We give you MORE of what you go to sailing school for!sm
Beneteau First 21.0
& other sailing machines
(718) 885-0335  /  140 City Island Avenue, City Island, NY 10464

 

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The world's oldest and largest manufacturer of sailing yachts!
 
Our Beneteaus have all passed Vessel Safety Checks and we remain only New York school with the Gold Star/Green Dot status as of April 2007).  More details below.
Here's a blueprint of our Beneteau First 210, the vessel we use to teach you how to sail (Start Sailing course).  It's a performance cruiser-racer, and it's an award winner, having sailed off with Cruising World's Boat of the Year award in 1993 in the Pocket Cruiser category.

Most other boats in sailing school service were already entering a mid-life crisis by then, or worse.*

The Beneteau 210 is an ingenious modern design.  One unique trait is its dual rudders (steering fins) for extra control with less physical work.  That makes learning to sail more enjoyable without sacrificing the feel that's so critical to get from a training boat.  Far from a gimmick, this system is increasingly found on the most serious ocean racing yachts (such as the Around Alone fleet - singlehanded race around the globe).
Another advance is its cockpit seating area.  It's more spacious than most other school boats, and less cluttered than any other.  Even the deck is easy to navigate.  Yet the First 210 doesn't sacrifice any of the gear you need to be prepared to sail other boats.  Its layout is typical of racer-cruiser keelboats up to around 30 feet, making it easier for you to adapt when renting or chartering, or even crewing on races.

From a safety standpoint, the 210 is top tier.  Lifelines, real seats, a self-bailing cockpit, positive floatation (lacking in most other school boats), and a stable design all contribute to her overall safety and comfort.  Fittings are thoughtfully laid out to ensure safe movement around the deck.  And that deck stays drier than any boat put into service at a sailing school, period.  So, for that matter, does the cockpit!
*Almost all other schools use boats designed anywhere from 18 to over 30 years ago.  That doesn't mean those boats are about to fall apart, even if they were actually built 20 or more years ago.  Well-made modern fiberglass hulls (boat bodies, for landlubbers) last almost forever.  But so do any outdated design properties!  Of course, wear & tear items like sails and lines (ropes) must be kept after.  A young boat with shot rigging and sails is worse than an old hull whose fittings, rigging and sails have been kept after and replaced as needed.  Our Beneteaus got all new sails in 2000, by the way.

See a comparison of sailing school boats

  
A Beneteau First 210 as seen at idle on her mooring.  Note the long bench-style seats with back rests.  The open transom (back, for landlubbers) is both to save weight and to allow water to escape quickly (with no tendency for it to come in) should the need ever arise in a serious storm.  This is nothing to worry about under sailing school conditions, however.  Racing students will appreciate the 210's complement of proper rigging and sail shape controls, and at the same time enjoy user friendliness.  Her spiffy and maneuverable design doesn't hurt, either.
 
You can see the 210's twin rudders here.  Each one is smaller than an average single rudder, and angled slightly outward.  When the boat "heels,"  or tips to the side (a natural occurrence), one rudder goes in deeper and the other one starts coming out.  The one that stays in works much better, and removal of the other reduces unnecessary drag.  We're the only school using such a forward-thinking system, which is increasingly employed where it counts the most - on serious ocean racing yachts.

The First 210 is also used for our racing clinics, for intermediate private instruction, and for corporate group events (team building, etc).

Vessel Safety Checks
and the
ASA Gold Standard

The American Sailing Association (ASA) maitains a special status for schools that have had their vessels checked by the US Coast Guard Auxiliary or the US Power Squadron.  Known as the Gold Standard, those schools taking this extra step are listed on the ASA web site with a spinning gold star.  Specially trained examiners check the vessels for Federal and State required safety gear, as well as additional recommended items.  Vessels that pass are duly registered, and receive decals proving this.

(n.b.: ASA very recently and without announcement replaced the spinning gold star with a green dot and changed the program name, too.  Everything else is the same, including the fact that we are the only New York sailing school to achieve this status.)


We joined the program at the outset in 2001, the first Tri-State area school to do so.  As of April 2007, we remain the only New York saling school to have the gold start/green dot status on the ASA web site, and we have been the only one for years.  Our fleet will be inspected again in early summer of 2007.
 

BOATS USED IN OUR CRUISING COURSES

For our cruising courses, we put you on larger vessels - but not TOO large.  We start you out on the venerable Pearson 26 or a Hunter 25.5 in Start Cruising, the Basic Coastal Cruising course.  These vessels are the perfect step up in size, weight, complexity of gear, and cruising accomodations.  They have outboard engines, the proper type to use in Basic Cruising.  The P-26 was recently featured in a Sailing World article on top used cruiser/racers under 30 feet.  For more details on the boat and the course, go to our Start Cruising page.

Next up is Start Bareboating, the Intermediate Coastal Cruising/Bareboat Charter course (you get bonus points on the exam if you can say that 3 times quickly.. :-)  Start Bareboating preps you to handle wheel-steered cruising sailboats with inboard diesel engines and more complicated boat systems and electronics.  You'll be aboard one of several potential vessels, such as the Columbia 9.6 (32 feet) or Shannon 38.  All are properly equipped to prepare you for owning your own larger cruising boat, or to go off on your own Bareboat Charter in any number of destinations, from the very local to the incredibly exotic.  For more info, go to our Start Bareboating page.


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