Develop your cycling skills with the VOG community
Since 2010, vogavecmoi.com has specialized in offering co-browsing by connecting owners and crew members looking for a boat. Quickly, the need for training within the community was felt and in 2017, the co-browsing club offered its members the first sailing courses, in catamarans and fast monohulls. An offer that immediately found its audience.
Named VogWeek, the VOG club's sailing school has positioned itself in a different sector: offering training on fast monohulls (Pogo 12.50, RM 1180), but also on catamarans, a support rarely offered by sailing schools. To satisfy its members, the company has its own Lagoon 450 F.
"Our training offer is based on a fleet of recent and/or unusual boats. At the same time, we rent boats that we do not have in our fleet. This also allows future owners to discover certain types of boats and make up their minds by sailing on them before buying, or for current owners to perfect their skills on the same boat as their own."
Several training offers to improve your skills
Reserved for the VOG Club's sailing community, the VogWeek sailing courses are aimed at crew members who have already sailed on a sailboat, in order to progressively lead them to autonomy.
"We cater to a community that has sailed or owns a boat and is looking to improve their skills."
There are three training offerings in the catalog:
- Improvement
The Advanced offer is aimed at people who have already sailed, but are looking to improve their performance, particularly in sail maneuvers, weather management, harbor maneuvers and anchoring. The objective is to become an efficient crew member. This 7-day course allows you to vary the ports and anchorages and to adapt them according to the weather. Night sailing is usually part of the week's program.
- Captain of the ship
This is level 3/4 of the FFVoile. The objective is to develop - over one week - the autonomy of the boaters (renter or owner) and to give them the responsibility of the boat and the crew by half-day. At the end of this training, the trainees work on their points of progress.
- Offshore
The offshore course takes place more than 100 miles from the coast and mainly deals with the safety aspect. Already covered in the coastal courses, it focuses here on safety in offshore sailing: risk management in terms of weather, emergency landing procedure, preparation of a grab-bag... These situations cannot be improvised and must be perfectly mastered.
Offshore courses are also offered in the form of transatlantic sailing between the Mediterranean and the West Indies or return transatlantic sailing from Martinique to Marseille with a stopover in the Azores.
"It allows us to familiarize ourselves with long and potentially difficult sailing. Especially the return transatlantic races. You have to manage the weather by iridium, change course according to the lows, ensure the safety of the boat and the crew."
The majority of the internships last a minimum of 7 days. Some in exotic destinations (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Grenadines Islands) are longer: "Besides learning, it's also an opportunity to spend 10 fantastic days and have a wonderful trip."
Experienced instructors
Each course is supervised by a sailing instructor with a state sailing certificate. All our instructors are sailing school professionals with extensive experience in sailing and teaching. Our training courses are carried out under the aegis of the French Sailing Federation.
A rapidly growing fleet
After having acquired two Lagoon 450F and to face the growth of its sailing school, the company has decided to expand its fleet of boats with the acquisition of a Lagoon 40 and a Lagoon 46 which will be delivered in 2023. VogWeek will also offer courses on the brand new POGO 44.
Unusual experiences
Vogweek regularly adds internship offers on unusual boats to its catalog.
- An Outremer 49 is rented for semi-offshore courses to the Balearics or Corsica.
"We offer semi-offshore training on Outremer 49, from Port Leucate to the Balearic Islands. It is a boat that goes upwind well and participated in the Route du Rhum in 2018. We have done 4 courses in 2021. Subsequently, the shipyard sold 2 boats (used and new). We train people and make them want to buy boats."
- Finally, training courses between Brittany and La Rochelle take place on board a TS42, but are reserved for connoisseurs.
"The TS42 is an extremely sought after boat by purists and very fast. We recommend these courses to people who have already sailed a lot. VOG plays an important advisory role in the choice of courses and boardings, depending on the level of the person and their project."
- In April 2022, a training course will take place on the large sailboat (50 m), the Morgenster, from Sète (where it will participate in the Escale à Sète meeting) to Valencia, Spain. An experience of navigation "in the old way" of 5 days which will be able to benefit the members of the VOG club.
Rates that fit all budgets
Pre-season training courses are generally the most affordable. The price of a week's training on the Lucia 40, departing from La Rochelle is 695 euros. The 10-day offshore course on the Outremer 49 is 1euro 495 euros. For a transatlantic crossing from Marseille to the Caribbean, you should count about 6euros000 euros.
A week of training on a Pogo 12.50 from La Rochelle, Bormes-les-Mimosas or from Martinique costs from 1 000euros to 1 150euros. For a 10 days course from the West Indies, the budget is 1euros395 euros.
VOG, a complete offer to accompany sailing enthusiasts at all stages of their practice
Co-browsing club: https://www.vogavecmoi.com
The sailing school and the shared cruise: https://www.vogweek.com
Sale and management-rental of catamarans: https://www.vogfleet.com
