Anyone heard of SEA SENSE Womens Boating School?

Hi Folks

I'm a boater/liveaboard wannabe looking to get some education.

Does anyone have any experience with or have heard reviews of SEA SENSE, a Womens Boating School currently out of St Pete Florida?

I've looked for reviews in Yelp and CF with no luck, so far.

Any and all tips appreciated.
Many thanks!

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Good move seeking out education.

Try seasenseboating dot com

Ken Shanley
MV Charis

Yes, I've heard of them.

They used to charter my boat for their classes.

The women who took the classes seemed to be happy with them. But then since most of them are newbies I'm not sure how much of a frame of reference they would have.

They could be rough on my boat at times. But that's the cost of doing business with a teaching organization I guess.

Like any teaching organization...there is good and bad published about them.


I have heard some good feedback in general though....


But if it is from students that haven't been taught much lately and on a subject they know nothing about...hard to formulate an accurate opinion of the school.


But a gross generalization would be that they were very good at some point and there aren't a lot of women specific schools out there...so roll the dice.

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Good move seeking out education.

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Thanks for the welcome n the encouragement !

Thanks. I'm looking for reviews. Of course I've been to their site.

Thanks for the info n the feedback.

Guess I won't have much to compare them with boat wise either ... Except that I myself am an educator so I am very aware of teaching abilities and professionalism.

Appreciate your help.
Happy trawling!

I recall some schools type settings in BVI or St Thomas also. Week or 10 days of no husbands yelling at wives etc etc etc. Cant recall name though. Internet search comes up blank. Maybe you could contact the yacht rental companies down there. There's about 100 or so! Ask if any have this program.

Thanks for the reply and info.

So, at least, it sounds like there have not been lots of ravingly bad reviews of them out there.
I do like the idea of taking a class with other women.
They seem rather expensive to me though.
Tx again

Yes u also recalled another school down there several years ago up to maybe over ten years ago. I think they're no longer in business. I used to be on their mailing list. They had t- shirts that said "No yelling".
They seem to have disappeared.
Now that I think about it they may have been into sailing only.
Thanks for ur feedback n ideas.

Without wanting to intrude, the tuition preference does narrow options. And you are in Boston, they are in Florida. Would it be worth trying a non gender specific school to see how it goes. Perhaps you tried that already, it was not good, thus the enquiry.
A sailing school I went to many years ago was female run,it was fine.

Since I've been in the Trawler training business for many years,I have some ideas. As for Seasense, I've met them once at a Trawlerfest and had a brief conversation. They seemed nice enough, but I have no actual experience with their training. I suspect that women teaching women could offer some benifits that can't be matched otherwise. If I were considering taking a class, I would want to ask a lot of questions about things like how much helm time will you get, what kind of reference materials are provided, how many hours a day are you underway, what skill set will you have at the conclusion of your training, how many other students will be aboard, will the boat they provide be similar to the type of boat you are interested in and a lot more questions. I have no doubt they have the experience to provide quality training, and the more effort you put in, the more you will get out of it. Over the years I've had many students who come aboard ready to absorb every bit of knowledge they can, and others that are far more casual. References from past students are valuable, but no one provides bad references. In my classes I"ve only had one student who went away unhappy, due largely to coming aboard with a lot of pre-concieved notions of his boating skills, and an unwillingness to adapt new ideas. Clearly, I wouldn't provide his name as a reference. Having said all that, I have no doubt you could come away with a much better skill set after taking a Seasense course. Just be clear on your expectations, read the contract carefully and enjoy the process of becoming a better boater. ..................

Wifey B: I think any course would help. Obviously some better than others. What I don't grasp at all is a class for just women. Is it saying we're not as capable or we don't need to learn the same things? Or we can't deal in a co-ed situation? I like that Sea Sense offers different tailored courses from private to seminars but I don't get the women only deal. Is that to prepare you to go run boats that only have women on them? I just don't like it.

Wifey B: To the OP, I would ask Sea Sense one question if interested in their course and that is how it differs from a course for men or mixed? Is the material taught the same and just different classmates or do they teach different material? That might help you decide if it's right for you. I love the fact of more women learning, but if they get shortchanged on content that would bother me.

Being a man, I'm guessing, but I think some women feel less intimidated by learning from another woman. Actual class content could be quite different in any training course you choose, but I wouldn't expect a womans course to be any less comprehensive just because it's women only. I would hope they would provide the same level of instruction they would for a man, and I'm sure they do. The bottom line is that any instruction you get is better than nothing, and you will never stop learning. Being a woman has little bearing on how well you learn, but learning from another woman may be easier for some. Two of the best captains I ever worked for were women, and one is now at the top of her field as a ships pilot. There's nothing wrong with learning from a woman and if a female instructor is less stressfull for some, great, go for it.

Wifey B: I think we're talking two different subjects. One is learning from a female teacher. The other is a course designed for and attended by only women. The female only courses are just a small part of the offerings of Sea Sense. It's only those I was discussing. As a female teacher and Captain, I'm all in favor of female teachers, just don't know if they teach the female only courses differently.

I notice the five day course is $3,495. That includes the boat, the cost of living aboard, breakfast, snacks, and lunch, beverages. It might be a good deal with what it includes but I'd look at places like Southwest Florida Yachts/Florida Sail and Cruise School as well. If you own a boat, you might want to trade some of the school time for some captain training on your boat.

Suspect it is more associated with the live aboard aspect rather than the training

stone beach said:

Suspect it is more associated with the live aboard aspect rather than the training

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Wifey B: Ah....jackpot. Don't know why I missed that. I'd still ask how the course itself differs, but understand the liveaboard now. Dumb dumb dumb me.

Arctic Traveller said:

Being a man, I'm guessing, but I think some women feel less intimidated by learning from another woman. Actual class content could be quite different in any training course you choose, but I wouldn't expect a womans course to be any less comprehensive just because it's women only. I would hope they would provide the same level of instruction they would for a man, and I'm sure they do. The bottom line is that any instruction you get is better than nothing, and you will never stop learning. Being a woman has little bearing on how well you learn, but learning from another woman may be easier for some. Two of the best captains I ever worked for were women, and one is now at the top of her field as a ships pilot. There's nothing wrong with learning from a woman and if a female instructor is less stressfull for some, great, go for it.

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Hello Arctic Traveller

Thank you for all your tips and feedback. Very helpful information,.

In addition, thank you for being a sensitive and savvy enough male to understand why a course taught by women and for women only, might be, not only appealling, but also advantageous to most females.

Too bad you're located in such a cold region of the country. I might consider a course from a male like yourself. But my muscles and bones need some serious heat at this point.

Wifey B leaves me speechless...

Thanks again,
Happy cruising and training to you

Appreciate all the feedback and support.,

No it's about the methods of the training and the interpersonal/interactive environment ... nothing to do with the liveaboard aspect.

Thank u

lacazadora said:

Hello Arctic Traveller Too bad you're located in such a cold region of the country. I might consider a course from a male like yourself. But my muscles and bones need some serious heat at this point.

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It's a common misconseption that those of us that live in Alaska all live in igloos, wear arctic clothing all year, dodge icebergs any time were on the water, and carry winter survival gear anytime we go outside. Nothing could be further from the truth though. South East Alaska is close enough to the ocean's warming waters that we stay much warmer than almost anywhere else in Alaska. Actually, in summer it's often too warm, warm enough that shorts and t-shirts are the only reasonable choice. Never the less, I've seen plenty of folks off cruise ships, in the heat of summer bundled up like they are on the way to the North pole. Your results may vary......

I hear ya Arctic T, but still too cold for me!
Sure does look beautiful, though!
Best to u and thanks again for all ur tips
Will keep all posted if I do the SEASENSE course.