Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Picking a sailing course - what to look for?
Hello all,
I'm a casual dinghy sailor, and I want to learn how to sail larger boats--yachts. To that end, I want to take one of those live-aboard sailing courses that take about a week and end in some sort of certification. I figure it will be a nice experience, and it will show me what life aboard is like, so I can figure out if I want to buy a yacht of my own. But.... picking the right course is hard. First of all, the courses offer either ASA (American Sailing Association) or US Sailing certifications (or sometimes both). Is one of the certifications better, or more widely recognized than the other? If I wanted to charter a boat for a day or two, would I be more likely to get it with ASA or US Sailing? Is there anything in particular I should be looking for in a sailing school? Finally, any recommendations? I'm looking for schools in Southern California (trying to escape the cold for a week or two) Thanks in advance, Nikita. |
#2
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Picking a sailing course - what to look for?
"Nikita" wrote in message
ps.com... Hello all, I'm a casual dinghy sailor, and I want to learn how to sail larger boats--yachts. To that end, I want to take one of those live-aboard sailing courses that take about a week and end in some sort of certification. I figure it will be a nice experience, and it will show me what life aboard is like, so I can figure out if I want to buy a yacht of my own. But.... picking the right course is hard. First of all, the courses offer either ASA (American Sailing Association) or US Sailing certifications (or sometimes both). Is one of the certifications better, or more widely recognized than the other? If I wanted to charter a boat for a day or two, would I be more likely to get it with ASA or US Sailing? Is there anything in particular I should be looking for in a sailing school? Finally, any recommendations? I'm looking for schools in Southern California (trying to escape the cold for a week or two) Thanks in advance, Nikita. There are differences between the two certifications, but not in any material way. I teach both. The absolutely most important thing you should be looking for is the quality of the instructor. This is sometimes hard to know in advance, but if you find that you don't think the instructor is doing a good job, being abusive, yelling, etc, then switch instructors. A reputable school will accomodate you. Another important thing to look for is the consistency of the instruction from class to class and the follow-up the school does to ensure that you got the lesson. In addition, many schools have a very consistent fleet of boats. That can be good in the sense that moving from one level of instruction to another, you get the approximate same look and feel for the boat. It can be bad if you end up thinking that one particular kind of boat is better than another kind if you don't experience more than one or two makes... e.g., all instruction on Hunters vs. all instruction on Catalinas vs. instruction mixed between several different makes. For example, the non-sanctioned school where I teach (Northern Cal, btw), starts people out on Capri 16.5s (Catalinas), then intermediate sailing instruction on a Ranger 23 or J-24 (both are also used for some advanced work), then on to a Yamaha 30 and private boats of significant diversity for the advanced training. Personally, I like the variety. Another factor to consider, since you mentioned So. Cal., is the conditions you're likely to encounter. You typically get lighter winds down south, and while nothing wrong with that necessarily, you don't necessarily get the benefit of more challenging conditions. For example, in So. Cal., the wind speeds will rarely exceed 15kts. More than that, and many places scrub the day. In the SF area, wind speeds are in the 15 to 25 kts range, with some days higher. We don't scrub the lesson unless there's significant rain and storm conditions, and some classes are specifically held in storm conditions (obviously the more advanced classes). All that said, the USSailing and ASA certifications are really nothing more than high-cost pieces of paper. There is no requirement for chartering a boat, say in the BVI, that you have a certification. You could just as easily take classes through a non-sanctioned school (I teach through one of those also). Typically, the quality of the instructor and the quality of the school are what counts. The charter companies (e.g., Moorings) want to be assured that you'll get their expensive boat back without damage or injury to the people with you or around you. They care very much *where* you've sailed and for how long much more than what paper certification you have. Your sailing resume is important. I hope that helps... sorry for the long-winded answer. I'm sure they'll be differing opinions...this is Usenet after all. :-) Jonathan -- "j" ganz @@ www.sailnow.com |
#3
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Picking a sailing course - what to look for?
On 11 Dec 2006 21:37:59 -0800, "Nikita" wrote:
Hello all, I'm a casual dinghy sailor, and I want to learn how to sail larger boats--yachts. To that end, I want to take one of those live-aboard sailing courses that take about a week and end in some sort of certification. I figure it will be a nice experience, and it will show me what life aboard is like, so I can figure out if I want to buy a yacht of my own. But.... picking the right course is hard. First of all, the courses offer either ASA (American Sailing Association) or US Sailing certifications (or sometimes both). Is one of the certifications better, or more widely recognized than the other? If I wanted to charter a boat for a day or two, would I be more likely to get it with ASA or US Sailing? Is there anything in particular I should be looking for in a sailing school? Finally, any recommendations? I'm looking for schools in Southern California (trying to escape the cold for a week or two) Thanks in advance, Nikita. This doesn't pertain to Southern California but it's the kind of experience I think you're looking for. It happened about 9 years ago.... http://pages.suddenlink.net/lorendi/...toBareboat.doc Good luck! |
#4
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Picking a sailing course - what to look for?
"Nikita" wrote in message ps.com... Hello all, I'm a casual dinghy sailor, and I want to learn how to sail larger boats--yachts. To that end, I want to take one of those live-aboard sailing courses that take about a week and end in some sort of certification. I figure it will be a nice experience, and it will show me what life aboard is like, so I can figure out if I want to buy a yacht of my own. But.... picking the right course is hard. If you want to be really radical, you could try Europe - the Mediterranean. Charter companies there run training schemes that prepare complete novices in the first week of a holiday to skipper their own yachts (bareboat) in the second week. Look at http://www.neilson.co.uk/yachting/VillaFlotilla.asp . Of course, that's not Florida, it's non-tidal, and the season doesn't start until May. And the holidays span two weeks (when are you Americans going to discover the quality of life delivered by longer holidays!). It's possible subsequently to test for an International Certificate of Competence (if you reach the appropriate standard: most do), but quite frankly, certificates are not what most charter companies are looking for. They're looking for time in charge. Most guys who try this type of learning go on for a second two week holiday sailing in company (flotilla, with a support boat around most of the time), then follow with a bareboat charter, doing their own thing. The they shift on to tidal sailing - a whole new ball game in the English Channel! -- JimB http://www.jimbaerselman.f2s.com/ Comparing cruise areas within Greece and N Spain |
#5
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Picking a sailing course - what to look for?
A friend and I did the same thing a few years ago at the Chapman School
of Seamanship in Florida. While it is not California, we did take a boat from the school to the Bahamas and back across the gulf stream. A great time and I learned a great deal. I acquired the training through ASA and am very happy with how it is accepted around the world. Good luck and enjoy. |
#6
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Picking a sailing course - what to look for?
wrote in message
ups.com... A friend and I did the same thing a few years ago at the Chapman School of Seamanship in Florida. While it is not California, we did take a boat from the school to the Bahamas and back across the gulf stream. A great time and I learned a great deal. I acquired the training through ASA and am very happy with how it is accepted around the world. Good luck and enjoy. Accepted for what exactly? -- "j" ganz @@ www.sailnow.com |
#7
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Picking a sailing course - what to look for?
wrote in message ups.com... A friend and I did the same thing a few years ago at the Chapman School of Seamanship in Florida. Same thing as what? While it is not California, we did take a boat from the school to the Bahamas and back across the gulf stream. A great time and I learned a great deal. I acquired the training through ASA and am very happy with how it is accepted around the world. What's ASA? Speaking as an ex charter operator? -- JimB http://www.jimbaerselman.f2s.com/ Comparing cruise areas within Greece and N Spain |
#8
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Picking a sailing course - what to look for?
In article ,
"Capt. JG" wrote: All that said, the USSailing and ASA certifications are really nothing more than high-cost pieces of paper. Exactly, though that might give Nikita enough experience to overcome trepidation. Nothing easier than sailing the BVI, IMNHO. The Moorings let me take out a 50, though our boat was a 21' MacGregor at the time, hardly more than a dink. I'd been on a couple of charters in the area, which probably helped. When I saw that she was a dinghy sailor, though casual, my first thought was that she is likely as good a *sailor* as most "big" boat owners. With such a conservative self-evaluation, she probably only needs a little time on an inboard. -- Jere Lull Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD) Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/ |
#9
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Picking a sailing course - what to look for?
Jere Lull wrote: When I saw that she was a dinghy sailor, though casual, my first thought was that she is likely as good a *sailor* as most "big" boat owners. With such a conservative self-evaluation, she probably only needs a little time on an inboard. Just for the record, I'm a "he". I get this a lot on the newsgroups; damn that "La femme Nikita" movie. Yeah, I'm not worried too much about the sailing aspect of it. I feel fairly confident with sail and boat control, terminology and all that sort of stuff. The stuff that's new to me would be trimming sails with winches (right?) rather than by hand, anchoring, operating with an engine, and probably docking (because you can't make up for your mistakes by simply grabbing on to the dock and stopping the boat). Oh and navigation; when racing around the buoys on a lake there's no need for charts. |
#10
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Picking a sailing course - what to look for?
In article om,
"Nikita" wrote: Just for the record, I'm a "he". I get this a lot on the newsgroups; damn that "La femme Nikita" movie. Sorry about that, but I've known a number of Nikitas, non of them male. Yeah, I'm not worried too much about the sailing aspect of it. I feel fairly confident with sail and boat control, terminology and all that sort of stuff. The stuff that's new to me would be trimming sails with winches (right?) rather than by hand, anchoring, operating with an engine, and probably docking (because you can't make up for your mistakes by simply grabbing on to the dock and stopping the boat). I expect you'll take it slow, which is 90+% of the job. There's more "stuff", but it's not really that different and you've got a handle on the hard part. Oh and navigation; when racing around the buoys on a lake there's no need for charts. That can take some experience. I'm still learning 20 years into cruising around the Chesapeake. BTW, even on a lake, there's some navigation involved, so you have a start. One thing that's served me in good stead: When you leave an anchorage you intend to return to, look back and see what it looks like from the water. Spot the unusual features such as towers, buildings -- anything that might be unique. As you sail, be aware of what's around, new landmarks and waypoints, and note your position on the chart periodically. Nothing beats the Mark I eyeballs, not even a GPS, in the long run. At first, you won't go far, so it'll be easy. As you go further afield, you'll figure it out. -- Jere Lull Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD) Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/ |
Reply |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|