Okay, you’ve checked out of 101, 103 & 104 and the sailing fever is still burning strong. You need to either check into a hospital or buy your first boat – you choose the latter. But what kind should you get? The magazines and websites have you drooling over boats that have tempted you with their sex appeal or indestructible capabilities and you are leaning in every direction.
The 2016 ASA Flotilla in Croatia was organized by Sea Safaris Sailing School in Chicago with Capt. Jean De Keyser and his wife, “Admiral” Mila, as the experienced flotilla tour guides.
Kim Walther started her sailing life as just a little bean and has continued throughout her entire life, so it’s no surprise that she has and still does make her living on the water, tacking and jibing nearly every day. She began as a toddler sailing the Bahamas with her parents and never stopped. She sailed in high school, was on the team in college and during that time achieved a 100-ton Captain’s license.
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Oh Yes. The snow is in our proverbial wake and now it’s time to get at that pre-launch spring checklist. We’ve highlighted seven big ones that should be considered. Don’t think of it as work! It’s caring for a lovely old friend. Do it right and have a great spring and summer season of sailing!
Once you get through the ASA 101 course and are beginning to experience sailing in a more second nature sort of way, you may want to challenge yourself to a sailboat race. Racing is a great way to accelerate the learning curve. It mandates all of the lessons into a short amount of time, with the power of consequence as a motivating factor. On a normal round the buoy race sailors are forced to make sail changes, tack, assess the conditions and maximize performance every step of the way. Some don’t care for the pressure it can bring about, but a few sailboat races is great for learning the ropes quickly. Here are eight tips for the first time sailboat racer that will make the challenge a bit more manageable and a little less daunting:
Looking for some new recipes that you can actually make in your boat’s galley? Good food, but not gourmet? Ingredients you can actually find and store on your boat? Recipes that don’t require a bunch of electric appliances?
The Boat Galley Cookbook has the answers! We tapped one of the authors, Carolyn Shearlock, and said, “Carolyn! Kick us down a little boat-cooking advice!” Here is what she provided: Continue reading
Bob Diamond has been teaching beginning-sailors the ropes for a good long time and has been an instructor at Spinnaker Sailing in Redwood City, California since 1984. Although he is happy to be recognized as one of ASA’s Outstanding Instructors, it’s not necessarily a new feeling – he’s actually been singled out for the honor seven other times through the years.
Chet Shubert was waiting for the ferry to Alcatraz in San Fransisco one afternoon and was entranced by all the sailboats darting around in the crisp winds the bay so often produces. The good news was he was going to Alcatraz just as a tourist, the other good news was his life was changed from that moment on… for the better.
That week Shubert joined Olympic Circle Sailing Club, and started his quest to be one of those same lucky sailors, out in the bay on a sunny and breezy afternoon. In no time he would gain his 101 and 103 certifications and soon found himself blazing around the bay on the club’s the club’s J 24s. He later earned his 104 certification at Modern Sailing School & Club in Sausalito and now sailing was officially in his blood… and on his resume.
