Anybody know of a club offering catamaran instruction \rental while I take a week vacation in warmer climats this winter ?( I'm from up north) I've been sailing the Mystere type (4.3 or 5.0xl ) for the past 3 years. Area : southern u.s.a.
The Clearwater Community Sailing Center has Waves and Getaways that can be rented, along with several types of monohulls. They also offer lessons. Besides that you could go to the Dunedin Causeway and get out on one of the local sailor's cats. There is usually a pretty good assortment of Hobies, Nacras, Prindles, and Mystere's out there each weekend. Sail Honeymoon on the Dunedin Causeway also has Windrider Trimarans for rent (and kayaks).
Good Luck,
Thankyou, Lance, for all the extremely usefull information re Renting/instruction @ Clearwater etc. All i have to do now is work out accommodation closeby. Merci!
You're welcome. As far as accomodations go the Sheraton Sand Key Resort is right across the street from the sailing center. If that's not to your liking there are a bunch of hotels on South Clearwater Beach that are within walking distance as well.
Good Luck,
o.k. Last question on this subject. As of WHAT MONTH can one sail without freezing (finding it chilly?) in the south florida area (even though I have a wet-suit...)March? (Oh, those uninformed canadians......)My minimum criteria for setting out would be 70-75 degrees F. 
Many sailors from The Tampabay area on South sail all year with a wetsuit and spraysuit or a drysuit reccomended from Dec-Feb. Gulf water temperatures average:
Spring 73.7F, Summer 84.7F, Fall 76.7F, Winter 63.7F.
Air temperatures:
Jan Feb - 60's
Mar Apr - 70-80's
Jun-Oct - 80-90's
Nov - 70-80's
Dec - 60-70's
During the winter months we do get some cold spells that get down into the twentys for the lows but they usually only last for a few days before going back up to the 60's.
I think March/April is the best time of the year for sailing. Good winds, little to no rain, and moderate temps.
Good Luck,
It depends on your perspective. Buffalo, NY is cold. Tampa gets….cool.
Today, December 9 at 7 am, the Tampa water is 70 and the air is 68. By noon it will be 74. That’s high summer conditions for many parts of the country. Here in Tampa Bay, people whine when the water drops below 80 (really!). I saw drysuits last weekend but it wasn’t for safety or coldness, it’s just whining and a lust for sailing gear. If you watch the regular beach rats, they were sailing until past sunset in just bathing suits. I RARELY have worn a wetsuit here and if so, just a shorty. I do wear a windbreaker jacket in winter and every now and then I wear my ski powder pants.
I lived on the beach in Del Mar (San Diego) where the water only goes over 70 in the hottest part of summer but no wetsuit was needed after March (temp > 60). Anything over 60 and you can handle the 5-20 minute swim after a major capsize. Otherwise, it's just protection from the wind. If you ARE cold, wear the gear because cold will kill you. Otherwise, thank God we live in a postcard all year, embrace the perfect conditions, and don’t pretend it’s cold.
Leigh,
What kind of sailing instruction are you looking for? If you have already been sailing three years, you already know how to sail.
We have a five-day sailing seminar for beach cats April 23-28 in Key Largo. Guaranteed to make you a better sailor.
As far as warmth in South Florida (which I consider to be south of Lake Okeechobee), the months most likely to have some REALLY cold conditions -- when a cold front comes through -- are January and February (really cold means mid to high 40's at night and mid to high 60's daytime).
But if your vacation is at least one week long, a cold front normally doesn't last longer than three days, and then the temp will go back up close to 80 degrees. So in a week you are usually guaranteed at least half a week of beautiful sailing weather.
At least that is how it works here in the Keys. 
Mary-late in answering-have to fight to get "airtime" with my 5 other family members. funny you should mention your sailing camp, as I had already spotted it on your website, and it is actually already something i am trying to schedule for end of april, in addition to getting away elsewhere down south to just SAIL.... I don't own a catamaran, for lack of time- I have to litterally RUN down to the club where I rent a 4.3 or 5.0 mystère, depending on the wind and crew availability (i.e. my daughters), in order to sail for a measly 2 hours. And-when I get there, the wind often drops suddenly until the end of the day..... July is hot and muggy-little wind. The best month for sailing here with consistant wind is September, and lucky me- the club doesn't rent after the long weekend of September 1-3.......So- I am looking to just do more actual sailing with WIND,practice in the trapeze department (done this a whopping 3 times...)-practicing righting the boat(I am in my 40"s and weigh 130lbs...)and becoming-as you say-a better sailor by learning all the stuff I haven't had time to learn. I learned to sail on a monohull at the age of 15-but catamarans-well, i took a 25 hour course here in Québec 3 years ago- and start off each season with 2 hours of instruction to "get the rust out" Would someone like me be admissable to your sailing camp???
oh-oh...just oticed that there is a written exam in ENGLISH I presume.. to be able to rent boats at the Clearwater club (quite understandable.)I had to learn to sail a catamaran in FRENCH , because that is what was available...where I live-had to pull out my hair to re-learn everything i had learned in English..now in French.. Now- I will have to hit the books to re-Relearn all this in English once again.... hmmmm.
thankyou to all who have given me what I consider to be priceless information re the weather to expect in certain areas of Florida and the Keys for sailing. In the past years after asking several family tourists(beach goers) about possible sailing conditions, all I could get was"hot/ cool/ during the day, windy/not windy in the evenings, rain/no rain,/ hurricaines/no hurricaines.... your information is so precise! I'm keeping it for further reference and passing it on to my fellow eskimo sailors up here.....