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Should You Choose A Charter Sailing Vacation?

A great piece of advice given to me by American Sailing Founder Lenny Shabes, when considering sailing with others. Have six people over for dinner on your boat. 4 for a daysail and 2 for an overnight trip. These are words of wisdom when considering a chartered sailing vacation. How, when, and where you go decide on your sailing vacation

Sail Trim for Cruisers: Why Trim Your Sails?

A rumor is going around the American Sailing offices that trimming your sails makes for more efficient sailing. That rumor is directed at my sailing technique. First, let me explain why I sail. On any given day, I can sail with no destination in mind. I have nowhere to go and nowhere to be. So, I raise the main and

7 Tips For The Beginning Sailor

There are the obvious things you need when you go sailing, sunscreen, a hat, a windbreaker, non-skid shoes, and wind. However, what do you really need to be ready to head out on the water? These are a few sailing tips to keep you safe and that ensure that you have a fun time out on the water. Looking to

What is the Intracoastal Waterway?

The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a network of navigable channels, rivers, bays, and canals that stretches more than 3,000 miles along the eastern and Gulf coasts of the United States, from Boston, Massachusetts to Brownsville, Texas. The ICW provides a protected and inland route for boats to travel up and down the coast, avoiding the dangers of the open sea

Start Your Cruising Adventure With John Neal

This month American Sailing is offering a free online class on how to start your sailing adventure. After all, you can’t keep fantasizing about sailing forever. Now is the time to make it happen. You’ll learn everything from finding the right boat to sailing it safely around the globe. The Course: How To Start Your Cruising Adventure Course Description: An Online

Where Do You Get Your Weather?

Where do you get your weather info before you go sailing? I sit in front of a computer, miles away from my sailboat, and I make a plan for the coming week of sailing. I check the weather. I check the forecast. My search becomes more extensive when on a charter or in unfamiliar waters. If it’s hurricane season, I

Five Essential Bareboat Charter Skills

Here are 5 essential skills to master before you leave the dock for your first bareboat charter sailing vacation.

Sailing the US Virgin Islands

By Bob Curley Writer, Editor and Sailor, Bob Curley, is a Rhode Island Expert who contributes to American Sailing on sailing New England and the Caribbean. The British Virgin Islands may get more attention from boaters, but the U.S. Virgin Islands are an excellent sailing destination themselves — even if you never cross over to the BVI side. The proximity

Towing A Dinghy?

I am going to get it out of the way immediately. I once fouled a prop with a towline. It took about an hour in Gustavia harbor to get the mess of braided nylon out from under one of two props on a 48-foot catamaran. It was a rooking mistake. However, it is a common issue that could have been

Is Sailing Stressful?

What do you worry about when going sailing? Is sailing stressful or are you confident in all situations?

How to Plan a Daysail

So you’ve just added that ASA 101 seal to your logbook, and you’re excited to get underway for your first day sail. After all of your hard work, studying, and practicing, it’s finally your time to rally some sailing friends (your crew) and reap the rewards of the sailing lifestyle. This is a big moment in a sailor’s journey as

How To: Basic Anchoring and Anchoring Etiquette

Quite a long time ago…decades ago. I sailed over to Catalina Island from my marina near ASA headquarters. I was young. It was my first time embarking across the channel. My crew was a good friend and his cousin who was celebrating his 21st birthday. They drank beers the entire time. In simple terms, I was a solo sailor. I

5 Reasons to Sail to St. Barths

As if you need another reason to drop anchor in St. Barth we suggest these five reasons to sail your bareboat charter boat to this gem of an island that is the South of France in the heart of the Caribbean. Close your eyes and you’ll hear France all around you, lift a fork and you’ll taste the cuisine and

Preparing For Your First Sailing Vacation Charter

The idea of chartering a boat for a sailing vacation is on your mind so why not just take the plunge and plan that trip? Well, you have a few questions, right? We have compiled some resources to help you make the decision to charter a boat for a sailing vacation much easier. Take a look, take a class, plan

Ports We Love: Sailing The Amalfi Coast

We walked to the top of the street to stretch our legs after a day of sailing. The sun baked the colorful hillsides and the air was rich with the smell of citrus. After a climb up what appeared to be abandoned stairs we were greeted with a trail along the canyon and a stream that flowed below us. Across

Need a Few Sailing Tips?

Find a few sailing tips from the American Sailing Association from sailing with kids to planning a day sail.

Plastic-Free Provisioning

Over the years American Sailing has promoted our Plastic Pollution Purge campaign. We have asked our fellow sailors to “bring back more plastic than you take to your boat”, and to have fun practicing your crew overboard drills as you recover trash on the water. But to break the vicious cycle of plastic pollution in the water we must prevent

Where and How To Bareboat Charter

We dropped anchor in about 30 feet of water beside an island that had the ruins of an old prison. Some kids were climbing to the top of an outcrop and leaping into the clear water. I couldn’t see where they came from as we were the only boat in sight and the island is too small for any residences.