You can earn keelboat certification at Bitter End’s US Sailing accredited Sailing School!

This season, we have on staff four great instructors from all over the world to help you learn to sail, fine tune your skills, and complete the process toward keelboat certification. In addition to keelboat certification, courses at the Sailing School include lessons that will cover all aspects of racing and cruising as well. The courses use both the US Sailing manuals and Bitter End’s manuals, created just for us by John Kantor, renowned instructor and director of the Longhsore Sailing Schools in Connecticut. 

Jerome, Giles, Eustace, Ashley, Sebastian and somehow, Eddy popped into the photo instead of Lee.

Our US Sailing certified instructors have the credentials and experience to instruct guests on the finer points of keelboat sailing and more!

Jerome Rand – Head Instructor

From frozen northern Michigan, Jerome is glad to be at Bitter End, where it’s always above 75 degrees and the water does not feel like a barely melted glacier. Before he came to Bitter End, he escaped the winter by delivering boats, and in the summer taught (for eight years) at the alumni resort of the University of Michigan.

Sebastian Perry – Senior Instructor

Sebastian is from Ireland, where he races and coaches other sailors on Optis, 420s, Lasers and Etchells. He finds the views of the megayachts on the docks stunning and enjoys finding out more about the boats and where they are

from.

Giles Starkey – Senior Instructor

Giles was born and raised in Tortola. He is an RYA Yachtmaster who can mix up a mean rum punch and keep guests in stitches when he captains their daysails.

Lee Jacobs – Junior Instructor

Another local, and the newest member to the team, when he’s not on the water Lee is on the basketball court. And he works just as hard at basketball as he does at Bitter End – his team just won the BVI championship!

Basic Keelboat Sailing Certification Program at Bitter End

This summer, Bitter End’s certification program will kick-off by offering basic keelboat sailing certification.

Bitter End adheres to the guidelines set forth by US Sailing, regarding the number and quality of sailing instructors, and type and quality of boats. Additionally, the curriculum must pass US Sailing’s stringent requirements, and Bitter End’s coursework will use the US Sailing Association’s own materials. The Basic Keelboat Course will be taught on Rhodes 19s and IC-24s. Classroom instruction takes place in the 15-seat Bitter End Sailing School building (adjacent to the Watersports Center), complete with dry erase boards, and wall-mounted Laser-model simulators. At all times, we maintain a staff of no fewer than four US Sailing certified instructors, and class sizes will be very small, to afford personal attention for each participant.

Coursework follows a regular weekly schedule, island style, starting on Monday morning, and concluding on Friday with the exam during the final hour of instruction:

On Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, the courses will run three hours in the morning, three hours in the afternoon with a break for lunch in between.

Wednesday is layday! Go to Anegada! Relax at the beach or by the pool or learn something else – windsurfing? Diving? Whatever you wish!

On Friday there will be two hours of instruction in the morning and then the test, so either the afternoon is free to show off your new skills or you can take that time to make up anything you might have missed earlier in the week. Graduation is at 5 pm. 

Basic Keelboat certification, in Bitter End terms, is a combination of our current 101, 102A & B, with a lot more time spent on really honing the 102A & B skills.

This summer (for visits from now to July 28), the price will be $500 per person for guests staying on an Admiral’s Package.  And starting this fall, the price will be $800 per person for guests staying on the Admiral’s Package.

Just let your travel planner know you are interested in getting certified in basic keelboat sailing when you make your reservation, and you’ll be commanding your own vessel before you know it!

Of course, if this is too much structure for a vacation, we will still offer our other courses that you can take if the mood strikes you -- there is always the resort's very popular Introduction to Sailing Course (101), offered free to anyone on the Admiral's Package. It makes for a great primer, and sets you on your way to higher learning. And, the sailing and windsurfing courses that Bitter End has offered for over 20 years are still available individually or as part of the Learn to Sail Adventure Package.