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Sailing Small Living Large

Sailing Small, Living Large: How life aboard a compact cruiser fosters teamwork, resilience, and unforgettable...

Sailing in Force 8

Anyone Can Be a Sailor. Discover how ASA 101 builds confidence, teaches the basics, and...

Smooth Sailing Starts Ashore

Before you chase the horizon, take the time to inspect the boat that’ll carry you...

Anyone Can Be A Sailor

Anyone Can Be a Sailor. Discover how ASA 101 builds confidence, teaches the basics, and...

What Type of Sailboat is This?

Do you know the difference between a junk and a sloop? What about a Yawl and a Ketch? This guide to sailboats will have you identifying boats like a lifelong sailor.

Featured School: White Caps Sailing, Punta Gorda, Florida

New American Sailing School White Caps Sailing have been with us all along as Captain Jean and Admiral Mila have been organizing flotillas and teaching in the Mediterranean for years.

Need A Practice Quiz For ASA 101?

Do you need a practice exam for your ASA sailing test? ASA has created practice quizzes for ASA 101, ASA 103 and ASA 104. Use these tests to brush up on your knowledge or to prepare for the big exam.

ASA 101 Basic Keelboat Sailing – What You’ll Learn

ASA 101 Basic Keelboat Sailing will teach you how to sail and is step one of a sailing adventure that will last a lifetime. This is the first course in your sailing education.

Intro to Sailing: Online Course

Learn to sail online with American Sailing's online intro to sailing course. This course is your first step to learning to sail. Learn the basics before you get to the dock.

2023 New Year’s Resolutions for Sailors

The countdown begins to breaking your other New Year's resolutions, but these sailing promises will be kept. 2023 is the year that you will reach your sailing potential.

ASA 103 Basic Coastal Cruising – What You’ll Learn

You have taken ASA 101, Basic Keelboat Sailing, and you are confident to skipper a sloop-rigged keelboat of approximately 20 to 27 feet in length by day in light to moderate winds (up to 15 knots) and sea conditions. Now what? ASA 103, Basic Coastal Cruising, is your next step in advancing your sailing education. Soon you will be on

Featured Instructor: Captain Margaret Pommert

Captain Margaret Pommert of Seattle has been named the recipient of the 2020 BoatUS/National Women’s Sailing Association (NWSA) Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award. The award annually recognizes an individual with a record of achievement in inspiring, educating, and enriching the lives of women through sailing. Margaret is an ASA instructor, Instructor Evaluator, and holds a 100-ton USCG Captain’s License. “Margaret

ASA 104 Bareboat Cruising – What You’ll Learn

We dropped the anchor in about 15 feet of crystal clear water. From the dolphin striker, I could see the anchor chain all the way to the hook in the white sand. Fish darted below the boat as if they were accustomed to getting fed by the new arrivals. The four of us, my family, stood on the trampoline of

Sail Baja California with Go Baja Sailing

It is possible that your vision of Baja California has an imprint of salt shakers, limes, and tequila shots. After all, the tourism board of the region has done a great job of crafting a message of fun in the sun down in Cabo San Lucas and the beer companies have tempted us with portraits of white sand beaches and

What is a PFD (lifejacket)

In the official language of the USCG, a wearable device that will keep you afloat should you fall in the water is a “personal flotation device” or “PFD.” Lifejacket and PFD are interchangeable terms. PFDs are officially classed as Types I, II, III, IV, and V, according to their design, construction, and intended use. The specific type required aboard depends

Discover an American Sailing School Near You!

American sailing schools are literally around every corner so find one and get out there and work on your sailing skills. Discover an ASA Sailing School Near You! Go as far south as possible at Southern Most Sailing School in Key West Have you ever considered Sailing in Portland? Take a look at Island Sailing School View this post on

Handling Emergencies: Man Overboard

Every man or woman overboard situation should be treated as a very serious matter, even in seemingly balmy conditions. In cold waters or cold weather, in restricted visibility or at nighttime, or in rough seas, the chances for a positive outcome diminish. Any delay in recovering the person in the water stacks the odds against his chances of survival. the

Do I Really Need Sailing Lessons?

Learning to sail with ASA opens the doors to the world of sailing and the vast experiences that come with it from bareboat charters to owning your own boat.

Five Essential Bareboat Charter Skills

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

The Sailing Season – Oahu, Circumnavigating The Island

ASA Outstanding Instructor Greg Martin of Sail Hawaii is very familiar with the waters around the Hawaiian Islands and he regularly sails and teaches out of Oahu. Greg has contributed to a three-part story on sailing in Hawaii. Venturing further than Waikiki, a sailing adventure from Oahu might start with a short cruise to Keehi Lagoon. Downwind from Ala Wai,

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

What is a keelboat?

There is a pretty good chance that the sailboat you have in your mind is a keelboat. Your imagination most likely recalls a schooner, and that most likely is a keelboat. So, What is a Keelboat? A keelboat has a keel, a fixed appendage on the bottom of the hull that provides the sideways resistance needed to counter the force