5 Day Dinghy Sailing Course Koh Tao

Introduction 5 day Dinghy Sailing Course

Zuma sailing dinghy in front of Sairee Beach Koh Tao

Sailing is the most fun sport you can have on the water! Catch the wind and sail away! No noise, no engine, no pollution, just you and the sea. Stop and relax wherever you want, explore the underwater world on a snorkeling stop and enjoy another sunny day on the ocean …but first you have to learn sailing!

The goal of this five day sailing course is to get you completely familiar and comfortable with all aspects of sailing a small boat all by yorself. This includes rigging, launching, sailing solo, derigging as well as the different parts of a sail boat, sailing terminology and sail theory! The course will be taught on either a Zuma / Laser (single sail, monohull), or a Hobie Getaway (larger catamaran with two sails) depending on class size. All boats are extremely safe, responsive and a lot of fun to learn on. All you need to bring for this course is your swim trunks, sunscreen and a shirt that can get wet. Plan 4 – 5 hours every day for the course including transfers from our teaching facility to the boats.

Day One

Land Lesson

The first part is a short introduction to sail theory – You will learn how a sail allow a boat to use the wind to move through the water and you will also learn how to find wind direction and go through the basic points of sail, which explains how to position the sail based on the boats relative position to the wind. This includes changing course (tacking and gybing) and sailing a simple course.

On the Water

After a quick lesson on rigging the boat, we are ready to get out on the water! The instructor will be on the boat with you the whole time and will help you acclimate to sailing the boat yourself. You will have time to become comfortable with the movements of the boat under sail, you will practice sailing a course and setting a sail correctly. After your first sailing session, the instructor will have a quick debrief to reinforce what was practiced during the day, explain what needs improvement and to answer any questions you might have.

Day Two

Land Lesson

This lesson will expand on the basic sailing theory from the first day. We will go in depth into the two types of changing course relative to the wind, tacking and gybing.

On the Water

The second day on the water is meant for practicing all of the skills you have learned so far, so you can become competent and comfortable with them. The instructor will still accompany you on the boat and will be transferring more control of the boat to you as the day progresses. The goal of today is to have you become confident sailing upwind and downwind, tacking and gybing with minimal instructions. As always we will have a debrief at the end of the lesson.

Day Three

Land Lesson

This lesson will focus on getting in and out of irons (when the boat is faced directly into the wind). The skill you will learn, are an integral part of sailing, as it is how sailors approach a dock or beach and perform man overboard maneuvers. We will also talk about how sailing changes in different weather conditions and how to identify these conditions.

On the water

Today, you will have total control of the boat with a sailing instructor on board. We will practice sailing in and out of irons and landing on the beach. By the end of the day, you will be totally confident sailing the boat all by yourself. A quick debrief will follow the lesson.

Day Four

Land Lesson

Today’s sailing lesson will be dependent on what boat we are using. If you have been sailing the Zuma or Laser, you will learn capsizing and capsize recovery skills. We will also talk about setting the sail for different wind conditions. If you have been sailing on the Getaway you will be learning about setting the boat up for different wind conditions. You will also learn about controlling the boat with one or two sails and how it affects handling the boat.

On the Water

Zuma / Laser – Prepare to get wet! We will start the lesson by capsizing at the beach in shallow water. The instructor will show you how to right your boat and board it without capsizing again. You will also learn about common ways capsizes happen and how to avoid them. Once you are comfortable righting the boat we will move to deeper water and practice a bit more. Don’t worry, this is fun, and not half as hard as it may sound! The rest of the lesson will be spent practicing anything you feel you need to work on.

Hobie Getaway – We will use day four of our sailing course to gain experience in sailing the boat with one sail instead of two and see what affects this has on a sail boat. We will also repeat any skills you want to work on for the reminder of the time.

Day Five

Land Lesson

The last day of our sailing course is dedicated to sailing safety. Even though it may sound boring but it is important for when you are sailing on your own. We will talk about weather conditions and deciding whether to go sailing or not. You will learn about hazards of sailing in different locations such as oceans, harbors, rivers and more. Finally, we will talk about common dangers to watch out for and how to plan a day sail.

On the water

Today, if you feel comfortable, you can sail on your own without sailing instructor! Instead, the instructor will follow in a small motorboat so you can experience true freedom on the water. What you do today is entirely up to you, you can just sail around for fun or maybe practice some racing maneuvers. If you run into trouble or get nervous the instructor will always be close by.

Prices 5 Day Dinghy Sailing Course Koh Tao

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