Our Staff has so much fun sailing that you rarely catch one without a big smile. As individuals we share a respect and deep connection with nature. It might be the acceptance of the variability of winds and water that brings out the calm. We absolutely love what we do.
Ned Goss Both my parents' families owned sailboats before my parents were born. My parents grew up racing each other. You could say it was in my blood. When I was 4 years old my mom took me out on a sunfish. At 10 I started racing. I also played on the tennis team. I chose sailing over tennis because I didn't want people to tell me I had to wear white.
All my sailing accomplishments are owed to having been part of a team of people, either the crew I sailed with or the people who helped me get there. I am a five time US National Fireball Champions and a 3 time North American Fireball Champion. I was on the US Olympic Sailing Team in '03 and '05 in the 49er class. I have logged 10,000 Blue water miles, most of which are racing miles. For 16 years I've been teaching sailing. Most recently I was a part of a Melges 24 crew that won the Corinthian (Non Pro) Melges 24 Nationals. But the one thing that I am most proud of is that when I sail and compete I sail calm, I sail confident and I sail for fun. If I am not having fun then I cannot compete at my best. So on my boat we do not yell and scream and we do not swear. First it is about having fun. If we win it makes it that much better.
Steve Enloe I came to serious sailing fairly late in life - in my 40's - proof in itself that anyone can do it. Since then I have sailed tens of thousands of miles, including something over 40,000 blue water miles. Repeated voyages along the SE coast, and from there to New England, Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Caribbean and South America are on my resume. But perhaps my greatest boating achievement was fashioning a replacement impeller out of the tuna can left over from lunch. Necessity and invention.
The greatest thing about sailing is that it's never quite the same - no
matter how many times you do a familiar act, there is always some
nuance that requires analysis and adaptation. There is always something
new to experience and to learn.
Teaching sailing is fun because sailing involves skills that most
people do not possess coming in, but all can master. It is rewarding
to see that "light bulb" come on as folks begin to understand.
Scott Sale I enjoy the aspect of sailing whereby man utilizes nature to his advantage rather than positioning himself as "man against nature." The written accounts of those before us -- Cook, Magellan, Slocum, even Bligh -- lured me into this realm. Through sailing, the destinations that have become available to me are numerous. Having sailed nearly 75,000 blue water miles, I've come to love so many passages. Yet, skippering the most recent Atlantic crossing voyage from Tortola, BVI to Lagos, Portugal holds a special place in my memory.
The greatest joy I receive from sailing instruction is helping a group of complete strangers work together for a common goal while watching them transform from individual students to a cohesive crew.
Frank Putnam Sailing with family and friends is like zen meditation. The problems and issues of the world fade away. I thank my grandfather for teaching my siblings, my cousins and myself to sail.
Teaching is sharing my passion. Nothing is more rewarding than coming in to teach and seeing a couple of past students taking friends and family out with confidence and sharing their own passion with those they love.
One of my favorite sailing memories took place in June 2007 when I captained the 42' Cabo Rico "Bluewater Bliss" aka "Selkie" back from St. Martin with a strong crew of three. On this 1800 mile trip we caught three big beautiful fish (two we ate), enjoyed great stops in St. Barths, the BVIs and Tortolla and sailed for eight 24-hour days on open ocean. The trip was capped off with a wonderful Charleston landfall right on time... memories and adventure that will last a lifetime.
Shelly Warters My very first sailing experience was a 660 mile sailboat delivery from Vera Cruz, Mexico to Galveston, Texas. It was an adventure unlike anything I had ever done before. Since that initial experience, my husband Dave and I have traveled over 6000 miles offshore with our most recent journey including a successful completion of the 2008 Newport Bermuda Race and double-handed delivery of our boat back to Charleston from Bermuda.
Sailing for us is not only something to do on a beautiful day; it's a way of life. Sailing is not only about a well-trained crew vying for the America's Cup; it's about the mental and physical challenges that even a solo sailor must overcome to prevail. Sailing is a wonderful world and as an OSA instructor, I am fortunate to be able to share my passion with future sailors.
Cyrus Buffum Sailing was first introduced to me (notice I didn't say it the other way around) in the summer of 1997 when I was 13 years old. Over the past 11 years sailing has played an integral role in most of my "big decisions." I was lucky enough to grow up in an environment that fostered (and continues to foster) sailing as sport, as a recreational activity, and as a lifestyle. As a result I've had the opportunity to travel up and down the East Coast racing sailboats for fun. My decision to move from Cape Cod to Charleston was influenced primarily by sailing (I'd like to say academics played as much of a role.) Today, I am putting my hard earned physics degree to use by working at OSA in the field of applied physics.
I have been teaching sailing at programs in Massachusetts and South Carolina for 7 years. The thing I love most about teaching sailing is providing the student with an opportunity to experience and learn something that will more than likely change their life. The most gratifying thing is seeing the transition from "...confusion..." to "eureka, I get it!"
The thing I love most about sailing is the endless amount of knowledge and opportunity it possesses. Even though I have been sailing half my life, I am only now getting into a side of sailing that has been a bit foreign, cruising. There's nothing like sitting at anchor without another light in sight underneath a sky full of stars listening to Willie Nelson.
Bear I never thought much about sailing. One day it just happened and there I was. I wanted to jump off, but I couldn't get past the railing. It was then I discovered I could point my face into the wind from wherever I was on the boat. So I sat down on the bench, and found that whenever I began to slide off someone would hold onto me. I soon found I enjoyed sailing all sizes of boats, especially yachts.
If I were asked my opinion, I would say that boating is good therapy.
Anne Goold
The first time I boated was crossing the Atlantic on an ocean liner when I was 11 years old. We were moving to a home overlooking the Indian Ocean and I'd see sailboats out there all day long. Boating took on a magical quality. Upon moving to Charleston as an adult I'd look down from the bridge, and one beautiful spring day I bought a JY 15 and called Ned.
I look over the harbor from my office perch where I write and play with photographs, brainstorm and create scenarios. When the wind is right or the setting sun is creating wild Van Goghs I can hop into a little boat that never runs out of wind and disappear for a few hours into a world where the sun warms and the wind dances around. My only task is to be acutely aware and to respond to what I'm feeling by guiding the boat. It's quite a challenge to be so in touch. It pulls me outside the daily news and keeps me appreciative of the things that matter.
Greg Wright I love the quiet I feel underway while sailing. I also appreciate the unlimited possibility it offers --
knowing that the same principles I use in the harbor can carry me across
oceans.
The interraction with students is always interesting. Every class is different; every class
has its own challenges. I learn immensely from
each class.
Sailing drew me as an active outdoor sport with a purpose greater than chasing a ball around. I am kept there by the
promise that I have a lot of voyages ahead of me.
All my sailing accomplishments are centered around
my teaching. There are youngsters around Cape Fear that
know how to sail because of what I was able to bring to them. I have seen my former adult students
out on Charleston Harbor captaining their own larger vessels.
Sterling Bryson Sailing makes me smile. I think it comes from some deeper force than simply the wind in my face etc... What I like about sailing is simply existing on a completely different medium, as in on water instead of land. I find I look at things differently when I'm floating. I definitely feel things differently. It's the awareness that comes with acknowledging this difference that brings to light a different way at looking at and feeling everything else. For me, it's a happier and healthier existence. Sailing is a great and easy way to find and feel a reconnection to the natural world. No where is that feeling, that relationship more raw and exposed than at sea.
I enjoy teaching sailing because I think sailing breeds happy people and we need more happy people in the world.
My parents were boat people. The were fanatics. We always went boating, cruising or whatever so long as it floated (and some didn't all the time!). It was a fun, family-friendly way to grow up. Then, the day I graduated from high school they said, "Way to go son, we are real proud of you. C-YA!" and they got on their sailboat and took off. They spent the next 10 years sailing half way around the world.
Since then I've captained tall ships, taught nautical science coursework on a 5000 nm voyage on a 95 GRT vessel, taught Coastal Navigation on a 41' sailboat, and sailed 3000 miles through Indonesia and 5200 nm across the Pacific. I believe my voyages of adventure have just begun.
Jay Cook I like the mystery of the ocean, the harmony that needs to exist between boat and sea, the constant learning and the night sky. I also like sharing this activity with others and watching their expressions as they enjoy the awe of it all.
As a child I read countless books about men sailing the seas -- I especially remember Kon-Tiki and childhood dreams of sailing to exotic places. I revisit those same dreams and achieve a sense of inner peace and spiritual balance now when I am sailing.
Sailing has also opened up the fun of racing and travel. I've had a great time in Y Flyer Junior National Championships, Charleston to Bermuda Races, several trips to the Caribbean, Abacos Race Week, serving as Commodore of Charleston Ocean Racing Association, winning my class at Charleston Race Week, participating in countless other races, and sharing my love of sailing with my wife and three sons.
Alex Hendrix Between, before and after maintaining the fleet at OSA, I am out sailing. I love the rush, I love the excitement, I love being offshore in thirty knots of breeze on the bow rigging the headsail and watching the waves break over me. Sailing brings me close to that line of pure peace and constructive calamity, a line in which pure instinct overides logic. This is what keeps me sailing.
To date I have logged a few hundred bluewater miles, crewed on the CORA Offshore Weries 2008 championship boat and won numerous CORA races within the Charleston and greater Charleston area. Sailing for me is an important aspect of my life. I try every time i go out to learn something new and extract as much joy out of the experience as i can. For me, this is what makes sailing so enjoyable!
Glenn Young I enjoy helping others develop a life long passion for sailing. My beginnings were in racing one design sailboats. After many years I retired to cruising larger sailboats.
The C & C 44 that I owned and cruised with my wife after retiring as an engineer was home for many winters during which we cruised the Atlantic Coast from New England to the Exumas with numerous Gulf Stream crossings. I've enjoyed captaining several Virgin Island Cruises.
Last fall I sailed a 150 foot 4 Mast Schooner from Chicago thru the Great Lakes, NY Canals and the Atlantic Ocean to Charleston. This year I cruised a 60 foot Hatteras from Charleston through the Great American Loop (East Coast, St Laurence Seaway, 145 locks in Canadian canals, Georgan Bay, North Channel, Great Lakes, and Mississippi River.) Sailing is simply grand.
Rich White
Sailing is a sport of extremes. It can be amazingly relaxing or as exciting as racing a Swan 61 with 14 team members.
My father taught me to sail at an early age on family weekend outings; I followed the S.O R. and America's like other kids followed baseball. Now as an instructor I enjoy sharing with students the skills that allow them to click into that same sense of joy that I have always gained from sailing.
There are many things that have been milestones in my sailing career. As a sail maker for 18 years I've been part of the new age of sail cloth and design. I've raced everything from Fireballs to 12 meters. I love cruising with my family and I work with Navy Sailing and U.S. SAILING as an Instructor Trainer. To define any one thing that is my most noted accomplishment is impossible. Every day is a new adventure.
Ocean Sailing Academy Charleston Harbor at Patriots Point 24 Patriots Point Rd, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
