re: Sailing School in the BVIs

Shut up idiot. Some of us are capable of both without bumping our protruding brow ridge.

Weave that's a bit steep IMHO. If you live around Pontchartrain or on the coast there's plenty of schools you can take along the coast to get a six pack. You're going to need some time on a boat though. And while getting an education in it is great because you learn to do it right the first time, you aren't going to be comfortable with it till you've done it for awhile yourself.

I'd recommend you find the local yacht club and offer to crew. Someone will take you aboard and you'll get some experience racing under a skipper that knows his shite. Sailing is something that takes a long arse time to truly be good at it and learn the subtleties of it. Every boat has compromises you have to learn to deal with so there is no one size fits all solution to learning to sail.

That said, sailboats are similar enough that once you learn it well, you can step on any boat and sail it. I know that sounds contradictory but once you get there, you'll understand. And that's why if you've got the time in sailing, most charter companies in the BVI will let you take their boat after a checkout ride the first afternoon. If you've got enough experience some will even let you take it without the license. And for way the hell less than what you're spending on that school. Get a few friends and you're cruising around the BVI's for less than a trip to Destin.