Sailing Virgins — Attraction in Tortola

I just earned my American Sailing Association (“ASA”) 101 & 103 certifications after spending a week with Sailing Virgins in Martinique. Although my expectations were high, this trip is in a league of its own. Our week consisted of sailing from town to town, snorkeling, exploring the local terrain, and eating fantastic food (both on board and on land). Our instructor for the week, Jack Karger, was an incredible teacher. His passion for sailing (and patience with us learning) was infectious and created a positive environment to have fun/learn. Overall, this isn’t simply a sailing school, but rather a sailing adventure. Every hour it seemed like I was living in a Hollywood-esque adventure that embodied the “sailing lifestyle,” which Sailing Virgins actively promotes. I would recommend Sailing Virgins to anyone wanting to sail, or even simply have an adventure! I promise Sailing Virgins will more than exceed your expectations.

Background: When picking a sailing school, I had a few requirements, I wanted: (i) a legitimate operation with a relatively new boat (knowing many schools had been damaged by recent Hurricanes), (ii) ASA certification, and (iii) a fun and adventures, but yet laid back atmosphere (compared to doing chalk talk onshore and sailing around a bay). Therefore, I literally called the ASA office in Los Angeles and asked for recommendations. They sent me a list of over twenty sailing schools in the Caribbean (the region I requested due to warm weather), and I literally researched them all. I narrowed the list down to Sailing Virgins and another school on a different island. Eventually, I picked Sailing Virgins largely due to James Kell’s willingness to answer all my questions about logistics, sailing curriculum, and the overarching itinerary. Every time I contacted James, he was kind and professional, and either emailed or called back within 24 hours. These quick responses let me know that Sailing Virgins was a reliable organization that truly cared about its customers, which is a conclusion that proved extremely accurate. Additionally, I was impressed by Sailing Virgin’s online reviews, many of which were recent and detailed.

The course itself is designed to teach students how to sail by traveling between locations. I found this method was extremely effective and fun. Even though I must’ve asked the same questions dozens of times, Jack was always eager to provide instruction. In addition to sailing techniques, During the trip you completely operate the boat’s mechanisms. You learn to manage the anchor, electrical units, water pump, engine, and even the dingy/tender. Even though the curriculum was comprehensive, we always had fun with every activity. We sailed around the island, snorkeled every day, and went ashore in the mornings and nights to explore each town and eat at local restaurants. On the last day, I took my ASA examinations and passed!

Overall, my experience with Sailing Virgins was amazing. I’ve already started convincing my friends to book their own trips with James and Jack. The entire week gave me a sense of the “sailing lifestyle,” which cannot be understated. Sailing Virgins is definitely an adventure-based sailing school, and will certainly exceed your...

Sailing Virgins is unreal — worth every penny and more. You will learn to sail, explore new places each day and night, and meet legendary people from all over the world all in one trip. The passion for sailing aboard Libertas is contagious no matter your skill level — and the best part is that YOU will be sailing the boat. In my two weeks on course, Jack and James entrusted us full control over the navigation, the helm and the sails. There is no better way to quickly develop confidence in boat handling. Epic.

I would highly recommend Sailing Virgins to anyone in their 20s and 30s looking for a full-on adventure mixed with an unparalleled sailing instructing experience.

The full story: I went to sailing camp for years when I was younger but never found the dedication to keep up with it. Since I was a teenager, I always wanted a second chance to replicate those experiences but always found myself stopping short out of fear that if I hadn’t learned it now, it was too late. Cue Sailing Virgins. In some magical way, it felt like I was able to turn back the clock and learn to sail with the same freedom and humility as I did when I was a kid. Except this time around, we were able to explore new countries together, see the world from a different perspective and make new lifelong friends.

I had the unbelievable opportunity to spend two weeks on course with Jack and James, and couldn’t have been more impressed. More specifically, I was blown away by their ability to tailor the instruction each week of the course to the needs of the students on board.

The first week, I was on course with fellow sailing beginners. We needed basic introductions/refreshers and spent most of the week on knots, reading charts, docking and basic sailing maneuvers. The second week, however, I was joined by two full fledged sailors looking to fine tune their already proficient resumes. Sailing Virgins immediately rose to the task, and it was incredible to see how seamlessly they evolved the course to the next level. Thankfully for my own ego, they managed to beautifully transition my rookie abilities into a higher level of sailing within just one week. I felt completely comfortable with the loftier concepts and am confident that my sailing is the better for it.

My initial motivation to book with Sailing Virgins was to experience a sweet vacation and hopefully pick up a few tricks of the trade to become more useful crew on a boat. Having now completed the course, I can now see a glide path to becoming a skipper. I would never have dreamed it was possible if it weren’t for the positive vibes and genuine encouragement from Sailing Virgins.

Whether you are a newcomer to sailing but have an adventurous spirit and want to pick up a new life skill, or a seasoned charterer looking to fine tune your sailing ways, Sailing Virgins is the right...

I couldn’t recommend Sailing Virgins enough for anyone who wants to learn to sail in a fun, relaxed and hands-on environment.

I was a complete novice who had never even been on a sailboat and I have to admit when I started going through the NauticEd courses online I felt a little in over my head, but the minute we got on the boat (Libby!) I was put at ease. I was really blown away by how much of the theoretical stuff fell into place once I was in a practical environment (thanks to Jack’s expert instruction of course!). I never in a million years expected that we would be at the helm (check me out using the lingo! 😉) on the very first day!

We were a pretty small group for the week, just one other person (also a beginner) and Jack, which meant lots of hands-on experience! The intensity and pace of the course was very much dictated by us and what we were looking to get out of the week which was great, and meant that we enjoyed the perfect balance of sailing instruction coupled with getting to explore the beautiful Caribbean. Some of the highlights of the week included snorkelling with sea turtles, hiking up Mont Pelee, anchoring in a different town every night, sunset dinners on the beach, some “champagne sailing”, and doing shots of local rum with other sailors we met along the way! And how could I forget…SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS!!! Definitely the highlight of the week (and probably of my life, let’s be honest!), it was such a spontaneous and magical encounter, definitely one that I’ll never forget! 😃 I’ve done a lot of backpacking and as an avid traveller one of my other favourite things about the week was getting to explore the island from a flipped perspective - arriving into a new place by boat each evening with a view of the whole town and landscape.

You can tell that Jack and James eat, sleep and breathe sailing, and their passion and enthusiasm for sailing as both a sport and a lifestyle is contagious! With Sailing Virgins, they have created an experience that is adventurous, fun and relaxed whilst still being super professional. They have somehow managed to turn a world that can sometimes feels a little exclusive and inaccessible into something super welcoming and unassuming!

Whilst I was initially attracted to the travel and adventure aspect of the course I think after this week I’ve definitely caught the sailing bug and I’ll 100% be coming back for Ex-week! It was such a pleasure to meet you Jack, James and Celine and all the other skippers we met along the way, make sure you get in touch if you’re ever headed...