Society for the Education of American Sailors - We're All About Sailing
Overview
At the heart of the SEAS Monmouth sailing education program is the Basic Sailing course. This course teaches you everything you need to know to begin sailing, through a blend of classroom theory and practical water sessions. No prior sailing or boating experience is necessary; the only requirements are a desire to learn the fine art of sailing and the ability to swim.
Over the course of four evening classroom sessions (Monday and Thursday for two consecutive weeks) you will learn what makes a boat sail, all the basic sailing maneuvers, safety techniques, and even classic nautical knots (see a representative course syllabus here). During the two all-day Saturday water sessions, under the supervision of our experienced instructors, you will put this theory into practice sailing our fleet of daysailers on the Shrewsbury River near Oceanport, NJ.
We teach this course at Brookdale College main campus location, in Lincroft, NJ.
How to Register
You can register for Basic Sailing (known as Learn to Sail in the Brookdale catalog) online, or you can call Brookdale Customer Service at 732-224-2315 between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. The fee is $295.
| Session | Classroom Dates | Water Session Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 3, 6, 10, 13 | June 8, 15 |
| 2 | July 8, 11, 15, 18 | July 13, 20 |
| 3 | August 5, 8, 12, 15 | August 10, 17 |
You can also contact Svetlana at () for more information about this course.
Other Things You Should Know
- All courses are taught by experienced sailors.
- Water sessions are subject to rescheduling because of weather; rain date is the next day or as arranged by instructors.
- You must be able to swim, as demonstrated by a short swim test during the second classroom session (logistics to be discussed by the instructor). This test consists of treading water for a minute or so, putting a life jacket on while still in the water, and again treading water for another minute or so. It's designed to simulate falling into the water from a boat.
- Each student will be required to have a PFD (Personal Floatation Device, or life jacket) for the water sessions and the swim test
- Classroom sessions run from 7 to 9 pm. Water sessions run from 9 am to 3 pm.
After Graduation, What's next?
The Basic Sailing course is just the beginning. Within SEAS Monmouth's scheduled sailing activities there are numerous opportunities to get more sailing practice throughout the sailing season (May through October) - on the same boats that you practiced on during the class. We offer Thursday evening sailing sessions on our daysailers, and twice a month we hold "Small Boat Days" all day Saturday or Sunday where we make the fleet of Lasers available in addition to the daysailers. Check the Sailing Calendar for more details, including specific dates.
If your aspirations are more toward larger boats, we offer plenty of opportunities to sail on our keelboats, or even develop your own skippering skills. Check the Sailing Calendar for Friday and Saturday evening sails on the Capri 22, or Tuesday and Thursday evening sails on the "SEAS the Breeze" (30' Catalina).
The Fun Part of Basic Sailing
Two of our four daysailers that we use for the Basic Sailing water sessions.
You can also practice on our fleet of Lasers during "Small Boat Days," held twice each month. These boats are faster and more nimble, but require a little more skill.
Half of a recent May class.