Want to learn how to sail a small boat? A big boat? This organization has an excellent reputation for a wide variety of training and certifications for sailors, both beginning and advanced. Learn about boat handling, boat systems, safety at sea, navigation, meteorology, and lots more. They offer a wide variety of courses, ranging from quick, inexpensive (<$50), online courses such as Knot for Sailors [authors note: that’s the course I should have taken years ago], to extensive multi-day live-aboard sailing classes on a boat with a highly trained skipper / instructor which they offer in multiple locations.
My wife and I participated in two 5-day live-aboard over the years in preparation for our eventual sailboat purchase and year at sea. We found the live-aboard format both helpful and fun. Much of the time was spent on practical instruction along with some textbook reading, but there was plenty of time to swim, play, and essentially enjoy a full-blown vacation. In the end, we walked away with certifications that enabled us to charter a sailboat, or enter certain countries’ waters that require some sort of formal skipper’s certification.