Tahiti Sailing School

My wife and I just spent a week in Tahiti doing the Sailing Virgins ASA Catamaran Course with instructors James and Kirill. Fantastic experience, and exactly what we were looking for. I have taken ASA coursework from a couple of different schools, but the Sailing Virgins experience stands out for a number of reasons. First, enthusiasm for the sport and adventure of sailing was high. The instructors were expert sailors in their own rights, but they also took the time to enjoy the moment, the scenery, and the local culture. We saw firsthand what was possible in sailing. James and Kirill draw on years of experience with these adventures, and I gained as a skipper because of it. Second, the adventure element of a Sailing Virgins course can not be understated. This is not a package tour, with experiences carefully prepared. It was more like we went in search of adventure, and it fell into our laps. Let me give some examples - We carefully worked our way into coral reef passages and had a swim with sharks and rays. We docked alongside a local guy's overwater bungalow to stop for coconuts. We brought the 52 foot cat in to drop off our crowd at a fancy French restaurant one night for dinner in Bora Bora. We got up early to make passages between islands. We freed an anchor that was caught on an old mooring ball in 10 meters of dark water. We caught mooring balls under sail. We biked around the island of Maupiti, and ate a full 3 course fish meal in a local woman's home. We flew drones, snorkeled around coral reefs, and free dove under the boat. Third, instruction was excellent and in the moment. James and Kirill modeled good seamanship, problem solving, and practice. They pushed us to do route planning, to navigate without the electronics, and to perfect our knots. Everyone on board took turns at the helm, at the lines, and at down in the engine rooms. I felt confident behind the wheel and learned the unique skills associated with running the sails and two engines of a large catamaran. We looked at this trip as a vacation, but also an opportunity to see a different part of the world and consider our options for future cruising. It was all those things. We slept well, we ate well, we saw AMAZING scenery and met some awesome people. I'll be honest - I am a careful sailor with a few charters under my belt. James and Kirill gave me the confidence to go and do this again on my own.

Last year my wife and I ventured to the BVI's for a sailing school with no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We selected Sailing Virgins due to their website/social media and overall vibe we got from how they marketed their company and their brand. We were thoroughly impressed with our instruction from Jack while taking our ASA 101/103 course. Once we returned home we decided to book another school and return for our 104/114 on board a catamaran. We just returned home from our week aboard the catamaran with the Sailing Virgins and man what a trip! This go around Nick was our instructor for the catamaran course and we were tailed by some Sailing Virgins alumni aboard their monohull Libertas. Again, we were blown away by the knowledge and passion these guys show towards sailing. Everywhere we went people recognized the Sailing Virgins brand and treated us probably better than any other comparable sailing school. James and the rest of his crew truly have done a wonderful job building a brand within their instruction. If you are serious about wanting to learn how to sail, than I definitely recommend giving Sailing Virgins a good look. They have earned my repeat business, and I am already looking at what my next adventure with them will be! Tahiti? Island adventure maybe? Look into all of it. Not your typical Sailing School!

Tyson and I just got back from our first solo charter down in the Sea of Cortez and it was EPIC! Went so well, our friends all survived and had a blast, we got some awesome sailing time in—-I can’t thank you enough for starting Sailing Virgins. I don’t know if we would have ever actually had the balls to charter a boat without a little bit of instruction and we still daydream about Tahiti constantly... we did the catamaran course there and it was one of our favorite weeks of our lives. We seriously would recommend these guys to ANYONE who wants to learn to sail, it’s a perfect mix of fun and instruction and obviously it works!