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Toxic Sunscreen: A Sailboat Captain’s Experience

By Kim Walther, ASA Instructor Working as a boat captain, I see a huge variety of sunscreen brands. It’s always interesting to check out what my sailing school students or charterers bring with them. I like to read what’s on the front, and then look at the back. It’s absolutely incredible that some brands that we perceive as being very

Our Plastic Problem: A Remarkably Brief Overview

I don’t need to waste a sailor’s time by telling you there’s plastic in the ocean. If you’re out on the water, you’ve seen it by now. Some places are cleaner than others, and in some parts of the world it has reached an extreme that is truly surreal: As we’ve mentioned before, this is not an “ocean problem.” This

Product Review: Gill Marine Gloves

How often do you think about your hands while sailing? Do you consistently wear gloves? Can you remember the first time a line raced through the palm of your hand and left you with a burning sensation that ruined your entire sail? Gill Marine sent us a number of their new gloves to try out. What we found out was

5 Spots To Use Your ASA 101 Certification

Not long ago I watched as a pair of newlyweds hired my 12-year-old to teach them how to sail. We were on vacation and my two boys had been zipping across the horizon for over an hour and as they sailed the Hobie Cat back onto the sand the newly married couple negotiated a chartered cruise right on the spot.

How Big is the Ocean?

The ocean is vital to our planet but just as important, it is where sailors spend most of their time. How can you help?

5 Things to Consider Regarding Weather

Weather can make or break your sailing adventure. Learn how to prepare for different weather scenarios, use the right tools and apps, and sail safely and smartly. These five tips are a must read before you set sail.

Featured Instructor: Captain Amy E. Skillman

Captain Amy E. Skillman of Sailtime Annapolis Sailing Academy Captain Amy Skillman grew up sailing and grew up with four brothers. The experience that she garnered sailing with her adventurous family has prepared her for a life of teaching. Understanding the roles that are played on a boat as well as how personalities develop from those roles has contributed to

Tips From The Text: Tips on Coastal Cruising

Sailing Tips Come From Coastal Cruising Made Easy, the Official Manual for the ASA Basic Coastal Cruising Course. You’re ready to cruise and all that is left is for you to toss the lines and set sail. Take a glance at these tips to help you once you decide to embark on your coastal cruise.

Featured School: Narragansett Sailing School

“We suggest you only need to know five things to make a sailboat go. We can teach you those five things in an hour, and by the afternoon you are sailing the boat around the harbor knowing what you are doing. This doesn’t mean you know how to make it stop, or what the buoys mean, or which way you

Featured Instructor: Captain Jennifer Wirth

Captain Jennifer Wirth of Blue Water Sailing Florida Captain Jennifer Wirth’s bio reads like an extensive sailing log but one thing that catches our eye is this: “She spent the next six years sailing the Caribbean, living on self-caught seafood and fresh island fruit, enjoying the self-reliance and empowerment of “cruising simple.” It is in that description of who she

Women and Boat Ownership

How the Boating Industry Can Grow The Boating Industry is missing out on a massive piece of the economic pie as we speak. Is it Sexism? There has been a gender bias in boating that implies women are mostly there to do galley work or look pretty on the bow. They fail to see that more women are interested in

7 Tips for Night Sailing

Night sailing is a bit of a different animal so we’ve cobbled together seven tips to keep in mind as you sail off into the wild black yonder.

Product Review: Gill Marine Coastal Jacket

Featured Instructor: Captain Laurel Seaborn

Captain Laurel Seaborn of American Sailing Academy Captain Laurel Seaborn has a sailing resume that spans from growing up on a Herreshoff-design ketch to being co-founder and instructor for the Seafaring Education and Maritime Archeological Heritage Program. She holds a 100 ton USCG license, and she has seemingly done every job on boats from top to bottom. Captain Seaborn owned

Spring Safety

As the days get longer and the weather gets nicer, droves of new boaters are flocking to local chandleries to obtain the “required safety essentials” for boating. Many boat stores have handy visual charts showing the minimum legally required safety equipment based on your vessel’s length. However, the Coast Guard’s legal minimum is just that–a minimum–and should be regarded as

Sailing Gear by and for Women

Introducing Sømand, technical sailing apparel designed for women A new sailing apparel brand has arrived that aims to put women at the forefront in an industry that has historically catered to men. Sømand was founded by Bay Area sailors Noelle Brewin and Laura Levy, who set out to challenge the perception of what a sailor should look like and create

Featured Instructor: Captain DJ McCabe

Captain DJ McCabe of U-Sail Sailing School Captain DJ McCabe is not just a sailing instructor she is a sailing school owner. Captain DJ is the owner and operator of U-Sail of Central Florida and is the quintessential sailor. She lives to be out on the water. She has handled every aspect of the sailing experience from racing to maintenance

Diversity in Sailing

The American Sailing Association is helping college sailing organization TIDE: The Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity task force, deliver a message on their campaign to increase diversity in sailing.