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GENERAL CONTACT:
Melissa Eisberg
Redpoint Marketing PR, Inc.
212.229.0119
eisberg@redpointpr.com
OFFSHORE SAILING SCHOOL CELEBRATES 46th ANNIVERSARY
Ft. Myers, FL - (September 7, 2009) - November 2009 marks another milestone anniversary for Florida-based Offshore Sailing School, which opened its doors in New York City in November 1964. “I met a guy with a sailboat at a cocktail party and the rest is history,” says founder and chairman, Steve Colgate. The “history” is a legacy of introducing the sailing lifestyle to more than 100,000 adults, “many of whom have become ardent racers or long distance cruising sailors,” reports Steve.
In 1966 Steve bought out his then partner and was the first to bring Solings, the new 26’ international three-man keelboat, into the United States. “I did a lot of testing between this fast racer from Norway and the larger Etchells designed for the same international racing competition, and felt new sailors would learn better on the Soling.” The first two to enter the United States were bought by Steve for his first school location on City Island, New York.
Thirty-three years later, Steve introduced the innovative Colgate 26 to the training market. “Every year we reviewed new designs in the 25’-30’ range in search of a better boat to teach beginners and performance sailors on, but none met our criteria,” explains Colgate. So Steve wrote the parameters and teamed up with renowned naval architect Jim Taylor to present the award-winning Colgate 26 to the market in October 1996. Offshore Sailing School is the sole distributor for the Colgate 26 which won the prestigious Cruising World Boat of the Year in the Pocket Cruiser Division in 1997. It is built by Precision Boat Works in Palmetto, Florida.
“Our requirements were that it be unsinkable, durable, economical, ergonomically comfortable, easy to handle, with great performance features,” says Colgate. Over 300 hulls have been sold. The U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Maine Maritime and other service institutions and schools use the Colgate 26 for these very reasons, he reports. In addition there are growing fleets of Colgate 26s in key sailing areas around the United States and abroad, including 10 in a Qatar sailing club. For the past four years the Knickerbocker Cup – an International Team Racing event – has conducted the races on Colgate 26s, many donated by Offshore Sailing School.
In the long history of the company CEO and President Doris Colgate, who joined Offshore as Vice President in 1970 one year after they were married, has helped Steve lead the company and create innovative programs designed to introduce more people to sailing. “Our clients are adventurers, highly educated and very interested in getting the best education in sailing they can,” explains Doris. The company’s most popular program is Fast Track to Cruising® which gives a novice ready-to-cruise skills and knowledge in as little as eight days.
For 2009 the company’s marketing team has fine-tuned its Private Couples and Private Family learning vacations, and introduced new formats and venues for Offshore’s popular women’s You Can Sail Escape Weeks and COAST® - the equivalent of an MBA in sailing.
The Colgates, who have authored many sailing books (with another in the works as this is written) and have also won several awards for excellence in education and leadership in the sailing industry (from SAIL magazine, US SAILING, the National Women’s Sailing Association and other organizations), are planning a 45th anniversary celebration to be announced in early 2009.
“We continue to see steady interest in sailing despite the constant barrage of economic bad news,” reports Doris. “We are slightly ahead of last year in number of people taking courses and revenues, and our inquiries are up 12% year to date over same period last year.” She attributes this to the fact that people will still go on vacation but choose opportunities where their time is spent in earning a rewarding activity that gives them a lifelong skill “There is no better way to clear your head, reduce your carbon footprint and rethink the future, then the time you spend under sail,” she explains.
Offshore Sailing School’s signature programs are held at destination resorts, including South Seas Island Resort (an LXR property) on Captiva Island, Florida; The Inn at Perry Cabin (an Orient Express Resort) in St. Michaels, Maryland; Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa on Ft. Myers Beach, Florida; The Moorings (a TUI Marine company), at its base in Tortola, British Virgin Islands; and the Mansion House B&B in St. Petersburg, Florida. In addition, two popular seasonal locations for New York Metro area residents are at Chelsea Piers in New York City and Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, New Jersey,
“Approaching 40 years of marriage and more years of 24/7 togetherness, we are often asked ‘how do you do it?’” laughs Doris. “Passionate about sailing, passionate about each other and the great people we’ve met along the way,” she says with a twinkle in her eye. To celebrate the combined 86 years of fun, the Colgates will lead two cruises in the Caribbean May 2010 for Offshore Sailing School graduates and staff alumni. Doris reports a number of graduates have already signed up to sail the fleet of five 51 footers chartered from The Moorings.The first cruise will go from St. Lucia to Grenada, and the second from Grenada back to St. Lucia. The picture above was taken in 1989 when the Colgates explored the coast of (then) Yugoslavia from Split to Dobrovnik and back with the Offshore Cruising Club.
Programs available at Offshore Sailing School run from two-hour sailing lessons and three-day certification Learn to Sail courses to week-long racing, cruising and passage making courses. For more information on Offshore Sailing School courses or the Colgates, call 800-221-4326.
Editor’s Note: For high resolution photography, please contact Doris Colgate: Doris@OffshoreSailing.com; 239-985-7511.
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