Helpful Links

Useful information for smooth sailing

Sailing Aids and News

Animated Knots ~ Select a Knot, See How It is Constructed
NOAA Nautical Charts ~ Chart 11411, Tampa Bay to Port Richey

Sailing Simulator ~ NauticEd's online simulator

US Coast Guard ~ Large Boat Float Plan (Online Fillable PDF)

Cruisers' Net (Western Florida) ~ Salty Southeast Cruising News & Alerts; Anchorages & Navigation

Cruisers Forum ~ Grocery stores, pump-out services, etc.

How-to-Sail Videos on YouTube

Videos from Monkeysee Videos that utilize sunfish, which are smaller than our school boats and have only one sail. But the concept is the same:

1. How to Sail: Basic Maneuvers
2. How to Sail: Wind Direction and Points of Sail
3. How to Sail: How to Tack and Gybe (Jibe) in Sailing
4. How to Sail: Upwind Sailing
5. How to Sail: Docking and Stopping
   

Videos from Expert Village, this boat is larger, but again the concept is the same - and it has a main sail and jib sail, as our school boats do. Notice the narrator is doing the job of the helmsman and the jib person.

1. How to Sail a Boat: Steering with the Tiller and Rudder
2. How to Sail a Boat: Coming About or Tacking
3. How to Sail a Boat: Controlling the Sails
4. How to Sail a Boat: Jibing Techniques
   

Local Sailing Clubs

Tampa Sailing Squadron
Gulfport Yacht Club
Clearwater Sailing Center

NOAA ~ Forecast updated every 6 hours
SailFlow ~ Wind, Radar, Tides & Current for the Tampa Bay Region

Passage Weather ~ Open Water Wind, Tides, Currents, Direction & Speed

Weather Resources ~ A collection of Marine Weather resources in one place

Try Wind Alert from WeatherFlow>

Don't forget to check your Smart Phone or iPhone apps for weather and marine apps. You can download apps for radar, tides, compass headings and more.

US Coast Guard Auxiliary Safe Boating Courses in Gulfport

The US Coast Guard offers safe boating classes every Thursday evening from 7:30 - 9:30 pm at Auxiliary Flotilla 7-16 at 3120 Miriam Street South in Gulfport. The course is 13 weeks long but can be started on any Thursday. Tuition is $40 per student and includes a 400-page manual. Students who complete chapters 1-8 will be eligible for the Florida State Safe Boating Card. Upon completion of the full 13 week course, students are also eligible for insurance discounts and a complimentary one-year Boat U.S. membership. Call the Auxiliary at 727-399-7986 for more information or email auxgulfport@yahoo.com. Find other Coast Guard Auxiliary courses online here>

St Petersburg Sail & Power Squadron (SPSPS)

SPSPS has a number of invaluable boating seminars on a wide range of subjects.
Check them out here>