How to Find a Good Sailing School - 10 Questions You Should Ask

After years of talking about it, you have finally decided to get some sailing lessons and get out on the water. But before leaping aboard, you need to locate a good sailing school so that your investment in sailing tuition returns the best results.

One good way to do this is by seeking referrals from people whose opinion you trust. So, ask your friends or colleagues for their recommendations. Try to get the names of at least three sailing schools so that you can make comparisons.
 
If possible, visit each of your short-listed schools. You will be able to judge much more accurately the type of operation from the behaviour the staff and look of its office.

When face-to-face, ask each the same set of questions and record their answers. This is important so that you can compare like with like.

What are the questions you should ask

1. What is your program and what are the qualifications I can achieve with your training? 
 
As you're starting out, you will be enrolling in a competent crew course (or equivalent). Successful completion of a competent crew course should make you a welcome asset on any sailboat. From this qualification, you can move on to inshore skipper training.

2. Are you recognised by a local or international organisation? 

If you are learning to sail with a view to chartering a yacht overseas, say in the Med or Caribbean, you should ensure that the course you undertake is recognised internationally. This means endorsed by either the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) or ASA (American Sailing Association).

3. Who will be conducting the training?

You can't expect that the owner/boss of the sailing school will be conducting all the training, particularly the basic training.

4. What are the qualifications and experience of my instructor? 

It's great that the business owner has the highest qualifications possible, but you need to know that the person who will be teaching you, both on and off the water, has relevant qualifications and experience.

5. When did the school start? 
 
If it's been around for a few years, it's had to survive good and bad times. But you need to be reassured that it's not using tired old boats and teaching methods.

6. What is your success rate? 

By success rate, I mean the percentage of students who gain the qualification for which the sailing course is training them.

7. Do you have an introductory evening or other getting-to-know you function? 

These evenings give you the opportunity to meet your prospective sailing instructors and other would-be students. These are the types of people you will be spending your weekend(s) with for the next month or two. You need to feel confident that they are the types of people you feel happy with.

8. How many hours of training are involved? On the water? Off the water? 
 
It's all very well to spend hours in the classroom, learning sailing theory but there needs to be a good balance with hands-on sailing experience. You need to be reassured that you will spend plenty of time on the water, practising the sailing skills.

9. Will I receive a manual and/or textbook? 

If not a manual or textbook, at the very least you should receive a substantial set of handouts to support your learning of sailing theory. To keep track of your on-the-water experience, you will need a log book.

10. What is the cost involved? 

The cost of sailing tuition provided by different sailing schools may vary considerably. One way to compare costs is by dividing the fee by the number of hours. But you need to keep in mind the on and off water components of the sail training.

Remember, you don't have to choose any of the three sailing schools, if you don't feel that they are right for you. It is not just that you will be investing some of your hard-earned money, but learning to sail should be fun too. So it makes sense to feel comfortable about where you decide to learn.

Copyright 2009 Bevanda Pty Ltd
Learn more about sailing in The Boating Bible Manual of Seamanship, http://www.theboatingbible.com/Product.htm
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Oh I Do Like to B&B Beside the Seaside

Forget holidays abroad, some of the best destinations for a well-deserved break can be found right here on our doorsteps. Sure, the weather in the UK might not be up to much, but when you consider the benefits of staying in your own country, a bit of rain or overcast sky doesn't seem so bad.

Mention the word 'seaside' and what comes to mind? Kiss-Me-Quick hats? Ice-cream? Donkey rides along the beach? The seaside was once the must-visit destination for the UK's inland residents, before the days of commercial airlines, and although popularity has declined there are still plenty of British seaside towns with plenty to offer.

Perhaps the best known is Blackpool. Home to the Tower, Pleasure Beach and the infamous Golden Mile, Blackpool is a combination of traditional seaside and modern metropolis. The promenade has arcades, bingo stalls and rock shops, while the town centre boasts shopping centres, department stores and all the shops you'd expect to find in a large town. Served by motorways, train stations and an airport, Blackpool is easily accessible from all corners of the UK, and there are hotels and guesthouses in abundance to suit any budget.

Brighton is another well-loved British resort. Popular with shopaholics, Brighton boasts the largest amount of independent retailers (over 350) on the South Coast of Britain. There are also the mandatory seaside attractions of piers, arcades and theatres, all guaranteed to ease the boredom even on a rainy day. Brighton also has an interesting past and this is evident in the number of museums and Victorian architecture around the town.

For something a little different, the fishing port and seaside town of Whitby is the place to indulge your dark side. Host of the bi-annual Goth Festival, Whitby is well-known as the inspiration for Bram Stoker's novel Dracula amongst fans of the genre. Looking around the town, it's easy to see why. The gothic design of Whitby Abbey dominates the cobbled streets of the old town, which emanates olde-worlde charm reminiscent of times past. While not a bustling metropolis filled with modern shops, Whitby retains it's share of fans looking for a peaceful, atmospheric getaway.

When holidaying in the UK, bed and breakfasts are a cheap alternative to hotels. Most B&B's offer rooms for as little as £15 per night, so look online for rates before you go.

Benefits of Sales CRM Software For Business Organizations

Sales CRM Software is that software that is used by companies and organizations to increase their sales. CRM means Customer Relationship Management. This software helps in formulating strategies that involves interacting and knowing the needs of the customer, contacting them and using those marketing techniques that can attract customers to buy their products. The sales can be effectively increased by managing the sales department and motivating sales department team. This software uses ODBC technology to directly access SQL database to the data in Outlook folder.

The Sales CRM Software improves the sales of a company by the following method:

  • This software helps in marketing of the company's products by running passionate campaigns on multiple channels and through email and by calling or tracking customers according to the information collected about the customer through this software.
  • It helps in gathering more information about the customer and its needs and requirements to provide him with maximum services and products from the organization.
  • This software reduces the time which a company takes to respond to its customer by executing at a high speed.

This software has many working modules which are used by more organizations as all the data about the sales/purchases invoices, stock, accounts, inventory, marketing and customer information is managed and maintained electronically without the fuss and bulk of paper data. So, the main objective of using the Sales CRM Software is to gather and track the customer to make him buy a company's products and is becoming a must use for the organizations and companies desperate for increasing their sales.

Amazon Kindle How-To Series - E-Mail With Your Kindle

The Amazon Kindle is a great e-book reader and audio-book player. Wouldn't it be great if you could use the built-in wireless service for other things like surfing the Internet or sending and receiving e-mail? Well, actually depending upon the e-mail service you use, you can!

Not surprisingly, we've found that the Amazon Kindle (both version 1 and 2) work great with Google's Gmail. However, "right-out-of-the-box", you will not be able to use Gmail unless you make a few modifications to your Kindle's settings. If you do not do this, you will get an error message when trying to get into your Gmail account.

Here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Get a GMail account if you do not have one already - very simple - visit www.gmail.com and sign-up. Gmail offers a number of great features including over 7GB of storage space, IMAP support, and easy labeling of e-mail.

2. Turn on your Kindle and go to Menu > Experimental > Basic Web. This will open the Kindle's Web Browser. Keep in mind that the Kindle browser (even on the new Kindle 2) is VERY basic.

3. When your Kindle browser has opened, go to Menu > Settings.

4. Navigate to the Menu item "Enable Javascript" - Gmail requires Javascript to work. If Javascript is not enabled then you will get an error message when trying to access your Gmail account.

5. Close the Settings window.

6. Go to Menu > Enter URL and then enter http://www.gmail.com - this is important, if you use the Kindle's default shortcut or bookmark for Google you will get the Google "PDA" or mobile edition. When you try to access Gmail from the Google mobile site it will prompt you to download an e-mail application. This application cannot be installed on your Kindle. Go direction to the gmail site.

7. Log into the Gmail site with your existing user name and password, or use the new one you created in Step #1. Click "Sign in".

8. You should now be logged into Gmail and ready to read and send e-mail messages.

A few things to keep in-mind when using your Kindle for Gmail. First, don't forget the "Next Page" and "Prev Page" buttons. You have to get-out of your computer mind and into your Kindle mind. Next, the screen quality is not exceptional because it is in gray scale vs. color. The Kindle 2's screen is better than the Kindle 1, however you will not equal anywhere near the experience of using your computer for e-mail. Finally - you won't be able to open attachments sent to your Gmail account, and you may not be able to see all of the images sent with your e-mails.

With all of this, it still is pretty neat that you can take advantage of the wireless "Whispernet" service to take care of some basic e-mail tasks while you are using your Kindle. Who knows? In the event that your computer crashes and you're out on the road your Kindle might be just come in very handy!

Congratulations, now you know how-to use Gmail on your Amazon Kindle wireless reading device.

The Amazon Kindle e-book reader includes features that can make your e-book reading and audio-book listening more enjoyable. Find out about the Kindle's basic features, "hidden" features, and more by going to http://www.guidetokindle.com News, information, and how-to tips for owners of the Amazon Kindle 1 and Kindle 2. Sign-up for our e-mail newsletter and stay informed about everything Kindle

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