PRIVATE SAILING LESSONS

AGES: Adults and families

DATE / Time: Year-round / Flexible

PREREQUISITES: None

LOCATION: South Lake Union

INSTRUCTOR: CWB Sailing Instructors

MEMBER PRICE: $120 per hour (includes boat and instructor). Add up to two people for $60.

GENERAL PRICE: $150 per hour (includes boat and instructor). Add up to two people for $75.

PACKAGE DISCOUNT: 8 hours of lessons for the price of 7! See package information below.

BOATS USED FOR LESSONS: Blanchard Jr Knockabouts - 20’ historic wooden keelboat sloops. Sometimes we’ll use the Blanchard Sr Knockabout (26’ Keelboat Sloop) or a Lightning (20’ Centerboard Sloop).

PRIVATE LESSONS!

WORK ONE-ON-ONE with an instructor or bring a friend or two to test the waters or focus on areas for improvement.

Private lessons are perfect for new sailors with busy schedules, experienced sailors wanting a refresher, or anyone who wants tips for sailing wooden boats on Lake Union. Taking Private Lessons is a great pathway to earning your Sailing Livery Card with CWB - whether you’re brand new to the craft of sailing or have some experience and just want to build on your skills. Lessons can be one-on-one or for up to three people. When booking, we’ll only hold payment information for one person. Full payment is taken at the time of lesson in the form of a credit card.

SCHEDULE A PRIVATE LESSON HERE!

PRIVATE LESSON PACKAGES!

Purchase 7 hours of Private Instruction and we’ll throw in an 8th lesson for free!

This is usually enough instruction for a student new to sailing to gain a solid foundation of sailing skills and earn their Sailing Livery Card (your ticket to renting our sailboats year-round on Lake Union and in the summer months at Cama Beach State Park). Lessons can be scheduled in 1- or 2-hour increments according to your schedule. These 8-hour lesson package prices start at $840 for individual members. Families or friends of up to three total may join the lesson for an additional flat fee. Private lesson packages offer flexibility with scheduling and expire six months after purchase.

A Lesson Package also makes a terrific gift for your favorite aspiring sailor(s)!

PURCHASE A PRIVATE LESSON PACKAGE HERE! 

ADD SHORE SCHOOL TO THE MIX!

Before taking on-the-water lessons, you may want to attend our optional 2-hour Shore School. We discuss parts of a boat, sailing theory, and more. Shore School enrollment information can be found here: Shore School!

ABOUT OUR INSTRUCTORS:

CHRISTIAN HOLTZ: Private Lesson Instructor

Christian Holtz holds a USCG 100 ton Master’s license and US Sailing Basic Keelboat Instructor Certification. He has instructed hundreds of individuals and couples in sailing and seamanship skills aboard a variety of sailing vessels on Seattle’s Lake Union through CWB’s SailNOW! and Private Lesson programs. Christian is also an active pilot and serves in medical supply missions.

NANCY ENGEL: Private Lesson Instructor

Nancy holds a USCG 50 Ton Master’s License and US Sailing Basic Keelboat Instructor certification. Nancy learned to sail on the Great Lakes as a kid. She moved to Seattle to attend UW and began crewing in sailboat races on Puget Sound. She has chartered cruising sailboats in the San Juans, the Great Lakes and the South Pacific. Her career in international development eventually led to overseas assignments and she has managed to talk her way onto sailboats on six different continents. She loves sharing her passion for sailing with others: introducing people to the joy of sailing and helping them master the basic skills.

CHARLES FAWCETT: Private Lesson Instructor

Charles holds USGC 100 Ton Master’s and British Master’s Foreign Going Unlimited Licenses. Charles learned to sail before he could swim as a kid growing up in Wales. He’s been teaching part-time at CWB for 20 years and loves helping students learn to sail. When not at CWB he’s probably off sailing in Australia, New Zealand, Croatia, or the Mediterranean. Charles is also a painter (maritime oils) and has designed festival art for CWB.

DEREK STORM: Private Lesson Instructor

Derek has been sailing small small boats regularly since he was 15, and sailed on his high school and college sailing teams. He has owned sailboats from 10 to 30 feet in length, and regularly races with his wife and others on the Puget Sound. He has cruised extensively on the Salish Sea, as well as on Long Island Sound and has done charters in the Caribbean and Adriatic Seas. He believes that an important part of learning to sail is to understand how sailboats work and why things are done a certain way. With such knowledge a new sailor can continue to hone his or her skills and will be able to handle unfamiliar situations. He has had the privilege of teaching sailing at the CWB since 2015.

ALLEN WEYMILLER:  Private Lesson Instructor

Allen holds a USCG 50 Ton Master’s License and US Sailing Basic Keelboat Instructor certification. He learned to sail by first buying a boat over 30 years ago and has been sailing the Salish Sea and inland lakes ever since. He’s retired from Seattle’s home-town airline and has been a volunteer at CWB for nearly a decade. Formerly CWB’s full-time Maritime Programs manager, Allen is passionate about introducing new students to the craft of sailing when he is in town and available!

ERIC JONSEN:  Private Lesson Instructor and Waterfront Operations Director

Eric holds a USCG 100 Ton Master’s License and is a certified US Sailing Keelboat Instructor. Eric learned to sail by rigging a mast (long piece of driftwood) and sail (bedsheet) on a plastic rowboat when he was a kid. Since then, he has sailed and taught sailing on the west coast, east coast and a few places in between. He is a retired engineer and now takes care of the waterfront operations for CWB.

OLIVER DAVIS: Private Lesson and RaceNOW! Instructor

Oliver holds a USCG 50 Ton Master’s License and US Sailing Basic Keelboat and Cruising Instructor Certifications. Oliver learned to sail at camp when he was 11 and crossed the Atlantic at age 20. While winning racing championships on big boats around the world, he believes teaching at CWB in our 20’ Blanchard sloops is where he became a true “seat of the pants” sailor. His approach is to keep sailing simple, working with students on fundamental skills one at a time. He encourages new sailors to learn from the boat first and the book second - feeling the heel of the boat and the pull of the sheets.