Yes, your furry first mate is great to have around on a day-sail or cruise – they provide moral support, positive affirmation and usually a bit of comic relief. But ask them to trim the jib or hoist the main and they are useless! However, your four-legged crew can actually help you with your sailing skills… How? You ask. There are no basset hound certified sailing instructors! No Jack Russell has ever called tactics on a Wednesday night race!
Oh lordy – the birds are chirpin’, the snow’s melted and that boat is ready to gallop around for another spring and summer (at least). Here’s a list of some presents to get yourself and your lovely to make it a more pleasant sailing season. Feel free to add to this list of little indulgences.
Here’s the deal: We love to see regular ol’ people discover sailing, then learn to sail through one of our schools and, in the end, continue sailing for a lifetime. Call it corny, but it’s really a gratifying feeling. Sailing is one of those things that just makes life a more enjoyable experience. It can produce unforgettable adventures that can literally change lives so, of course, that story makes us happy. However, another scenario we like just as much is one where a person gets the sailing bug, devotes themselves to obtaining all possible certifications and decides to change course and make sailing their livelihood. Through the years, here at ASA, we’ve seen that tale play out time and time again and it never gets old, but the story of Captain Robert Kupps was particularly fulfilling.
Here is the second installment of our interview with the youngest sailor to sail around the world alone, Laura Dekker. In this part Laura speaks of her undying love for sailing, a fame that won’t go away and a future that involves educating young people, informed by this incredible experience…
In the years between 2008 and 2010 the sailing world and beyond saw a wave of very young sailors embarking upon monstrous undertakings that would give pause to the most seasoned mariners. California sailor Zac Sunderland circled the globe alone in his Islander 36 becoming the first person under 18 to accomplish the journey. His sister Abby attempted to be the youngest unassisted non-stop but dismasted in the Indian Ocean. Months later, Aussie Jessica Watson became the holder of that honor and in August of 2009 British sailor Mike Perham would circle the globe and become the youngest solo round-the-world sailor. All of these young adventurers were between 16 and 17 and their actions stirred enormous controversy, but when in that same year 14-year old Laura Dekker from the Netherlands announced that she planned on sailing around the world alone in her 38’ Jeanneau ketch, Guppy, people lost their minds.
ASA’s founder Lenny Shabes was just elected to be on the board of directors of Sail America, the renowned trade association for the U.S. sailing industry. The BoD is made up of eleven influential stakeholders from all corners of the sailing world including Kimo Worthington of North Sails, Chris Doscher of Beneteau America and other major players from sailing’s prominent companies and organizations.
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When we were considering the next boat to spotlight in the Cruising Boat Spotlight series we thought we should do a Nautor’s Swan because they are so iconic, attractive, well-made and the dream of many a sailor. As we discussed which model should be the choice for the article, we realized that with Swan, it’s not really about a particular model; it’s the fact that it’s a Swan. These boats aren’t like Catalina’s, where you automatically think of the 27, 30 or 42; or Columbia’s, where the 50 or 26 spring to mind. Swans are more like Mercedes Benz. It’s the brand over the model – if you drive a Benz, it’s understood you have at least a certain standard of excellence going on… the same is true of a Swan owner.
Ah yes, the dawn of a new year. The slate is sparkling clean – you can now be the person you always wanted to be. Shake the Etch a Sketch and start anew. With the introduction in place, here are 5 New Years resolutions for the sailing breed. Feel free to add your own in the comments section below.
Every once in a while we spotlight what we call “sailing gizmos” for lack of a better name – innovative interesting little ideas that make our sailing world a little bit better. Today we check out CrewWatcher, a pocket sized alert system that keeps track of the crew and sends out a signal should someone fall overboard.
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We often say that a great charter experience is truly the reward of a superior sailing education and we believe that’s exactly right. There is nothing better than exploring, with complete confidence, some incredible stunning location from the vantage point that only a sailboat can provide.
