US Sailing Small Boat Level 1 Instructor Course

Time & Location
Aug 28, 2026 – Aug 30, 2026

Candlewood Yacht Club, 7 Shore Dr, New Fairfield, CT 06812, USA

Certified sailing instructors are in great demand, and we haven't found anyone available for our program this summer. We need instructors to have an expanded Junior Sailing program next summer. To help with this, we will host a US Sailing class this August. US Sailing just added it to their calendar. It is the only course in CT and Westchester with open slots. It will fill up quickly.

The course has several prerequisites and components.

Prerequisites

Current US Sailing membership. An individual membership is $85.
18 years old.
Ability to swim 25 yards
Experience sailing on dinghies and/or a day sailing keelboat.
Must have a NASBLA-approved Safe Boating Certificate. This is required for a CT boating license.
Experience operating a powerboat.

"This skill will be evaluated, but not taught, at the course. Instructor Candidates who feel that they would benefit from additional experience should either seek opportunities for practice or attend a US Sailing Safe Powerboat Handling Course."

This course teaches skills beyond those covered by the Safe Boating course, and I highly recommend it. It is a 16-hour hands-on, on-the-water course that costs $400 to $1000, depending on where you take it. Although I am not a certified instructor, I completed the course 20 years ago and taught the new stewards the basics last spring. I would be happy to go through it with you this summer. Contact me at race@candlewoodyachtclub.org
US Coast Guard-approved CPR/First aid certification. The American Red Cross online/in-person class is $117.

Course components

Teaching and Coaching Fundamentals Online. This course is approximately 90 minutes long and costs $15. Candidates must complete this before taking the online section.
The Online section of the course must be completed before the in-person class. It is $175.
SafeSport Training certificate. This online course is free for US Sailing members.
The In-person section of the course is a 30-hour, 3-day class. The registration fee is $375. We are hosting the course on Aug 28-30.
Course fees are non-refundable but are transferable.
The course materials are delivered digitally; the complete set of printed materials is $70.

Click here to go to the US Sailing course description.

It details all these requirements. You can register for all of the components there.

When registering for the in-person section, to find our session, type "Candlewood" in "Search within results."