“Learn to Sail a Dinghy was clear and easy to follow. I used what I learned the same week.”
AlexCourse student
PDF · 2 pages
Six Knots Card
The six knots I use on a dinghy, one drawing each, on a card you print and keep in your bag.
$5
Downloads and courses
Shop
Download as soon as you pay. Yours to keep.
Printed to order
Merch
My designs, printed to order and shipped by Printful.
Latest videos
A new video every Sunday from the harbour: knots, steering, tacking and reading the wind and weather.
When to turn back and go home
The signs that say it is time, and why I always head for the beach early.
Reading the sky before you launch
What a tall cloud, a dark line and a still hour tell me before I go down to the boat.
Reading the wind on the water
Dark patches, flags, smoke and the little ribbons on the sail: how I see where the wind is.
Tacking without stalling
Turning the bow through the wind, with the tiller, the sheet and your weight, step by step.
About me
I have sailed since I was eight, in a harbour town in Batangas where the fishing boats come in at dawn and the wind changes with the afternoon. I learned in a borrowed dinghy with a leaking hull and a kind uncle, and I have taught friends, neighbours and their children to sail ever since. Most of my students have never touched a rope. I tell them it is easier than it looks and safer than they fear.
The videos are filmed on the beach and on the water, in plain words, with a dinghy, a tiller and a coil of rope. What I sell are the things I wish I had at the start: cards for knots, a checklist for the beach, logbook pages, a guide to the weather and two video courses, one for learning to sail and one for reading the wind. I do not sell boats. I teach you to look after the one you sail.
Learn to Sail a Dinghy was clear and easy to follow. I used what I learned the same week.
Tell-Tales
A short letter every Sunday from the harbour: one knot, one look at the weather and one thing to try on the water.
“Learn to Sail a Dinghy was clear and easy to follow. I used what I learned the same week.”
Questions
How do the downloads arrive?
After checkout you receive an email with a download link, and the same link is shown on the confirmation page. Every file is a PDF made to print on ordinary A4 or Letter paper.
How do the video courses work?
You pay once and the lessons appear in your account straight away. Watch them in order, as often as you like, on a phone or a laptop. The lessons are short, so you can watch one on the beach before you go out.
Is there merch?
Yes: tees, totes, mugs, prints and stickers with my own designs. Each is printed to order and shipped by Printful, and the cost and delivery time show at checkout.
Do I need my own boat to start?
No. Watching the videos and tying knots at home costs nothing, and the courses tell you what to look for when you do find a boat. Always sail with a lifejacket, and never alone while you are learning.