Thanks for all the comments. To answer some of the questions above, I'm in Auckland, around Howick, so Bucklands Beach and Pine Harbour are relatively close to me. I found a 2-day class in Opua that I think I'd like to give a try with my kids, as it'd be a private session, and we'd get to actually go out on our own with the teacher. The long term goal here would then be to take their followup class that will let us sail on our own for a few days, but I'll probably wait on that course for a bit.
I'm also gonna take everyone's advice and take a class that teaches on small boats, as there ar