Over the years Offshore Sailing School in Florida has taught thousands of people how to sail and has also awarded many prizes to participants in Summer Sailstice. Steve and Doris Colgate are passionate lifelong sailors who love to teach new sailors as much as they've loved sailing itself. Working with the editors at Cruising World on this story contest they've now rewarded one of their competent graduates with an idyllic tropical vacation.
Offshore Sailing School just announced the winner of a special contest for graduates who completed an Offshore Sailing School cruising course in 2011.
A team of editors and staff from Cruising World magazine headed by Sally Helme - Group Publisher of Cruising World, Sailing World and Yachting Magazines - reviewed the entries and awarded first place to Tyler Cowan of Oakville, Ontario for his story, “Answering the Call of the Sea.” Cowan is a 2011 graduate of Offshore Sailing School's Fast Track to Cruising® and Fast Track to Coastal Passage Making courses. By taking these two courses, he expanded his education from Learn to Sail to Passage Making and earned five US SAILING certifications - BasicKeelboat, Basic Cruising, Bareboat Cruising, Coastal Navigation and CoastalPassage Making.
In choosing Cowan as the winner, Sally Helme stated, “I think that everyone loved his passion, his commitment and most of all his pure excitement and joy at mastering so many skills in a relativelyshort period of time. His thrill in sailing is infectious, I think it's fair to say that we found his story quite inspiring.”
"For as long as I can remember, I've looked to the sea with fascination and yearning,” wrote Cowan… “a burning curiosity to harness the raw power of the wind that has captivated me for the better part of my 23 years on this planet,” he said. The entire story can be read here. Please scroll down when you open the cover page.
To enter the contest, students were asked to send a short story about their learning experience, accompanied by photos or a video. “We only asked that their story reflect their learn to cruise experience,” explains Doris Colgate, chief executive officer and president of Offshore Sailing School. "To encourage entrants to participate, we said let learning to cruise inspire you; be creative," described Colgate.
The prize - a one-week bareboat charter on a Moorings 41.3 cruising boat in 2012 - is provided by TUI Marine, whichowns The Moorings,. For more than 35 years, Offshore Sailing School has been the official sailing school for The Moorings.
More of the contest entries will be posted in the coming weeks according to Colgate.
For information about the students who entered this contest and to read Tyler's story go to: Offshore Sailing School . For more information call Doris Colgate at 888-454-7015 or email Doris@OffshoreSailing.com.