ASA or other certifications

[Tmacmi]

Ok, this is day dreaming in our Covid world, but my wife and I are contemplating certifications that would ultimately allow us to bareboat in the Bahamas or even in Europe.

They have a school here in Michigan, but I'm thinking it would be a good idea to take the course in the Bahamas so we can get experience with tides and ocean sailing.

My wife has no sailing experience other than learning the basics of coming about and sailing the telltails after I set the sails for the heading.

I have more experience. I feel confident that I can take a boat from a longish point A to Z under winds up to 20 knots. I know how to read charts, navigate with Navionics, read channel markers. I know Right of ways. I need to learn MOB. I need to learn ocean level weather predictions from Predict wind. etc.

So how do we take classes at the same time that covers both of our needs?

Thoughts appreciated.

[Peeew]

If you are interested in the Bahamas there are a few charter companies, Cruise Abaco for one, that can put an instructor on the boat in daytime and send a powerboat to retrieve him in the evening each day. Two people can take the same course or different at the same time. I’m sure there are many other that offer similar programs but I had good luck chartering with these.

[contrail]

Simply take 101, 103, and 104, and if you are interested in catamaran certification, take 114, as well. Do it together. That way you will have knowledge, common to both of you. If the school and instructor are good, you will learn to better function as a team, and I guarantee that you will be surprised at how much YOU learn. Many on this board are self taught....absolutely nothing wrong with that, but almost always there are "holes" in that method. The current versions of the books are pretty good, and you will need to read them. Go for it.

[Belezar]

I got a ton out of my courses. I did a week long course with water sailing">Blue Water Sailing School 25 years or so ago. I knew how to sail well. Lots of lake and bay sailing. Taught me how to cruise. The week was busy, and my then GF only went through the first two. But it was a super course. I did mine in the Keys, a great time.

[requiem]

Originally Posted by Tmacmi

I have more experience. I feel confident that I can take a boat from a longish point A to Z under winds up to 20 knots. I know how to read charts, navigate with Navionics, read channel markers. I know Right of ways. I need to learn MOB. I need to learn ocean level weather predictions from Predict wind. etc.

I suspect you'll find a few places that can do courses in parallel, e.g. Day Skipper for one of you and Competent Crew for the other, or some that streamline the ASA courses (e.g. 101+103) over a week. I have mixed thoughts over the latter, and you'd also want to tack on at least the bareboat cruising course as well.

Some of the gaps you mentioned will be covered at the basic courses, so you don't want to jump ahead. By "read charts" do you also mean things like calculating current triangles (e.g. course to steer)?

[jmschmidt]

A friend, a former boat owner/partner on a Moorings boat in French Polynesia, who spent big bucks (travel, meals, hotels, taxis, etc.) to get ASA certifications so the EU money grubbers would allow him to charter their boats in the Med. He is a guy who sailed to Hawaii forty years ago, now owns two sailing cats (47' & 48"), he chartered in the BVI maybe ten times, Belize, Australia, Mexico and other places.

His response was the ASA training was kind'a Mickey Mouse but he did get the certification the EU will buy. He said the instructor was a twenties-something who had very limited knowledge, enough for the curriculum, but very little real-world, open ocean experience.

[wfetter]

Wife and I both did 101 and 103. The difference was that I was an experienced sailor so I just sat the 101 test but went along for the course with her. We did 103 together and it was great. We repeated things any number of times while switching off so we both got to try things. I did 104-105 after that. One thing you can try, if you have a boat, is to use the same instructor on your boat. We had no trouble having our ASA Instructor come on our boat to do 103.

[dannc]

Wife and I both did 101 and 103. I had some experience she had none. The two instructors were excellent, very knowledgeable, experienced and we learned a bunch. There were many things I learned, where I said, I wish I had known that years ago...

The classes are a start, not an ending.

Find a school with good instructors. The location is not as important as the course(s) and the teachers.

Later,
Dan

[DMCantor]

We got our start cruising via courses like these, and are very glad we approached it that way. In our experience, the ASA schools vary quite a lot. Many are excellent, but some leave a lot to be desired. So talk to former students before signing up. We chose to use a school associated with US Sailing. I've rarely heard any complaints about the quality of those courses.

[Act Three]

To add another opinion... Taking the courses separately is also a good solution, though it might be a bit more cumbersome. Couples tend to keep their communication habits from life and bring them on the boat. Sometimes it leads to one person dominating during the course and the other not learning as much as they might otherwise. My wife took docking in 25 knot winds one year in March on the Chesapeake (I'd never do that!!). She also had a course where she learned the MOB drill and rescued the dummy (Supposedly me) 3 out of 4 times!! She reminds me of that often. She has finished 101, 102, and 103 and I think she is quite capable. I have some offshore experience and was able to test out of all the courses in Annapolis and did the practical with a gent my age who had a good deal of experience and enjoyed the experience. I got my license to charter in Europe and have used it twice so far. The biggest benefit of taking the courses separately is the confidence both of you end up with in the end. As a rule I want her to be able to handle the boat in an emergency and I think this worked out well for us.

[kirklkjb]

We took the SLC then RYA online portions from nauticEd (https://www.nauticed.org/). The RYA was my favorite. The SLC course is a good general course and if you're new to sailing start there. If you don't have a keelboat with an inboard engine rent one as you'll need on the water days to practice boat handling and sailing skills. You may need an on the water trainer.

We had a couple of decades of experience in small sailboats <25ft so sailing was easy docking under power with the inboard diesel we had to practice.

After we passed the RYA online course we did a week on a multihull with Mark Thompson (803) 280 0881 mark@yachtingeducation.com. After passing RYA we got our ICC cert so we can sail the med.

Mark is a very good instructor. Patient and never lost his cool. Highly recommend him.

[WindwardPrinces]

I took basic and bareboating ASA classes at Annapolis Sailing School. I did a bareboat-for-a-week kind of course with some friends.

I've never had a problem chartering a bareboat anywhere in the Caribbean. They might ask you some questions, but I've never actually showed my credentials anywhere.

Wouldn't hurt for your wife to take a basic course without you in advance, but you could do the bareboat course together. Lots of cool places to sail to on the Chesapeake.

[guyrj33]

Buy and read a couple of good books cover to cover starting with Chapman’s.

[Captain Scott]

Hi Tmacmi ...

I am an ASA instructor, 100 ton USCG Master (Captain) and the owner of Virgin Island Sailing School.

Yes, ASA schools do vary and some are generally better than others.

Chapman's is a bit dry for my taste, and I would imagine that a more romantic theme (though based in reality) is what draws you, like others to sailing (Right Everybody!?!).

Take a look at "The International Marine Book of Sailing", by Robbie Robinson. This is ASA 101 through 106 in one go. What ASA did was to divide up the basic to semi-advanced knowledge into thier first 4 levels. It is well done.

So, go for it. Take a class, get out on the water in whatever fashion seems comfortable to you both.

Cheers,
Capt Scott

[NormanMartin]

I worked for Captain Scott's competitor. He's right.

Short answer, go to sailing school. Long answer, go to two sailing schools. The more sailing you do with a pro you like and understand, the better.