So you’re thinking about chartering a nice sized cruising cat or maybe you’re even thinking about buying one. Here’s a fun quiz, taken from the pages of the our Cruising Catamarans Made Easy textbook, to see what you know about these beautiful beasts that sail fast and are amazing at an anchorage.
We recently heard from Edward Bucklin Jr who had some wonderful things to say about one of our ASA Certified Sailing Schools – Cruise Abaco…
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The catamaran is rapidly becoming one of the world’s most popular types of cruising sailboats. For the uninitiated, a catamaran is a boat balanced on two hulls, as opposed to the traditional monohull, and its sleek design
Why the rise in popularity of catamaran sailing? There are a number of reasons. They can feel more spacious, and they don’t heel over with the wind as a monohull does. There’s usually a nice netted area between the hulls to relax and sunbathe in. And on certain points of sail they are much faster than a monohull. (The proof of this is taken to its logical extreme in the AC45 racing catamarans of the America’s Cup series.)
They make great boats for chartering and vacationing because of the ample deck space and stability. On any trip down to the Florida Keys, British Virgin Islands, and throughout the Caribbean, you’ll encounter sun-seekers catamaran sailing in just about every marina and bay…and you’ll probably feel a strong temptation to join them!
However, sailing a catamaran is different from a monohull, and requires its own set of skills and knowledge. They handle differently under power and sail–so it’s crucial to be prepared with catamaran sailing lessons.
Enter the ASA 114 Cruising Catamaran Certification.
What prerequisites do I need? Before completing your Cruising Catamaran cert, you’ll need Basic Keelboat (101), Basic Coastal Cruising (103), and Bareboat Cruising (104). This isn’t a beginning course–this is for people with cruising experience looking to take on the challenge of catamaran sailing.
What will I learn? Everything you need to act as skipper and crew of a 30-50 foot multihull sailboat by day in coastal waters. What does that mean? Well, you’ll learn all the parts of the boat and how to use them, you’ll learn the skills to handle the boat at sea, in heavy weather, and under power. You’ll practice docking the cat, recovering crew overboard, anchoring, and more.
Where can I get the certification? All over the place! More than 20 of our accredited sailing schools offer the ASA 114 cert, and they are spread out across the country and even abroad. Click here and scroll down to the bottom of the page for the complete list!
The wide world of catamaran sailing is waiting for you, and with the ASA cat certification, you’ll be cruising with confidence and in style! So give one of our schools a call, and when you’re anchored and relaxing on deck watching a tropical sunset, you’ll be glad you did.
