Sailing is a skill that is learned and improved upon over time.  For the succesful beginner, this means gaining a combination of both education and experience.  As experience is increased, new levels of knowledge and learning can be added in a systematic way.  The US SAILING KEELBOAT SYSTEM offers seven experience levels of certification that follow the "building block" techniuqe of compiling learned skills with experience.  Once earned, these certification credentials, in conjunction with your continuing experiences, are recognized by charter companies and sailing shcools worldwide as the status of your accomplishments in the world of sailing.

What OCC class should I take to get my Basic Keelboat Certification?

Upon completion of the Intermediate Lido class student should take the Basic Keelboat Certification Course which combines Shields 1, Shields 2 and the Basic Keelboat Certification into one course.

Student who prefer to take Shields 1 and Shields 2 as seperate classes can take the Basic Keelboat Certification Class upon completion of Shields 2.  This class assumes you have learned all the skills for certification and is ready to have your skills evaluated for certification purposes.

Students who have completed our Learn to Sail on a Shields class should take Shields 1 and Shields 2 before taking the Basic Keelboat Certification Class to gain more experience on the water.

Student Certification Standards

Basic Keelboat Certification
The Basic Keelboat graduate is able to skipper and crew a daysailing keelboat in familiar waters in light to moderate wind and sea conditions.

Basic Cruising Certification
The Basic Cruising graduate has demonstrated his/her ability to skipper and crew an auxiliary powered cruising sailboat during haylight hours, within sight of land in moderate wind and sea conditions.

Bareboat Certification
Bareboat Cruising graduates have demonstrated their ability to skippper and crew an inboard auxiliary powered cruising sailboat within sight of land and bring it safely t oanchor during daylight hours.

Coastal Navigation Certification
The Coastal Navigatino graduate will have demonstrated  the art of traditional navigation techniques and the ability to integrate electronic navigation tools into the navigation plan.

Coastal Passagemaking Certification
Coastal Passage Making graduates have demonstrated their ability to responsibly skipper and crew an inboard auxiliary powered cruising sailboat during passages on coastal waters, in all weather conditions, including all levels of visibility and all hours of the day and night.

Celestial Navigation Certification
Celestial Navigation graduates will have mastered the techniques of open ocean position fixing using sextant and timepiece.  They will be able to apply their knowledge of sight reduction methodology to enable them to reduce a sextant sight to a plotted line of position using any celestial body found in the Nautical Almanac.

Offshore Passagemaking Certification
Offshore Passage Making graduates will have demonstrated their ability to responsibly skipper and crew an inboard auxiliary powered cruisng sailboat to any destination worldwide.