- 3 Days
No previous sailing experience required! Our three-day Bareboat Sailor Certification Course is designed to prepare you to charter a sailboat on your own & give you hands-on experience at anchoring overnight in the Apostle Islands.
Quick Details
Duration: 5 days & 4 nights – typically starts on Tuesdays
Group Size: This course requires a minimum of 4 and maximum of 6 people
Boat Details: 39′ – 44′ sailboat
Food/Drink: Provisions are coordinated among crew
Become an Advanced Sailor on Lake Superior
The Advanced Sailing Course is a five-day sailing class designed to create more competent, confident sailors. Improve your sailing skills and experience night sailing, standing watches and sailing offshore in varying weather conditions.
Everyone is involved in planning the passage. The instructor reviews navigation procedures, use of charts, dead reckoning, radar, and GPS in an easy to understand and relaxed environment. This exciting adventure covers over 200 nautical miles (weather depending) with destinations such as Isle Royale National Park, Keweenaw Peninsula, and Grand Marais, MN.
Your Classroom
Our Advanced Sailing Certification class takes place on 39′ – 44′ boats which serve as your classroom and overnight accommodations. You spend the night prior to the first day of instruction sleeping onboard the boat in the harbor (complimentary boarding). You’ll spend all other nights at anchor or at other ports with the instructor aboard. There are heads and a galley on all boats. Bring a sleeping bag or bedding and towels.
Sign up Alone or with Friends
This course requires five people minimum and six people maximum. We highly recommend you have some prior sailing experience to prepare for this long-distance cruise.
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We offer multiple course offerings throughout the sailing season!
June 19th-June 23rd, 2024, with Boarding Available on the Evening of June 18th, 2024
Inquire about additional dates available. Custom trips also available.
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The course is priced on a per person basis + additional fees that are split among crew members
Course Fee – $1,695/person
Additional Costs
- Cleaning Fee – $300 – divided among crew members
- DDF insurance – $325 – divided among crew members
- Tax
- Provisions are coordinated and provided by crew members
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- Five days and four nights of an offshore adventure – You will be provided a private sleeping space, but will have shared living space – don’t forget to bring bedding, towels and provisioning supplies
- Boat is equipped with all safety gear required by USCG – rentals of inflatable life vests at no cost
- Personalized training with a USCG Licensed Captain
- Cleaning fee for an easy walk-away experience
- Insurance coverage for the training vessels
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The Advanced Sailing Certification Course gives you an offshore experience while in a safe, learning environment. Your lesson begins when you arrive, making sure the boat is equipped for your journey. The crew will then review charts and weather forecasts to determine the passage to the North Shore of Minnesota and Isle Royale National Park. You will learn not only the sailing and boat handling aspect, but how the vessel systems work, how to cook and live aboard, it is all part of the learning experience. Depending on the learning pace of all in your class (maximum of five per boat per instructor unless you opt for a Private Course for two to six people), the following knowledge and skills will be learned and practiced during your live-aboard sailing course. These trips are hands-on activities that require complete, unaided mobility getting on and off docks, boats, and dinghies.
- Planning a cruise
- Familiarization with boat layout and sail plan
- Operation of engine, stove and head and preparation of meals
- Routine engine maintenance
- Use and conservation of battery and charging systems
- Water use and conservation
- Use and location of thru-hull fittings
- Maneuvering under power and sail with emphasis on windage considerations and close quarters
- Big boat docking and anchoring techniques
- Proper and safe handling of halyards and lines
- Proper and safe use of winches
- Apparent wind and sail selection
- Sail shape and trim
- Inter-crew communication when trimming sails, docking and anchoring
- Jib roller furling use
- Overboard recovery procedures
- Boom preventer use
- Spring lines and dock line configurations
- More knots and their applications
- GPS navigation
- Radar use
- Rules of the Road
- Danger bearings
- Coast Guard requirements
- VHF use
- Courtesy using lights and sound signals
- Use of safety harness
- Emergency tiller use
- Distress signals
- Night sailing and dead reckoning