Minneapolis Sailing Center offers a range of adult sailing classes. Our most popular courses are taught in the stable 23-foot Pearson Ensign Keelboat. For those seeking an added challenge, the responsive 420 dinghy offers action and excitement.
Successful completion of each class automatically earns a wind rating for our Membership Program.
Intermediate Keelboat: Builds on beginner skills, helping sailors gain confidence and work toward a red flag rating.
Intro to Lasers: Teaches rigging and sailing our Laser sailboats in a small class setting.
Women’s Beginning Keelboat Class: A class designed and taught by women for women!
adult BEGINNING KEELBOAT
Perfect for first-time sailors, this two-week course uses our stable 23-foot Ensign keelboats. Each boat is sailed by 3-4 students with an instructor (up to 5 students for larger groups/families).
Students will learn to rig the boat, land at a buoy, and develop the essential skills to sail independently in light winds. By the end of the 12-hour course, sailors will earn a Green Flag Rating (light wind) for boat use as part of the Membership Program.
WOMEN’S BEGINNING KEELBOAT
The Women’s Beginning Keelboat class empowers women and non-binary people with confidence on and off the water. Enrollment in this course is reserved for womxn (cis, trans, and other female-identifying people) and non-binary people, and instruction is provided by women.
In this two-week course, participants will learn sailing basics on our 23-foot Ensign keelboats. Sailors will learn to rig a boat, land at a dock or buoy, and basic boat handling. After this 12-hour course, students will be certified to sail independently in light winds.
ADULT INTERMEDIATE KEELBOAT
Building on skills from the Beginning Keelboat course, this class prepares sailors to confidently handle the Ensign Keelboat in medium and heavy air.
Topics include advanced boat handling, sail theory, and an introduction to racing.
adult Beginning 420
The 420 is a small, fast, and responsive boat that offers a more challenging sailing experience.
Instructors provide onshore and on-the-water coaching to help students learn everything needed to skipper or crew the boat, including sail theory, boat parts, docking, and open-water sailing.
The 420 requires athleticism, so participants should be prepared to squat, crouch, and step down from a dock to enter the boat.
adult INTRO TO LASERS
Do you already know the basics of sailing and want to learn how to sail a Laser? These dynamic and challenging solo boats are a blast (once you learn how to rig them). This class is designed to get you comfortable sailing solo on one of the most popular boats in the world. This small group setting is ideal for individualized attention and instruction.
The Laser sailboat requires athleticism and participants will need to squat/crouch for extended periods and be able to pull themselves into a boat from the water during capsize recovery.
