Society for the Education of American Sailors - We're All About Sailing

Skipper Development

The Path to Becoming a SEAS skipper

People join SEAS with all kinds of prior experience, ranging from "never been on a boat before" through already having a US Coast Guard license. We will take into account this prior experience when a candidate applies to become a skipper at SEAS Monmouth. Everybody is not required to work up through the levels; experienced sailors might come in at level II or even level III (see the Skipper Certification Process for definitions of levels and their requirements).

For the less experienced, SEAS offers the following:

  • Basic Sailing Classes
  • Informal sails every Thursday evening on the daysailers, Sunday sailing and Small boat days provide an opportunity to improve those basic sailing skills (see Sailing Calendar for contact information.).
  • Activity sails several days each week on the two keelboats (the 30' Catalina and the 22' Rhodes). These are listed on the Sailing Calendar on the website; skippers volunteer to run these on specific dates and you must preregister with the skipper - contact information is on the calendar.
  • Mentoring is offered through the Education Committee to those members who desire to complete the skills required of a specific skipper level. Only prospective skippers may apply to participate in a mentoring session. The request is submitted specifying what specific skill is being requested and the Education Committee upon acceptance of the application will contact experienced skippers to schedule a specific mentoring session. Some examples of specific skills may include maneuvering under power, heavy weather sailing, crew management among others.
  • Advanced Sailing classes, Boat Handling classes and various "Mini-Courses" are offered during the season - these are listed on the Courses and Training Calendar.

The Application Process

If you desire to become a SEAS skipper and think you qualify at a certain level follow the instructions to submit an application with all of the supporting documentation found at Skipper Certification Process.