ASA course vs. learning on own

[john745]

I have some LIMITED sailing experience.

I've taken my own small 15' or smaller boats out on lakes 3-4 times on my own and I spent a day sailing with an experienced sailer in the San Francisco bay.
Limited experience. My confidence is perhaps greater than my experience.

I am considering the ASA courses vs. just going out and learning on my own with books and youtube and a week by myself on a rented boat.

Goal is 10 years from now... take the family sailing in the bahamas or cruising further.

I do have a small 15' coronado which I purchased last year and hope to take out when it is warmer.

What do you recommend? I love to learn on my own but my time is limited. Do you recommend the ASA courses? They are kinda expensive.

[garyfdl]

I'd recommend a search for sailing clubs or groups in your area and connect with them. Many offer classes and memberships (if required) are reasonably priced. Yacht Clubs may also be a resource, but many have a exclusivity 'problem' and aren't cheap to join. Nothing wrong with ASA but like you said, they are pricey.

I had limited sailing experience (like you). In the mid-'70's I got married, the wife and I enrolled and took sailing lessons through the local YMCA. We bought a small boat (19' Bristol Corinthian) started to connect with other boat owners (with larger boats ) and gained more experience that way.

[Traveler7]

Hi John,

I learned some basic sailing on a 21 ft Southcoast in the Columbia River and now I am preparing to take the 101 and 103 ASA courses this May. I believe it will be worth it because I learn better when I am shown and told and can ask questions...you may find someone who would volunteer this, but I live a distance from a place to sail so I need a schedule.

I hope to meet other students and sailors through the courses that I can share time and expenses with on practice sails and longer trips. Also, it seems to me that many of the local captains know the instructors so the contacts I make may help me crew on some boats for some passage time.

That's my 2 cents anyway....

Best Wishes!

[Traveler7]

Sorry for the double reply, i am still learning the ropes here...

Hi John,

I learned some basic sailing on a 21 ft Southcoast in the Columbia River and now I am preparing to take the 101 and 103 ASA courses this May. I believe it will be worth it because I learn better when I am shown and told and can ask questions...you may find someone who would volunteer this, but I live a distance from a place to sail so I need a schedule.

I hope to meet other students and sailors through the courses that I can share time and expenses with on practice sails and longer trips. Also, it seems to me that many of the local captains know the instructors so the contacts I make may help me crew on some boats for some passage time.

That's my 2 cents anyway....

Best Wishes!

[leecea]

A couple of things...

a week by myself on a rented boat

I assume you mean a small cruising boat - do you know somewhere that will rent one to you, sailing alone, with no experience? That may not be an option.

Goal is 10 years from now...

Ten years is a long time. You will need some intermediate goals if you hope to accomplish that. Even if you take ASA classes now, what are you going to do between now and 10 years from now?

As to your question about learning, everyone does it differently. ASA classes can accelerate the process and help you with chartering. If you don't take the classes, you'll need a pretty good plan on how to get experience. We crewed with a club for a few years but I'm not sure the charter companies would have let us take their boats out based solely on that. The ASA classes helped.

[clamshack]

Take ASA 101 and then start sailing a 25ft boat for a season or two. Then take ASA 103 and do the same with a 30-32. Take ASA 104 then go charter a 40 ft boat. At this point hopefully the family loves to charter once or twice a year and then you make plans to set off.

Depending on where you live you can join a sailing club, participate in a fractional ownership thing or even buy a boat. Owning a boat is definitely a unique experience, so maybe start that sooner than later.

10 years is 10 years. If you are 20 things are going to be a lot different when you are 30 vs 40 vs 50..... Generally the longer you put it off the less likely it is to happen.

With that said there are tons of exceptions. If you're a long term planner you may end up having a much better experience then some. Those who throw caution to the wind don't always end up in the best spot.

[Don C L]

If 10 years is the timeline you have plenty of time to play with your Coronado for now and take classes when you have the time and money available. All the basics are there and they scale up well. I never took any classes aside from the first few in high school in an El Toro on a lake. The downside from learning entirely on your own is you really have to be sure you will survive the mistakes you're going to make! When you are younger it is easier to pull it off. I probably should have taken a few more lessons I think. Have fun with the little boat and try racing; you'll learn A LOT that way!

[Snore]

Not sure how to word this, so I will be blunt. There are sailors and there are folks who pull strings to make a sailboat go.

To learn how to become a sailor takes a combination of reading quality writings and then applying them. Unfortunately, ASA 101 does not require teaching on that level. Some instructors do, most do not.

The good news is that given the long timeline between now and when you plan on going out, there is time to use the following learning plan:

1. Read link to Gentry Sailing | Theory and Practice. Arvel Gentry applied his day job (designing high performance aircraft) with his passion (sailing) the result was THE BEST information available on how sails work and how to make a boat sail more efficiently.
2. As you learn something from Gentry apply it on your boat. This will allow you to internalize the lessons.
3. Learn the correct name for everything on the boat. If you start calling a "jib sheet" a "jib rope" you will not be able to communicate clearly with sailors and will sound foolish.
4. After a year or so, you will learn more on your own- than in an ASA101 class.
5. At some point, you should take ASA 101, if nothing else for the insurance discount. But if you do as I recommend, you could be a better sailor than some instructors!
6. At some point, you will find the sailboat annoying. Before you spend money on a newer 'faster' boat, replace the sails. But then again, if you have been studying Gentry, you will see how the sails have become so stretched, they cannot be made into efficient wings.

Once you have a basic level of competence in Gentry's writings, try to join a sailing club or crew a race. Yes racing is intense, but you will lean a lot about sail trim and as well as the good/bad of crew management on a racing boat.

[thomm225]

Your 15' Coranado is all you need to learn on.

Just sail it as much as you can in all reasonable conditions.

It's light enough to react quickly to changes you make in the sails, weight distribution, etc. and to the conditions.

If you are still interested in sailing / cruising in a few years, you may need something to do overnights and sailing vacations on so you can learn anchoring, some navigation, and all the other things associated with cruising or in other words being stuck on a sailboat.

If possible, try and get some sailing time on the ocean to see how well you deal with seasickness. You may not have any problem at all or you may need to figure out how to deal with it.

Racing as Skipper can make you really good at sailing, but it isn't needed to be a cruiser. In racing, you might tack and gybe 30 times in an hour whereas as a cruiser you might be on the same tack for days.

Add reading about sailing and racing to the above and you'll be set.

I learned all my boating/sailing on my own. Some kid I knew at age 15 taught me the three R's for coming in with channel markers, the rest I learned by doing on my own boats from age 16 on .......

[chubby]

Originally Posted by john745

I have some LIMITED sailing experience.

I've taken my own small 15' or smaller boats out on lakes 3-4 times on my own and I spent a day sailing with an experienced sailer in the San Francisco bay.
Limited experience. My confidence is perhaps greater than my experience.

I am considering the ASA courses vs. just going out and learning on my own with books and youtube and a week by myself on a rented boat.

Goal is 10 years from now... take the family sailing in the bahamas or cruising further.

I do have a small 15' coronado which I purchased last year and hope to take out when it is warmer.

What do you recommend? I love to learn on my own but my time is limited. Do you recommend the ASA courses? They are kinda expensive.

the time spent learning will be the same..
you'll still need to crack open a book and study.

if you have the confidence.. maybe explore volunteering on deliveries.. you'll learn and gain a hellava lot a confidence.


either way the homework should be done before stepping on board

...


i learned on my own.. sailing my own vessel from western caribbean back to bahamas..
but i'll probably do one of those accelerated offshore skipper courses pretty soon(RYA zero to hero course)... primarily to give myself more options (in terms of chartering if i go that direction) and also to simply learn. (there are so many things..i simply don't know what i dont know)

[Sailor Sailor]

Originally Posted by john745

...Goal is 10 years from now... take the family sailing in the bahamas or cruising further...
What do you recommend? I love to learn on my own but my time is limited. Do you recommend the ASA courses? They are kinda expensive.

First, I want to commend you on having goals and a plan for your leisure activities. All too many people aimlessly pursue various activities in their free time for enjoyment, without goals or plans. They should be punished for their lackadaisical approach to life.

Second, as your wife and family are included in your 10-year plan, you need to test them to make sure that they are all onboard (no pun intended). Take them to the next state fair or nearest amusement park. Encourage them to eat several funnel cakes, then ride the roller coaster three times in a row, and next, the tilt-a-wheel three times in a row, all at your expense. Observe them closely to determine if they are vomiting or green in the gills (again, no pun intended). If they can stand upright, they can be included in your plans. If not, find another family.

Third, determine your suitability as a potential student for a sailing school. Read War and Peace straight through, without any breaks for food or sleep. Then sit in a rowboat with three of your companions, those who tend toward the dorkier side of life. Tear up $100 bills while listening to one of them explain how to make toast, fold laundry, or load the dishwasher properly. Pick the most pretentious and least qualified person to give these lectures.

If you can complete all these tasks successfully, you are a perfect candidate for a sailing school as part of your 10-year plan. Congratulations, Captain!

[kayakerChuck]

Snore pretty much wrote my reply for me.

ASA classes pack a bunch of material into a short time. IF your time is limited, AND you learn well from others, I suggest ASA 101 relatively soon. Read the book before class, and show up with questions. If at all possible, chat with the instructor first to see if you are compatible.

If the class experience is good, maybe take 103 later. As you sail, keep a notebook of weird observations & questions. Ask away here! If any questions are left, bring them with you if you take 103. (If the forums didn't have an answer, the instructor probably won't either, but it should be a good discussion.)

A small sailboat like a Coronado 15 is perfect of learning and developing sailing skills. Decent sails are needed. Small, light boats respond quickly. Bigger boats respond like they weigh several tons.

(full disclosure- I'm an ASA instructor)

[garyfdl]

Originally Posted by Snore

1. Read link to Gentry Sailing | Theory and Practice.

Or... you can get a copy of "Sailing for Dummies" and read that

[Mike OReilly]

It's not an either/or situation. Do both, unless time/money precludes it.

Personally, I think the best teacher is doing it yourself, but sometimes there are unknown-unknowns for a novice. That's where good instruction can make a difference.

When my partner and I got into this life I did some big water sailing, then we first took an intro cruising course (Canadian version of ASA I guess... but it sounds like it is a lot more). It was a week liveaboard cruising course. We learned a lot.

Then we went off sailing our own boats for a while. She then signed up for an intermediate course. More sailing, and then we both did advanced cruising courses, but we did them on our own. (I skipped the intermediate ... I just challenged the exam).

Point is, if you can do both, do so. It's worthwhile.

I will add that sailing is not hard. It's like chess; you can learn to play in a relatively short time. It takes a lifetime to become a master (if even then), but you can learn the game and enjoy it fairly easily. The same goes for sailing.

[garyfdl]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I will add that sailing is not hard. It's like chess; you can learn to play in a relatively short time. It takes a lifetime to become a master (if even then), but you can learn the game and enjoy it fairly easily. The same goes for sailing.