Sailing is Wise Investment in Health and Happiness

Fort Myers, FL, March 25, 2009 --(PR.com)-- In these economic times, Offshore Sailing School is finding more and more people investing in their futures by learning to sail. Rather than spending hard earned cash on “stuff,” says founder Steve Colgate, the school’s customers are choosing sailing because it makes them feel good and provides a pleasing life-long escape. “Learning to sail is like learning to ride a bicycle,” explains Colgate. “Once you know how, you never forget, no matter what age you start.”

Colgate, 73, is proof that sailing makes you feel “alive.” Forty-five years ago, he said “no” to family pressures to join the financial world, and opened a sailing school in Manhattan. “It was a struggle,” he half-jokes, “but it made me happy and I’m in a much more satisfying place in my life now than many of my peers.”

Steve and his wife, Doris, together built Offshore Sailing School from a one branch one boat operation to a multi-location business with more than 100,000 adult graduates. They both admit many people dream about sailing, but few know how to get involved. “The investment one makes in learning to sail,” says Doris, “results in priceless well-being.”

Offshore Sailing School graduates range in age from 7 to over 90. Several years ago, a 92 year old woman wanted to get certified so she could sail comfortably with her great-grandchildren on the lake that summer, reports Colgate. “She passed with flying colors.”

In the recent CNN.com report – Experiences make us happier than possessions – it was noted that while “the initial joy of acquiring a new object, such as a new car, fades over time . . . experiences, on the other hand, continue to provide happiness through memories long after the event occurred.”

“That learning to sail was a ‘memorable’ experience is what we hear from our clients every day,” says Colgate. The skills they learn at Offshore Sailing School last as long as they want. Sailing provides piece of mind, mental exercise and physical relaxation in a clean environment. Many customers over 60 claim learning to sail takes away self-doubt and creates a sense of “I can do anything again.” Younger customers go sailing for relaxation, freedom and ultimate decompression. Women particularly report a sense of well-being and self-esteem gained by learning this new skill. Family members who learn together gain healthy reliance on each other, participating as a team in the ultimate bonding experience. Singles meet others with similar life goals.

“We’re all in it for the fun and the happiness it brings us, year after year,” he says with a knowing smile. I’m not sure I could ever retire, because the comments we get from our customers make Doris and me feel so good.”

Offshore graduate Truman King of Lone Tree, Colorado wrote, “As a new sailor at the age of 62, it was great to learn new skills and open up a whole new world of recreation. I’ll continue sailing and take advanced courses at the first opportunity.”

Larry and Mimi Amerson of Springfield, Georgia said, “Our experience with Offshore Sailing School was one of our most memorable, challenging and life-changing experiences. We tackled the Private Live-Aboard course to see if the two of us could handle a boat of that size and to see if it might be a lifestyle we could enjoy. We did, and it is. We went home and put our house up for sale. Mere words cannot describe the emotions we developed for the love and respect of the sea . . . fellow mariners and each other.”

Offshore Sailing School has seven locations in Florida, the Caribbean, New Jersey and New York. Course levels range from Learn to Sail to advanced cruising and racing. The school also has two sailing clubs in New York Harbor and the west coast of Florida, providing carefree sailing without ownership. Cruising is the ultimate dream, made easy by charter companies like The Moorings with 1500 boats for hire worldwide – alone or with captain and crew. “Most of our graduates go on to charter big boats in the Caribbean and around the world,” says Colgate. For more information on how to get started, call 800-221-4326, email sail@offshoresailing.com or visit www.offshoresailing.com <http://www.offshoresailing.com/> .

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Media Contact:
Mary Orme
Affinity Marketing & Communication, Inc.
727-733-9332
mary@amcenergy.com