Welcome to Florida’s newest – and most experienced – American Sailing facility…Tampa Bay Sailing School. We offer semi-private courses from the basic ASA 101 and ASA 111 (Intro To Sailing) to the advanced ASA 103 and ASA 104 courses. As we grow we will be adding the most advanced ASA certifications including ASA 105, 106, and 114. Come learn from the best with more than 20 years of American Sailing certifications. “Live slow/Sail fast.”

Owner and lead instructor Captain Doran has been ASA Instructor of the Year multiple times over the past five years and is ranked #2 worldwide in the ASA family of instructors. “A bad day of sailing is better than a good day at work.”

Tampa Bay Sailing School (TBSS) is operating out of several marinas near downtown St. Petersburg with easy access to the ICW, Tampa Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico. This provides a learning platform which includes navigating the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), protected inland waters, as well as offshore experience in the Gulf of Mexico.. “You don’t stop sailing when you get old….you get old when you stop sailing.”

And parking is EASY! There is none of the congestion and long hikes from parking to marinas in downtown St. Petersburg. “there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

TBSS is convenient to all of the Tampa Bay region, Florida West Coast, and Central Florida with the excellent Tampa International Airport a scenic 45-minute drive for out-of-area students. ““Here today, up and off to somewhere else tomorrow! Travel, change, interest, excitement! The whole world before you, and a horizon that’s always changing!”

At Tampa Bay Sailing School we limit all classes to TWO students. You will never share a class with more than one other sailor…and we don’t have to fill a class you may find yourself one-on-one with Captain Doran for the duration of your TBSS experience. ““Take the adventure, heed the call, now ere the irrevocable moment passes!”

Captain Doran has certified more than 1,000 students at all levels of ASA since 2002, many who have gone on the start their own sailing schools, charter businesses, or blue water cruising. Over the past four years he has earned “Instructor of the Year three times (based on the student reviews of their experience with Captain Doran). In addition to the ASA honors and experience Captain Doran has raced sailboats extensively throughout the US and abroad, including multiple national championships in monohulls and multihulls. He has been immersed in the sailing culture for more than three decades which includes more than 10 years as a respected sailing journalist, photographer, and publisher. Sailing is our passion…our lifestyle…our culture. “You can always find a reason NOT to do something.”

And the learning doesn’t stop there…we will guide you…assist you…in finding the perfect boat or the best bareboat charter experiences. We have decades of time on the water in California, Central American, the Caribbean (including Cuba), and throughout the Eastern Seaboard and Florida. ““Glorious, stirring sight! The poetry of motion! The real way to travel! The only way to travel!”

Let Tampa Bay Sailing School get you started to a new world…learn from the best!