Get Race-Ready In The Sunny South This Winter

Published: Tuesday, November 13, 2018
By: Beth Oliver, Director of Marketing, Offshore Sailing School

At age 19, Steve Colgate took a detour from his family’s career path in the corporate world and accepted an invitation to crew aboard his first Transatlantic Race from Cuba to Spain. After the three-week adventure, Steve said, “This is for me!” From there, Steve went on to race in hundreds of regattas around the world, on 19’ Lightning Class sloops to 81’ Maxis.

While the company Steve founded in 1964, Offshore Sailing School, offers Performance Sailing courses at South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island, Florida, its racing special events are the most well-known. In April 2019, Offshore Sailing School and North Sails’ NorthU division, led by Bill Gladstone, will collaborate and host their 19th Annual Performance Race Week on Captiva Island, Florida, for forty adventure-seeking sailors who want to win more races.

What makes Performance Race Week so unique, according to Steve, are the ten professional coaches who are all used to helping amateur sailors improve their skills. All ten coaches are accomplished sailors, having won many regattas around the world. With four-person crews and their coach across ten well-tuned Colgate 26s, this week-long, adrenaline-filled experience is a dream for these active sailors seeking to improve and hone their racing skills while learning new strategies and tactics.

When asked about the attributes and skills necessary to become a successful helmsman or tactician, Steve responded, “You must exhibit absolute concentration, focus on your specific job aboard. The same can be said of the rest of the crew. Each person must focus on what they need to do.” For sailors who want to improve their skills, Steve suggests taking a performance sailing or racing course at an accredited school, visit or join local community sailing centers or yacht clubs and offer to help and get on board. Learn by watching, listening, and doing.

Offshore Sailing School will also host a four-day racing tune-up clinic from December 2-6, 2018, at the Pink Shell Beach Resort & Marina on Fort Myers Beach, Florida. The lead coach will be US Sailing’s National Coach of the Year, Morgan Reeser, alongside coaches Tom Babel, Rod Favela, and Paul Abdullah. A maximum of 16 participants will experience non-stop racing instruction aboard high-performance Colgate 26 keelboats, with shore seminars, recaps, parties, and a full-day regatta with Awards Dinner.

For details on these racing special event programs and more, call Offshore Sailing School at 888-852-1865. To find about more about all programs, visit www.OffshoreSailing.com, email [email protected], or call 800-221-4326.

This article first appeared in the Year End Issue (Nov/Dec) 2018 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine.