After completing additional sailing training through other schools, yacht clubs, and organizations, I have a very different perspective on our experience with Virgin Island Sailing School, and I no longer feel comfortable recommending it. At the time, we viewed many of the issues we encountered as part of the adventure and learning process. Looking back now, several of those situations crossed into avoidable safety concerns and reflected a level of instruction and boat preparedness that simply was not acceptable for an ASA training program. Captain Scott remained calm under pressure, and I will still give him credit for that. However, many of the problems we dealt with were preventable and stemmed from ongoing maintenance and operational issues aboard the boat itself. A significant amount of time during our trip was spent with him focused on phone calls related to engine repairs and trying to secure future charters, rather than actively teaching. There were also major gaps in the actual instruction. We ended up self-studying much of the ASA material on our own in order to pass the written tests. In hindsight, many of the concepts and procedures should have been thoroughly taught onboard, but were not. Surprisingly, we never even used the VHF radio during the course, which still stands out to me as a serious omission for hands-on sailing instruction. The condition of the boat also raised concerns. The refrigerator failed during the trip, and I genuinely question whether food was being stored at safe temperatures. Provisioning was sparse, and overall the vessel did not feel maintained to the standard I would now expect from a professional liveaboard sailing school. After gaining experience through other sailing programs, I can confidently say this training environment fell short of what it should have been. What once felt like "flexibility" now feels more like accepting unnecessary risk and inadequate instruction. Unfortunately, I would not sail with this school again, and based on my experience, I cannot recommend it from a safety or training standpoint. read more