Overview

Oh Sail is a free sailing simulator that runs in your browser. It’s set in a real harbor, Marina del Rey, built from real chart data and physics, with a coach character (Cap’n Pell) who watches how you sail and talks you through it.

“Learn to sail before you ever leave the dock.”

The Problem

Flight students get ground school. Sailing students mostly get thrown straight onto the water, where the wind, the boat, and the nerves all hit at once. Oh Sail gives new sailors a place to learn the language of the wind first, so their first real lesson goes further.

What It Does

• Harbor School: guided lessons in Marina del Rey, from rigging basics to tacking
• Visible wind: puffs and wind shadows drawn on the water, with true and apparent wind
• A coach in the loop: feedback while you sail, then a debrief with your track, each tack, luffing stretches, and your best run to beat
• For instructors and clubs: a way to prepare students before they get on the water

Oh Sail is a practice aid. It never replaces real instruction.

My Role

I’m the builder and product lead, working with Kjell Nelson, a sailing instructor, who brings the teaching. I designed and built the simulator, the coaching, and the site. It was built about two miles from the breakwater.

Status

Early testing with a first crew of users. Next: more lessons, the instructor and club programs, and new waters beyond the harbor.