offer ASA certification must, at a minimum, teach the material required by the American Sailing Association. ASA’s requirements are thorough and professional. What differentiates one school from another are the methods used to teach that material and the instructors that teach it. Ours is a proven, professional, and award-winning (School of the Year and Instructor of the Year) school.

Each of our instructors is ASA certified and holds a USCG issued captains license. But, equally important, our instructors are experienced. One has been has been an ASA instructor since 1984 and is also an Instructor Examiner (IE), meaning that he is able to certify new instructors (as well as students) for the American Sailing Association. Another has been sailing for over fifty years, has been a sailing instructor for ten years and is also an Examining Instructor. Yet another has crewed onboard the tall rig “Pride of Baltimore”. This kind of experience is important because it has a direct bearing on Flagship Sailing’s ability to teach real life sailing instead of just the required techniques of sailing. Each instructor knows how to relate to student sailors.

Our sailing classes are small (no more than four students) and offer significant personal attention. The teaching format is hands-on; there is no formal classroom, which we feel is counter-productive since it detracts from time on the water. Our students are taught onboard, not on shore. The only way to learn to sail is to actually sail a sailboat. Likewise, the only way to learn collision avoidance techniques is to apply them on the water to real time situations. The only way to learn the importance of a VHF radio is to use one while at sea.

As a result, our school has received ASA’s School of the Year award three times and two of its instructors have received the Instructor of the Year award.

Please email or call us at 727-942-8958 with any remaining questions or to make reservations. We look forward to sailing with you.

Get more information on our Sailing School Classes here.