ASA 101,103,104 - california coast or gulf of mexico

[john745]

I would like my wife and myself to take the ASA 101,103,104 week long course. I'm trying to "slowly boil" my wife into sailing. The most convenient courses are in California (my mom can watch the kids there) whereas I feel taking a course in say Corpus Christi or somewhere off the gulf of Mexico would be better for a newbie and not scare them away (my wife) with rough waves... cold water...

My wife is a tough cookie who likes to be outside in the hot sun gardening and digging up the earth but I am concerned bringing on too much too fast...

What is the consensus about learning to sail off the California coast for someone who really hasn't even been in a sailboat before...

[Fullbore]

I don’t know about California, but I took ASA lessons through 104 in Corpus. Took lessons from Chris Lower at “Learn to Sail” - and highly recommend it. It was bay sail learning, but gulf is right there...

[wholybee]

California is a beautiful place to learn to sail. What parts are you considering, it is a big state. San Francisco is a large protected bay with a several very good schools, and really good and consistent conditions. There are also good sailing destinations within the bay that are fun to explore.

[dannc]

If you are willing to fly, we have taken our classes at https://myrtlebeachsailingschool.com...ailing-school/ and Jason is very understanding about not pushing things that would put off anyone, including the wife, from sailing.

We just took our 104 class but we did not get the sailing in that was needed/required/wanted due to bad weather so we will have to go back. Not a problem with us, but if getting to a school is time consuming, and/or expensive, weather delays should be considered.

My wife VERY MUCH likes sailing and wants to go but we are also careful to not push things. She does not want to be puking over the side, though that has happened, so if it is not going to be fun, we do not go.

There is a pressure to Get The Class Done which we have avoided since we can easily go back. We charter boats from the school and there has been many a scheduled sailing day we did not use because the weather was not good. It is supposed to be fun.

Balancing the need to get the class done, going sailing after the classes are complete, with jobs, weather and family is a challenge. We just look at taking the classes, much less finishing, and charting as a long term commitment. It is NOT a ticket punching exercise for us, so if we can't finish a class, or go sailing as scheduled, so be it.

If the wife is not on board with going sailing, taking it slow and easy would be my advice. Make it as fun as you can.

But be honest, taking the classes is a LOT of work unless the school is just passing out certificates. Your wife should know this and you should get the books for the classes and start studying them before the class starts. And learn the knots as soon as possible. You can do this in the class, we did, but it took effort and working all day. We would get up in the morning, eat breakfast, get ready to go sailing, and then start studying the book and knots. After class, we would shower, go eat, and start studying the book and knots before going to sleep. It was fun and rewarding but not a relaxing vacation. Also be honest that getting the boat in/out of the slip can be stressful for some.

Later,
Dan

[desertsailor]

Many years ago I took the ASA 101 course near Sarasota Fl, and a combined 103-104 course in San Diego, from Seaforth Boat Rentals. This time of year is hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico, so a close eye on the weather is required, as in most sailboat planning. San Diego Bay generally has pleasant sailing weather without extreme currents. The 103-104 course that I took included an overnight stay at Catalina Island. Unexpected system malfunctions turned the class into a better learning experience than expected.

[john745]

Originally Posted by wholybee

California is a beautiful place to learn to sail. What parts are you considering, it is a big state. San Francisco is a large protected bay with a several very good schools, and really good and consistent conditions. There are also good sailing destinations within the bay that are fun to explore.

Thank you. Yes, we will be in the Sacramento area so if we get something in the Bay area that would be good... Not that we will commute but it's somewhat close. I was also looking at the Monterey area.

[john745]

Dan, thanks for your response. I tend to rush everything so it's a good reminder to slow down.

[john745]

Originally Posted by desertsailor

Many years ago I took the ASA 101 course near Sarasota Fl, and a combined 103-104 course in San Diego, from Seaforth Boat Rentals. This time of year is hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico, so a close eye on the weather is required, as in most sailboat planning. San Diego Bay generally has pleasant sailing weather without extreme currents. The 103-104 course that I took included an overnight stay at Catalina Island. Unexpected system malfunctions turned the class into a better learning experience than expected.

Catalina island sounds like a treat.

[john745]

Originally Posted by Fullbore

I don’t know about California, but I took ASA lessons through 104 in Corpus. Took lessons from Chris Lower at “Learn to Sail” - and highly recommend it. It was bay sail learning, but gulf is right there...

Good to know. Yeah, that's the program I was looking at.

[Scott bouchie]

I did those asa classes through west coast multi hulls in San Diego. Good experience!

[Letterkenny]

Harbor Islands sailboats in San Diego is a good place to go. They have longer trips out there to get more trainings done at once and can’t really beat it here.

[john745]

Does one need to take ASA 101,103,104 to rent a day cruiser or do most places accept someone with just 101?

I don't have much sailing experience but I did have a catamaran when I was in high school and was able to take it out and sail around the lake without much help.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by john745

Does one need to take ASA 101,103,104 to rent a day cruiser or do most places accept someone with just 101?

I don't have much sailing experience but I did have a catamaran when I was in high school and was able to take it out and sail around the lake without much help.

It is going to depend on the charter company, I suspect the size of the boat, experience, and the charter company's policy.

Where we charter, we had to have ASA 101/103 for day sails. If we want to go out overnight we needed ASA 104. Having said that, I think if we had wanted to anchor out nearby, we would have been allowed to do so but not take the boat a day away with just ASA 101/103. The charter company is the ASA instructor so he knows us and our skills, or lack there of, as the case may be.

Has your wife ever been sailing?

If not, why not hire a cruise for a day so she can see what sailing is like? This will with none of the pressure to have to take and pass a class. Have the hired captain due the work and let her get a feel for just being on the boat.

I would like my wife and myself to take the ASA 101,103,104 week long course. I'm trying to "slowly boil" my wife into sailing.

Our ASA 101/103 classes was six days. A day or two more would have been better for us but harder to schedule. ASA 104 is four days which seems about right for us. ASA 104 was much easier than ASA 101/103. There was just less to learn and we had a bit more time. ASA 101/103 was three days per class where as ASA 104 is four with information overlap with ASA 101/103.

So for ASA 101, 103, and 104 it is 10 days, and one or two extra days for 101/103 would have been nice but one does have to balance budget and time. It worked for us but it was work.

Too many times, cruising/sailing is the guy's dream and not the woman's. Things go badly relationship wise because the guy pushes the woman into something she does not want to do. I would suggest slowly getting her to know sailing before jumping into the classes if she does not really want or know anything about sailing.

Later,
Dan

[john745]

Yes,
All excellent advice.
We will be on the California coast next month and I've got plenty of time to charter something.
Is it best to look on this forum or Google charter services?
I imagine most everyone on this website is already sailing independently so not much in terms of hiring out.

[jeepbluetj]

Took 103? 104? dunno... 25+ years ago at Santa Barbara Sailing Center. Part of the course is a trip to the channel islands, with work on anchoring.

Nice thing about that would be you'd be in Santa Barbara. And wives seem to like that quite a bit. Wallets don't.