Florida Keys Sailing for Veterans
A 30-foot open sailboat serves as both home and classroom on this invigorating eight-day ocean journey, designed specifically for veterans.
This expedition is all about overcoming challenges in the subtropical marine wilderness of Florida Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and the remote reaches of the Everglades. In a phased teaching progression, instructors introduce beginning, intermediate and advanced skills in chart and compass navigation, small boat seamanship, weather observation and anchoring. Regular group discussions allow for reflection on each day’s progress, and ensure that leadership and onboard responsibilities are shared so that every crewmember is integral to planning the next day. As participants live and work closely together, they practice more than seamanship. Veterans return home to families, careers and communities with valuable skills, renewed confidence and a fresh sense of purpose.
Please note: To reduce an extremely high cancel rate for these fully funded courses, we now require applicants to submit a $50 non-refundable Commitment Fee at time of enrollment.
If this fee is a financial barrier, please call our National Admissions Office at 866-467-7651 to request a Commitment Fee Waiver. The waiver process includes submitting a Statement of Commitment confirming your intent to follow through with this program.
Reducing revolving enrollments helps us keep our course inventory more accessible. Thank you for your cooperation.
UPCOMING COURSES
Course # HFVS-2521
Age 18 and up
Days 6
Cost $50
Dates 1/12/2025 - 1/17/2025
COURSE IS FULL
When a course has reached maximum capacity, meaning all spots and the three waitlist spots are occupied, a course will read “Course Is Full.” This means applications are no longer being accepted.
APPLY NOW
This means a course has several open spots and is actively processing applications.
APPLY NOW – Almost Full
This means there are three or fewer currently available spots left on a course. To secure your spot click Apply Now to begin an application!
JOIN WAITLIST
Once a course has reached capacity, three waitlist positions become available. To join a course’s waitlist, click “Join Waitlist” to begin the application process. A $500 deposit is required. This $500 deposit includes a $150 non-refundable application fee and a $350 tuition payment. The $350 tuition payment is refundable only if you cancel your waitlist application or if an open position does not become available. If a position does become available, the applicant will be applied to the open position and the Application and Cancellation Policies of the Regional Outward Bound School will be followed, including forfeiture of the $500 deposit if you cancel 90 days or less prior to the course start date.
Waitlist applicants are encouraged to complete all required admissions documents while awaiting an open position. Positions may become available up to two weeks prior to the course start date. Applicants may only apply to one course. We recommend applying to a course with open positions instead of a course that is accepting waitlist applications. If you have questions, please call 866-467-7651 to speak with one of our Admissions Advisors.
CALL TO APPLY
This means a course is very close to its start date. Although it is unlikely to secure a spot this late, you can call the National Admissions office at 866-467-7651 to discuss your options.
COURSE IS FULL
When a course has reached maximum capacity, meaning all spots and the three waitlist spots are occupied, a course will read “Course Is Full.” This means applications are no longer being accepted.
CLOSED
As a course nears its start date, the availability status may read “Closed.” In this event, a course roster has been finalized and applications are no longer being accepted or processed.
This experience was immensely healing. I needed it more than I knew. Sailing the Florida Keys was the perfect backdrop for a week of challenging moments, introspective thought, and personal growth.
Traditional 30-foot sailboats encourage teamwork and leadership like no other classroom. On an open boat with no cabin and no engine, participants live closely together, using only wind and oars as propulsion. As they rotate responsibilities, participants learn the crafts of maneuvering under sail, coastal navigation, rowing and living aboard a small open boat. At night, the group sleeps on deck under a tarp, taking turns at anchor watch under brilliant night skies.
Participants will learn to:
- Adjust sails properly for sailing at different angles to the wind and execute sailing maneuvers like tacking and gybing, which turn the boat through the wind.
- Navigate using a chart and compass to arrive accurately at the day’s destination using techniques that include taking bearings, dead reckoning, triangulation and sounding.
- Move the boat under oars, coordinating all of the rowers' movements so that the oars splash as one and precisely maneuvering in and out of secluded anchorages.
- Live (cook, eat, sleep, work and learn) as a team aboard a small open sailboat.
The Florida Keys
Home to numerous birds and abundant marine life, the Florida Keys are rich with the confluence of water flowing out of the Everglades into inner Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The waterways are shallow and intricate, providing an exciting cruising area for our nimble sailboats. Winding channels through the backcountry offer challenging shoal draft navigation and the opportunity to explore mangrove keys, grassy tidal flats and coral "patch" reefs. The Atlantic side offers open water sailing and, in calm weather, excellent snorkeling at the outer reefs. Turquoise waters, warm temperatures and prevailing easterly winds provide exceptional sailing, both day and night. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Seminole, Matecumbe, Cuchiyaga and Guarungumbe nations.
Course Stories
This experience was immensely healing. I needed it more than I knew. Sailing the Florida Keys was the perfect backdrop for a week of challenging moments, introspective thought, and personal growth.
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