ADVENTURE AWAITS

Learn to sail in the most beautiful Sea on Earth.
Earn internationally-recognized credentials. Get licensed. Have fun!
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Go Further with Learn To Sail Mexico

Fully accredited sailing instruction & certification in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico

BECOME THE BEST SAILOR YOU CAN BE WITH CAPTAIN JOSH

Learn to sail casually or advance your sailing skills and earn certifications. Captain Josh offers private sailing instruction and certification for ALL levels of experience from beginners to experts, as well as captained charter services anywhere you want to cruise. Josh's credentials include over 30 years of recreational and professional sailing, qualified SAMS® Surveyor Associate, and certified NauticEd Captain Level V Chief Instructor.

STUDY ONLINE, GET CERTIFIED ON THE WATER

Maximize your time on the water by studying online first! With NauticEd’s world-class online knowledge and theory courses, you will learn the theory that will make it 1000% easier to understand when you get out on the water. Combining theory with hands-on, practical training allows you to practice and enjoy your new skills, and get certified at the same time!

Meet Your Captain

CAPTAIN JOSH IS A CERTIFIED NAUTICED CAPTAIN LEVEL V CHIEF INSTRUCTOR

A third generation mariner who has spent his whole life on the water, Captain Josh grew up sailing on the Great Lakes and working with the family on refitting their various sailboats throughout the years.

In the time since those formative years, he started his own company manufacturing recreational watercraft in the Pacific Northwest, where he honed his skills and knowledge of Composites, provided GRP repair services to a local shipyard, and sailed his steel Bruce Roberts in the Salish Sea. In 2018, he and his wife set sail from British Columbia and sailed their steel cutter down the West Coast and into the Sea of Cortez, where they fell in love with all that Mexico has to offer and have made Mexico their permanent home!

As a qualified yacht surveyor, he also excels in metal fabrication and welding on his steel cutter and is currently updating his Wauquiez Hood 38. After running a successful yacht brokerage in Sonora, Mexico for 4 years, he obtained his SAMS® Surveyor Associate qualification to pursue yacht surveying full-time.

In his off hours, Josh is a passionate surfer and spearo, and delights in sailing around the Sea of Cortez exploring its many beautiful anchorages with his family. Josh is a true waterman and is happy to share his lifetime of joy and experience of the maritime world with cruisers exploring the Sea Of Cortez!

If you're interested, you can read his full personal story / bio here →

Fully Accredited NauticEd Training & Certification

Stop Dreaming, Start Sailing!

Pick how you want to learn. We offer pathways to competence suited for all, be you a would-be or experienced sailor.
LEARN TO SAIL DAY CLASSES
Get introduced to the wonderful world of sailing! These are non-certification sailing classes, but contain the same quality of instruction as our cert courses. Sign up for an introductory day class by contacting Captain Josh today!
Discover Sailing
If you're relatively new to sailing or even have never sailed before, this is the perfect introductory class for you. Led by an experienced sailing instructor aboard a 38-ft keelboat, you can sample sailing in a safe and fun manner.
LEARN TO SAIL VACATIONS
Learn to sail while on vacation! Choose from our calendar of scheduled trips where we have planned out choice destinations and itineraries to maximize both fun and learning on the water.
SAN CARLOS to LORETO
November 9-18, 2024
Get your feet wet with offshore cruising and overnight passagemaking from San Carlos on mainland Mexico to Loreto on the Baja in the Sea of Cortez. And prepare to see some spectacular sights along the way!
4 Spots Available - Reserve Yours Today!
Want a custom trip?
Contact us!

Have a specific itinerary or travel dates in mind that are not reflected here?
Contact Captain Josh to discuss planning a custom learn-to-sail vacation just for you!

NAUTICED SAILING COURSES

NauticEd Certification Courses
If you're keen to start your sailing education and work towards a particular goal - be it sailing with friends as crew or skippering your own boat - we have course options to match your goal! Each course stands on it's own, so you can pick the one that best matches your desires and goals.
If you have any questions, you can contact Captain Josh to discuss your goals and the best way to get started!
BEGINNER COURSES
INTRODUCTION to SAILING
Discover the fun and excitement of sailing with this introductory course! Get equipped with the fundamental knowledge and techniques needed to start sailing confidently.
Qualification for:
Basic Sailing Skills Certificate
BASIC SAILING (CREW)
Ramp up your sailing resume with Basic Sailing (Crew Rank). With these skills, you can feel confident to join a local sailing club or enjoy sailing vacations with friends and a professional captain.
Qualification for:
Qualified Crew Rank Certificate
ADVANCED COURSES
BASIC KEELBOAT (SKIPPER)
Learn the fundamental principles of safe, confident daysailing on a 38-foot keelboat in light to moderate winds. Learn everything you need to see your confidence rise as a true beginner on day one to a competent sailor by the end of the course.
Qualification for:
Skipper Large Keelboat Rank Certificate
BAREBOAT CHARTER MASTER
Become the sailor who truly knows their stuff! This course trains all aspects of multi-day sailing for near-coastal and offshore passagemaking. Gain skills and competence necessary to skipper on bareboat charter sailing vacations, or skipper your own vessel and captain your own crew!
Qualification for:
Bareboat Charter Master Rank Certificate
OFFSHORE CAPTAIN RANK
Offshore sailing and passagemaking is the pinnacle of sailing knowledge, training, and experience. Setting sail into the sunset requires many practicalities and competencies that must be learned for you and your crew's safety and well-being. This course covers all the knowledge and skills you need to safely sail offshore.
Qualification for:
Captain Level III Rank Certificate
ASSESSMENTS & LICENSING (SLC™)
Earn your International Sailing License

If your dream is to bareboat charter anywhere in the world, there's one license that can offer charter companies with the credentials they need - the International Sailing License and Credentials (SLC™). As a qualified SLC Assessor with NauticEd, we can provide the on-the-water assessment of your sailing skills and knowledge so you can become a licensed skipper!

We want to take all the guesswork out of getting you licensed, so we've laid out the process into it's relatively quick and easy steps!

SLC Front
SLC Back
Hover over or Tap the card to see the back!
Click image to enlarge
Complete Online Courses & Tests

Complete our Bareboat Charter Master bundle of online NauticEd courses and practical on-the-water training and certification. This gives you all you need to complete the pre-requsites for the SLC theory portion.

Get your Boat Safety Card, PCOC, or Government Boater License

Obtain a boater’s card or license from your nearest regulatory body and upload it to your NauticEd account. For example, in the USA you can get a State Boater Safety Card for free. In Canada, you’d get your Pleasure Craft Operator’s Card. 

Complete your Practical Sailing Experience

The SLC requires at least 50 days of logged sailing experience, 25 of which as master of the vessel and 25 on a boat larger than 28ft. Complete this by logging into your NauticEd account and entering your experience into your personal electronic logbook.

Complete the SLC On-The-Water Assessment

Once you’ve passed all the online tests, we recommend scheduling your on-the-water assessment with us as soon as possible, while the knowledge is still fresh. Captain Josh is an approved SLC assessor and will be able to test your sailing ability and theory competency. Book your Assessment Appointment today →

Pay the SLC Fee

The fee for the SLC sailing license is $95.

SKILL ENDORSEMENTS
Add Competencies to your Sailing Resume
An endorsement is a specific workshop that is focused on single skills or topics. Whether you're new to sailing and don't have time for a full certification course, or you're experienced and want to enrich your sailing resume with proof of your demonstrable skills and knowledge, we can assess you.
Visit our Endorsements page for a list of endorsements we currently train & assess, and if you don't see what you want, contact us about arranging a particular endorsement you're interested in.
When you're ready, contact Captain Josh to arrange your next endorsement!
Night Sailing
Diesel Engine Operation
abandon ship & life raft
vhf, dsc, radar, & ais operations
Weather
spinnaker handling
heavy weather sailing
maneuvering close quarters under sail
anchoring
maneuvering & docking under power
maneuvering under power
mooring
radar operation
tides & tidal currents
offshore passaging (60mi)
offshore passaging (600mi)
offshore passaging (200mi)
flares & signaling devices
crew overboard recovery
practical navigation

NauticEd is the only Government and US Coast Guard recognized sailing body in the USA.

NauticEd is the leading international and fastest growing North American sailing and boating education organization with a mission to educate and train competent sailors. The authority NASBLA is the sole agency in charge of issuing boating licenses in the USA, and they have recognized and awarded NauticEd as meeting the American National Standards (ANS) for sailing training and assessment. NauticEd is also recognized by the US Coast Guard as conforming to the ANS for sailing training and assessment. The SLC sailing license is recognized and accepted worldwide, exceeding the United Nations (UNE) resolution 40 ICC competence standards for yacht chartering.
American National Standards
In 2017, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) developed the American National Standards (EDU-3) for sailing training and assessment in an effort to increase the competence of new sailors. To date, NauticEd is the only global sailing education body to be recognized as meeting these high standards by ensuring competence across the board with comprehensive theory knowledge, on-the-water skills assessment, and an appropriate amount of on-the-water experience prior to certification.
International SLC
The International Sailing License and Credentials (SLC) is recognized by worldwide port authorities and yacht charter companies as the North American equivalent to the United Nations ICC sailing license. Requirements include a practical assessment of competence by a NauticEd American National Standards sailing instructor.
Student Guide
Learn all about NauticEd courses, certifications and more.
View the NauticEd Student Guide ⋙

Ready to finally take the first step to achieving your sailing dreams?

Today, it's easier than ever to get started! Start with online learning and get a solid knowledge base with NauticEd courses. With videos, animations, and no-nonsense explanations, you'll be as prepared as you can be for stepping onto a sailboat and putting all your new-found knowledge to practical use.
You'll be pleasantly surprised how quickly your skills grow... and your confidence along with them!
Visit our contact page to tell us about your goals, or tap the WhatsApp button at the bottom of your screen, and let's start turning your dreams into a reality.
Let's chat about your sailing goals!
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