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We’re excited to announce that ASA is embarking on the production of a series of high-definition instructional videos, drawing from our new Sailing Made Easy textbook. J-Boats has come aboard as our official sponsor, and the videos will be feature the sleek J-Boat owned by ASA’s founder and chairman, Lenny Shabes, and his wife, Cindy (ASA’s President). The couple recently

There’s something about the Fourth of July weekend that invites us to abandon our big boats and splash around in little ones. Maybe because by the Fourth of July, it’s so hot most places that you want to be able to capsize on purpose. Or because you can pull small boats up on a beach and have a beer and

No time are we freer than when riding the wind, right? Sailing is the perfect way to celebrate Independence Day, and I’m sure many of you are already planning to do just that. It’s the first reliably warm weekend in many parts of the country, and the weather’s bound to be great. Break out the swimsuits, bring along the brats,

I’m compelled to share this heartwarming guest post by Anne Fulton-Cavett, about her baptism by the sea with Sunshine Coast Adventures in the Florida Keys: I heard it repeatedly for days leading up to my departure; “I never knew that you wanted to learn how to sail!?” “I didn’t either,” was my response. After a couple of more-grueling-than-usual months at

What the heck is she so excited about? This girl is ready to return to the Adriatic for ASA’s Croatia flotilla in September! Grab your Mediterranean scarves, and sign up now–there are only a couple of boats left and registry will be closing in July. If you are traveling solo, please inquire about individual spaces, because we do have room.

“Bad LA traffic” is a stereotype that holds true even on the water. As a newcomer to Marina del Rey, I’ve been shocked at the throngs of boats that squeeze their way out of the jetties like a dense pack of bicyclists. It’s so crowded they’ve even got a traffic separation scheme inside the breakwall: a large middle lane for

I got out on the water this past weekend for the first time since Velella contracted “the black lung” over a month ago. The diesel doctors had all but given up on her, but we were obviously far from it. Prescott, my mate, dismantled the motor, bolt by line by bolt, and labeled each meticulously, while I was wrapped up

(Note for RSS feed subscribers: The blog’s feedburner has a 24-hour delay, so you may be receiving this post on Saturday; please follow our Twitter stream @__ASA__ for up-to-the-minute information on Abby Sunderland) The world was washed with relief this morning when Australian Qantas flight raised Abby Sunderland on the VHF and snapped a picture of her in one piece

(Note for RSS feed subscribers: The blog’s feedburner has a 24-hour delay, so you may be receiving this post on Friday; please see more current posts and our Twitter stream @__ASA__ for up-to-the-minute information on Abby Sunderland) Much of the media has picked up 16-year-old solo circumnavigator Abby Sunderland’s story since she activated emergency distress signals in the middle of