Our primary goal is to promote sailing in the Philippines. It doesnt matter to us whether you learn with us, or another club. Just learn to sail and discover a new world.
The student will need to coordinate with Boyet, our main instructor.  Instruction is one on one, and student(s) pay for an instructors time.  Students make their own schedule. If students have no boat, boat is  paid separately. The instructor can handle up to 4 students at a time. Instructor cost is the per hour and can be shared among members of a student’s group. Boat cost is per day.  We use different boats depending on the number of people and the weather.

Details:

Tlyc has  sailing programs for all levels, and all ages.

We have one Senior instructor, and 2 Junior instructors. We teach individuals or groups up to 4, on short notice.
If you have a big group, we can import very good instructors if they are available, but weeks of advance notice are usually required. We like Individual instruction or small groups better.

We have
“Intro to sailing Classes”
“Learn to sail” classes at the beginner and  intermediate level.
“learn to crew” classes for Hobie 16’s

“Intro to Sailing Classes” are usually having a fun time sailing with a group, where everybody gets to drive the boat.  there is less theory, and more fun, practical stuff. Its a good way to start.

The difference between a “Hobie Crew” class and a “Basic” or “Intermediate” class, is that:
– in a regular “Basic” or “Intermediate” class, the focus is on theory of sailing, and driving the boat. The objective is  ultimately being able to handle the boat by yourself.  Your time is spent learning how to point the boat onto the best course, to try to get the most out of the boat, as the driver.
– in a “Hobie Crew” class, you learn how to trapeze, and ideally, you should spend a lot of time practicing this skill. Focus is on learning how to trim (adjust) the Jib (the smaller front sail), for upwind and downwind sailing, and how to balance the boat, so the driver doesn’t need to tell you what to do.  Knowing how to sail, is a definite advantage, but it is not necessary. The big advantage in taking this course, is that it is a great way to get into sailing as a crew, very quickly, if you are of the build that is most desirable as crew. Most desirable traits are being nimble, and weigh between 90- 130 lbs.

HOW DO WE SUGGEST YOU START?
We recognize that most of our students are young professionals, and as such, they have a lot of commitments. So, classes are given when the student is free, rather than us making schedules, and students adjusting to them. Weekday slots are easier to arrange than weekend slots.
We suggest going to the club. The club is not members only, so nobody will hassle you about that.
Before going, go to TLYC.com and read this whole page about our sailing lessons (sorry its so long).
Basically, you rent a boat for the day, and hire an instructor for an hour of lecture, and a few hours of practical boat handling.  The average beginner does this 2 to 4 times before the instructor thinks you are competent enough to take the boat out on your own on a day when the wind is just right (5-10 knots or 10-20 kph). Time on the water is the most important thing, and when you are out on your own, its quite different than being with someone you can ask what to do, or will tell you what to do. you have to figure it out for yourself.
We will tell you what we want you to do, so we can watch you.
When you come back, we will give you short lessons to tell you what you can do to improve your technique.
When we think you can move to a different boat, we will suggest it.
Sometimes we will suggest crew for you, or maybe, suggest that you crew for someone.
When we think you are ready to get into activities like racing, that will hone your skills even better, we will guide you in that direction.

COST:
It usually costs around the general vicinity of P2500 per person per day, instructor+boat.

To figure your exact cost, you will have to pick and choose from the options below.
We apologize if the rates below seem complicated initially, but  this is really the fairest system to both the instructors, and the students. You only pay for what you use.

• We divide the charges into 2 categories,  Instructor Time and cost of Boat Rentals. Both are added together to get the final daily cost.
• Using our system of charges,  it is easy for repeat students to come up with the cost for any size of group.  Generally speaking. it costs less per person, if there is more than one student.
• INSTRUCTOR TIME – You rent the instructor by the hour. The instructor fee is per instructor. The instructor fee is divided among the students.  An instructor can usually handle up to 4 students at a time. But of course, if its one on one, the student will learn a bit faster. The first couple of lesson days require more instructor time. after that, its mostly practice, so students just rent boats, without instructors.  Usually, the instructors are watching anyway, and students can come in, and the instructors will give them tips, or a lecture if the student wants one.
• BOAT RENTALS– Boat rentals are usually for the day, so students will often share equipment.

BUDGET– the first lesson day is the most expensive.  Usually around P3000 for the first day, if its one student alone.  If its a group of 3 or 4, its usually closer to half that amount, per person. 

IDEAL CLASS SIZE

The ideal class size is 3.  In sailing lessons, it is common to rent a larger boat, like the Getaway or Hobie 18, and have one instructor and 3 students on the boat. when the Instructor is confident that at least one of the students is competent enough to sail by themselves, he will return the bigger boat, and take 2 small ones. Because of the Boat rental Bonus policy, there is no extra charge for the 2 small boats (assuming the value does not exceed the value of the big one).  2 students will sail one boat, and he will sail on the other boat with the 3rd student.

RESERVATIONS

There are 2 types of Reservations, formal, and informal. If you are SURE of the time you will go, you can make a formal reservation. If you are NOT sure, make an Informal reservation.
A FORMAL RESERVATION requires pre- payment. An informal one, does not.  With a Formal reservation, the instructor will wait for you for up to an hour after your reservation time.  If you are more than an hour late, you lose your deposit.
First, make your reservation with Boyet, with time, and date, just like you would an informal one, but tell him its a formal reservation.
Second, pay a reservation fee of P500 into our BPI or BDO bank account.  Get the bank info from  Boyet, Arlyn, Peter or Ronnie whose cell or emails are listed below.
Third, deposit thru either a BPI or BDO ATM , or a BPI or BDO teller deposit.
Fourth, write your name, the time and date of your formal lesson on the deposit slip, or background paper, and fax a copy of the deposit slip to 0437730192  Bring your original, legible, deposit slip! Its  your proof of payment.

An INFORMAL RESERVATION requires no pre-payment.  It is barely one step better than a chance walk in.  Its just a sign that you intend to come at a particular time.  With an Informal Reservation, the instructor will be around at approximately that time,  but he will probably not wait if you are late.  If you don’t show up, or cancel 24 hours before, you will be required to make a formal reservation next time.

NO RESERVATION If you are not sure, just go to the club, there’s no need for a reservation. Check out the club. figure out how to get there, what there is to eat, what else you can do, do you like it? Do you want to go for a volcano trip or rent a kayak? Are we friendly? When is a good time to go? Who are the instructors? Do the boats look safe? Is it what you were expecting? Ask a lot of questions.  Its OK.

Sonia : GLOBE +63 917 123 1403
Boyet :  GLOBE +63 956 067 5647 (often out of coverage, so send a follow up text)
Bong: +639756826550
Peter: GLOBE +63 917 838 3726 (usually out of town from May to October)

	Instructor Time	Rates
	Senior Instructor- Actual Instruction*	P450 per hour
	Junior Instructor- Actual Instruction*	P350 per hour
	Boatman Crew – Monitoring**	P250 per hour

Please see the BOAT RENTALS PAGE for pricing.  In order to avoid conflicts between pages, we try to list rates only once, Sorry for the inconvenience. If you are just browsing and you just want to get a quick idea of cost, go back to the paragraph above, entitled BUDGET

NOTES on BOAT RENTALS:

• Set up and de-rig are included in the rental fee.
• If you are taking a sailing lesson, and you have a boat that you have borrowed, or you have your own,   you can use that, instead of a renting a boat.  In this case, you are only charged for the instructor.  You may need to pay the instructor to set up and de- rig the boat, if it is not a rental.
• The stronger the wind is, the more safety personnel and instructors may be needed to ensure safety, so pricing can go up when its windy.  If rescue boats and personnel to run them, are required, especially when several boats may be out but only one instructor is instructing, these have to be paid for also.
• The more lectures and sailing time a student has attended, the less instruction  the student(s) will need, so eventually, it just becomes a question of monitoring. In other words, the more you practice, the less it costs.
• If you are renting a boat, you are exempted from the entrance fee. You also get a free hut!

Actual Instruction
-Lectures and debriefings are charged as “actual instruction” time. Whether the instructor is lecturing one person, or 6 people, the cost is the same. If we charge per student, its unfair to the students.
-Instructor “time on the water”, is the time the instructor spends on a boat, be it on the same boat with the student, or  if he/she is on another boat.
– When an instructor is on a boat, that boat is not subject to any rescue fee.

Crew “Boatman” Monitoring
Most training is practice, that can be done without a competent instructor beside the student. Also, some boats require 2 people. A student may ask for a “crew” instead of an “instructor’ to save money. Crew are usually club employees who know the basics of sailing, and have been used as crew by members.  They are capable of bringing a boat back if necessary, but because of either lack of skill, or weak communications skills, they are not classified by us as instructors.

FAQ

1) HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?

• Sailing is one of those sports where
  – You get better and better the more you practice.
  – There’s always more to learn.
• Having said that, you can learn the very basic theory in about half an hour, and after a couple of hours, of on-the-water training,  you will be able to sail a boat back and forth from shore in ideal conditions.

2) I KNOW HOW TO SAIL. SHOULD I TAKE AN INSTRUCTOR WITH ME THE FIRST TIME I GO OUT?
If you think you know how to sail, but you are not completely sure that you can handle our boats (especially the Hobie 16), we strongly suggest that you an instructor with you for an hour. If for no other reason, if you capsize, and you have an instructor with you, you will not be charged a rescue fee even if you need to be rescued.

3) THIS IS TOO COMPLICATED!  I DONT UNDERSTAND! WHY DOES IT NEED TO BE SO COMPLICATED?! PLEASE EXPLAIN AGAIN.  HOW MUCH IS IT PER PERSON? WHAT ABOUT THE ENTRANCE FEE FOR NON MEMBERS?

Yes, sorry, but it really is complicated. But lets start with the really good news. There is no entrance fee or hut fee if you are renting a boat and taking a lesson.

Basically we try to give you the lowest price possible, and maximum flexibility,  by only charging for equipment/personnel used.

To start with, no part of lessons or boat rentals is per person. Having said that, let me try to explain the rest.

The cost of the instructor is charged on a per hour basis, regardless of how many you are.

Note that there are different levels of instructors,  and instructor fees vary.  A senior instructor will run P450/hour. a Junior instructor 350. and a “Boatboy” for 250/hour. This benefits you because you can get lectures and your first sail or two, by one more highly qualified instructor, and then go and practice with a less qualified one as crew by your 3rd or 4th time.  You are not paying the highest rate all the time, – unless you want to.

Usually, there are multiple students who come together. Families for example. WE DONT CHARGE PER PERSON. We will take up to four , at the same price as one! Scroll down to ” OUR MOST POPULAR RENTAL/LESSON”

When there are multiple students, and multiple boats,  more than one instructor is needed, for safety purposes.  Usually by the time you get 3 to 4 people who will be on the water at the same time, you will need another instructor.  BUT, you can have less personnel, by simply choosing to take fewer people out on the water at the same time.   Let a couple of people rest on shore for awhile.

The second component is the boat.
We don’t charge for a boat if you don’t need one.  Many people who want instruction already have a boat that they either own, or they have borrowed.

For those who need a boat(s), we have different types of boats for different sailing conditions, and different size groups. Usually, the larger the group, the larger the boat we recommend. This saves you on boat costs, it also saves on additional instructors.  When there are multiple small boats out, there becomes a need for additional instructors, and with a bigger group, you may even need a rescue boat and a driver/instructor on the rescue boat.  We don’t charge for all these things if you don’t need them.

OUR MOST POPULAR RENTAL/LESSON
Usually, there are multiple students who come together. Families for example, or a group of close friends. The best deal is here. Rent a Hobie Getaway for P4200 for 3hours , and a senior instructor for 3 or 4 hours. That fourth hour is lecture time, 30 minutes before sailing, and 30 minutes after. for 4 people, that comes to only P1500 per person!! for four hours!! The main limitation is the capacity of the boat. which is T. 450 KG. thats 2 adults, and 2 kids, including the instructor. 80kg x5= 400

BOAT RENTAL BONUS POLICY
If you rent a boat for the day, you can turn it in, and get an equivalent value in other boats.  For example, you rent the Hobie 21, the wind dies, and you decide that kayaking would have been better than sailing.  You can return the 21, and take kayaks instead.  If the wind comes back in, you can return the kayaks, and take the 21, or a dinghy and a kayak. The boats can be used by different people in your group too. so if you have people sailing, and they are tired, return the sailboat, and the other people in the group can kayak, as long as you have returned the sailboat.

WEATHER
Do not base your judgement of what the weather is (particularly rain) on Manila weather. Very often, the nicest days at TLYC are when its raining in Manila!!

You can get good advance weather prediction information from Peter Capotosto at +63 917 838 3726.
For up to the minute info on the actual weather at TLYC, call the club, at 0437730192 or Boyet at SMART +63 946 340 2626 GLOBE +63 956 067 5647

OTHER SAILING SCHOOLS
TLYC supports other sailing schools.  We want everybody sailing, no matter where you learn to do it.
Puerto Galera Yacht club has dinghy classes, as well as a small keelboat thats good for learning to cruise.
www.pgyc.org/learn-to-sail.php

In 2015,  a new sailing school opened up in Palawan, where the cruising grounds are unmatched anywhere.  Thierry Giron is the  Senior Instructorn at  Palawan Sailing.
 thierry@palawan-sailing.com
 www.palawan-sailing.com
  +63 917 774 0402

We also recommend Subic Sailing, based out of the Lighthouse restaurant and Hotel in Subic.