One fun filled evening at our Granville Island sailing school classroom for shore based training followed by up to 4 hours on the water for a total of 7 hours of instruction for the world's best pastime!
$139 per person
2011 CLASSROOM DATES (6.30pm to 9.30pm)
Tuesday, April 5Friday, April 8 Tuesday, April 19 Monday, April 25
Monday, May 9 Monday, May 16 Tuesday, May 24 Monday, May 30
Tuesday, June 7 Friday, June 17 Tuesday, June 14 Monday, July 4
Thursday, July 7 Monday, July 18 Wednesday, July 20 Tuesday, August 2
Thursday, August 11 Tuesday, August 16 Monday, August 22 Friday, August 26
Wednesday, September 7Tuesday, September 13Thursday, September 15
At any of of these shore based sessions, we will organize folks into subsequent water based afloat sailing sessions, which will be offered evenings from 5pm to 9pm or dusk (whichever is earlier). Classroom groups will be divided into on the water sessions offered in the 2 weeks following each shore based session.
To reserve a space in a classroom session above, please go to our course page for this program.
We are unable to book the water sessions through the office - these reservations are only made at the classroom sessions.
Afloat sessions are aboard our Martin 244 pocket cruisers - designed and built locally for maximum sailing fun in Vancouver Harbour.
Friends and family of Cooper Boating travelled to New Zealand in February 2011 for sailing in a land that closely resembles our Canadian West Coast. Except the water was warmer!
Contact Marla if you would like to know MORE about sailing in a country that seems to have invented HOSPITALITY and laid back lifestyles. New Zealand is part of our International Cooper Vacations program.
SKIPPING ROCKS. It was fun as a kid and now it is relieving as an adult. When in command of a cruising boat, it rocks are best left well away from your path. We've run the first of our new one day SKIPPING ROCKS seminars and students found it a great set of exercises delivered by a seasoned captain in a fun format.
Enroll for this one day course today and get back in touch with what this means:
Congratulations to Marla Hedman and Stephen DesRoches, our first two TOP FUN instructors - celebrated last night at our annual pre-season instructor meeting. Marla and Stephen have been working - occasionally as a team as you will see here - to generate spectacular courses here at Cooper. We have to admit some of their feats can only be described as 'magic' - but keep up the great work and here's hoping the magic dust washes over to the 'runners up' and our new instructors!
We also want to congratulate the batch of 'freshly minted' instructors from the January class under the guidance of David West.
The November class, led by Oliver Woolcock and James Johnstone were a bit camera shy except for this burn around the bay on a Farr 40.
Wait a moment - FARR 40? - perhaps this group is well on their way to TOP FUN status?
Seen a Canadian dime lately? That's not just any boat. Bluenose II is officially a huge part of our sailing heritage and something to be proud of as a Canadian. The original Bluenose doubled as both fishing schooner and undefeated racing machine of her day and was sadly lost on a reef years ago (nb - take your navigation courses!)
The current incarnation is Bluenose II, built in the same yard in Nova Scotia by many of the same people. Now a handful of them and their kids and grandkids are busy at work putting her back together as can only occur on a wood vessel:
We thought Don Martin's Lady Van project was intense. This is officially takes 'keeping up with the Jones' to another level.
Thanks to the miracles of modern day technology, all of Canada (and the world for that matter) can watch the rebirth of a legend. Visit the live webcams and youTube channels.
Some of us were delighted to be part of hosting Bluenose II when she came to Vancouver Harbour to welcome the world to Expo '86. Okay, some of us were cutting class to stowaway on her as much as we could!! We're digging for those photos now... so stay tuned here to the Bluenose's west coast connection right here at Cooper Boating!!
Just added - the second Bruce Farr designed Bavaria model. ACappella is under construction at the Bavaria yard in Germany and will feature this massive power (up/down) swim platform: (how cool is that?) and she's got 2 rudders and 3 heads! You can also split the boat between 4 couples or a large family with the 4 cabins. ACappella (sistership) ACappella will join her smaller sister Arcturus - landing in our Powell River base once thorough sea trials are complete. Arcturus (sistership) One favourite change to see back 'in style' (thanks in part to this fold down platform) is a big transom (of sorts) - a place to put the name!
A big welcome back to Steve Cropper - back in the lead of the Sidney dock after a break from Cooper the past few years (to build a home on Mayne Island). Steve started as a few of our regular crew did - first as a client - renting boats out of Granville Island, then becoming an instructor, followed by some time working in the office. He spent some time nearby as captain of small commercial vessels. Now he's back taking the lead for the care of our boats based in Sidney for spectacular boating courses and bareboat charters.
Steve also has a background - pre boat biz - of TV and film production - we think our You Tube channel shall benefit by better material this season!
Steve can be reached via email and through our main dock number in Sidney - 2 5 0 . 8 8 3 . 2 6 2 8 ( 8 8 3 . B O A T )
Signs of life in the boat market give us a clear indication that 2011 is looking up. A number of exciting things on the horizon point to improvement and lots more fun on the water ahead.
One of our leading indicators is seeing Mr. Cooper back building boats. Brian Kell of Grand Yachts said recently that the best way to find the bottom of the market is to watch Forbes Cooper. More than any other indicator, his sense of timing in the past 40 years or so has been absolutely uncanny.
We're also seeing a number of people back enrolling in courses and the 2011 lineup is the best ever - with new programs, exciting twists on old ones and a general overhaul on programming and a quest for our new TOP FUN instructor ranking.
We're just off the water from the JIB SET polar bear cruise and the old bear has had his one trip out of the crow's nest for the year.
Beyond that, for sailors, the looking up has another connotation - look up and watch the sails. A great tip to get you sliding along a little quicker this year.
All the best for the new year from the whole crew at Cooper Boating.
ps - we've taken those few holidays off and the office is open again January 2 - December 24, 2011
We have just added two boats to the fleet. Arcturus will be a brand new 2011 Bavaria 32 that will be delivered in April and is destined for the Powell River fleet. She is the first of the new generation Bavaria Yachts to head into a charter program anywhere in North America. Bruce Farr is known for designing boats with excellent sailing characteristics and Arcturus is certain to benefit from this new design style. The massive fold down transom platform is impressive (and our dock crew is glad they don't have to glue foam to the underside of the stern seats - which perpetually fell overboard on the older Bavarias)
The other addition is Cachet, a Carver 430 with a spectacular layout. This well equipped boat is undergoing a host of updates this winter so she will be fresh for the 2011 season. Check out Cachet and reserve today out of our Sidney location!
This was certainly a fun letter to open recently. It talks about someone far away signing up for a course here. We will let it speak for itself, but suffice to say a big THANKS to Marla for making the trip so special.
Text to follow or click on the image of the letter to open the original.
November 29, 2010
Cooper Boating
1815 Mast Tower
Road
Canada
V6H 3X7
Vancouver, BC
Forest Gump made the observation that ÔÇ£Life is like a box of
chocolates, you never know what youÔÇÖre going to get!ÔÇØ
Investing in a sailing experience with a company that I had no
experience presented a significant financial risk.Boarding a boat and putting my life in the
hands of an instructor/captain whom I had no knowledge presented both a
personal and emotional risk.
But if every instructor Cooper Boating employees is even
close to the outstanding caliber of Marla Hedman all risk is nullified.In August of 2010, I opened a ÔÇ£box of
chocolatesÔÇØ to have one of the best experience of my life.From the moment I stepped on board the
Polaris to the moment we returned to Granville
Island my heart was
smiling.The crew whom I had never met
composed of an Engineer, a Physician, an Attorney and CEO, and myself: a
Professor and President of a leadership consulting company, were all highly
educated professionals that knew how to have a wonderful time.
Our instructor and captain Marla Hedman was equally as
professional and enjoyable.There was
not a moment that I felt unsafe or that I did not believe that she had a keen
observation of everything happening aboard the Polaris.Marla has a wonderful manner of teaching that
allowed the crew to maximize the talents and skills each of brought on board
while giving us the opportunity to learn in a comfortable non-threatening environment.Marla is an outstanding sailor with keen
ability to both sail and teach.She is
fun, has a genuine nature, is an exceptional listener and outstanding coach,
and someone I would be glad to sail with in any sea in any condition.
Thank you Cooper Boating for realizing it takes more than
just a fine boat to make a great sailing adventure.Thank you for selecting quality instructors
like Marla Hedman.I have been on other
boats in ports in different parts of the world where the captain made the
experience a nightmare for his or her crew.This experience was just the opposite: Marla Hedman made this ÔÇ£Bucket
ListÔÇØ moment in my life perfect!
Sail on!
Tim Clipson, Ed. D
Professor of Executive Leadership and Executive
Communication
President of Leadership Is For Everyone, Inc. (LIFE, Inc.)