Home ⁄ Articles

Articles

Best Learn to Sail Book

Sailing Made Easy Second Edition gives new sailors the knowledge, confidence, and practical skills needed...

Protecting What You Love

Protecting What You Love: A Smarter Choice for Sailors explores sun protection that performs on...

The Future of Sailing

The Next Generation at the Helm explores youth sailing certifications, safety, and inspiring the future...

A sailor at sunset in San Francisco

Five Waters, Five Lessons

From Colorado reservoirs to ocean racing, every body of water teaches something different. Here's what...

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

Replacement Logbooks Are Now Easily Available

It has always been possible to obtain a replacement ASA Logbook, but it is now much easier. Have you lost your Logbook? Or is it old, tattered, and stained with sea spray? Maybe it’s still in good shape but have you used up all the Sailing Log pages in the back, filled in with all of your day sails, coastal

Stuff Your Stocking With A Sailing Vacation

I am wearing a sweater indoors, and I have wool socks on. I live in California and I cannot imagine what anyone in the northeast does during the winter. I can still sail if I choose to, and even with my options open, I need a sailing vacation! So, this year I will treat my family to a stocking full

Where Are We Going: Understanding Points of Sail

The direction of the wind dictates the direction a sailboat can sail. Understanding the points of sail is vital to understanding how sailors orient themselves relative to the wind. The Points of Sail describe the range of courses a sailboat can and cannot travel.

Go Sailing in Hawaii

The first time you move across the channel between Maui and Molokai you are introduced to the tradewinds that blow over the West Maui Mountains. The sailboat heels over and you move across the channel with purpose. It’s a wet ride. Most visitors to Hawaii experience a taste of sailing on these waters via a sunset cruise with plenty of

5 Tips For Planning A Sail From Let’s Go Sailing

The small boat sailing book “Let’s Go Sailing” is available from the American Sailing Association. SAILING Magazine says “The book is a sailing primer in all ways, covering all of the basics needed to get sailors of almost any age on the water. Every concept is illustrated in crystal clear detail through extraordinary computer-generated graphics that bring life to the

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

How to Tie 3 Important Sailing Knots

There are as many sailing knots as there are stars in the night sky — or so it seems. But the reality is that most sailors can get along with only knowing a few, as long as they’re the right ones. In this blog I’ll single out three very important sailing knots, explaining what they’re used for and how to

From Landlubber to Old Salt: Beginner Sailing Tips

Learning to sail is easier than you think with a little help from ASA.

Featured School: Go Sail Virgin Islands

It seems like the U.S Virgin Islands always get overlooked by its neighboring cousin the BVI. Why? Getting to the US Virgin Islands is easier and if you factor in flights, ferries, and taxis a trip to the US Virgin Islands is more affordable. Go Sail Virgin Islands is teaching students how to sail in the beautiful sailing grounds of the USVI

Bite Sized Lessons : Apparent Wind

In this lesson we take a look at some sailing terminology used when talking about wind. Learn what an easterly wind is and the difference between onshore and offshore breezes.

6 Sailing Bags You Need On Your Boat

I have to stop complaining about how many shoes my wife has because I probably have that many sailing bags. Yes, I have too many sailing bags and I am proud of that. You always need a good bag to carry your gear to and from your sailboat or to store much-needed equipment on your boat. I tend to like

ASA Board Member Michael Pandzik Dies at 77

ASA Founder and Chairman Lenny Shabes and President Cindy Shabes, with profound sadness and deep regret, want to inform all members of the American Sailing family and the American Sailing Association that a good and dear friend, Board Member, and shareholder of ASA, Retired Naval Captain Michael Pandzik has passed away at age 77 on 7 Nov 2022 in Kansas

The Sailing Terms You Didn’t Know That You Didn’t Know

Is sailing a foreign language to you? Sailors have a set of terms that help communicate instructions to crew and generally describe the operation of the vessel. However, some terms are not always as mainstream for the average sailor. These are a few of the terms that you may not be familiar with. In fact, you may never use these

Bite Sized Lessons : Aids To Navigation

In this bite sized lesson video we take a look at navigation aids. We explain the basic rules and talk about their colors, shapes and numbers.