This is the ninth year in a row that ASA has sponsored a flotilla in the Pacific Northwest, and these cruises have become very popular. We had 12 boats and 46 sailors on this flotilla, which was completely booked up 6 months in advance. Fully half our skippers were veterans of previous ASA Pacific Northwest flotillas. The boats are provided by San Juan Sailing who hosted this event. SJS is one of the top-rated charter companies in the world, and has provided us with superb boats and great service over the last nine years. Private boats can also join the flotilla.
Every year ASA organizes flotilla cruises around the world. In 2011 alone we’ve been to the Bahamas, Greece, Croatia, and the Pacific Northwest, among other wonderful destinations. Still to come this year are cruises in Southern California, Florida’s Pine Island Sound, and Tahiti. 
Three weeks from today I’ll be touching my toes in the Adriatic, commencing ASA’s first-ever Croatia flotilla!
I wasn’t aboard for this June’s San Juan Islands flotilla, but seeing the photos folks brought home, I wish I had been! The San Juans flotilla this year was unique in that we had a couple of “celebrities” along: Cindy and Lenny Shabes, ASA’s President and Founder/Chairman of the Board couple, as well as Yoh Aoki, who as a young man circumnavigated the world solo at the age of 22 (breaking the world record at the time) in a 21-foot boat he built in his backyard! Now Yoh runs his own 
The confluence of cultures for the San Juan Islands flotilla made for a lively adventure for all, complete with a Japanese-American campfire sing-off and a Japanese leg Sumo wrestling match between Yoh’s wife Misako and our own Cindy Shabes! From the very first night, as flotilla leader Roger Philips describes, the 2010 San Juan Islands flotilla shaped up to be a beautiful, unforgettable experience: 
Our boats found moorings or anchored just off the spit and dinghied to shore to explore. As the sun began to set behind distant Orcas Island, the sky turned all shades of pink, red and orange. Many of our party had barbecued dinner on the beach and were now busily building a bonfire using the plentiful driftwood. The flames leapt up, and we all sat around the fire chatting about the day’s adventures.
Someone started singing, and soon the whole group joined in. We had two crews from Osaka, Japan, in the fleet, so after each American song, the Japanese sailors belted out one of their local favorites. Everyone applauded each others’ musical offerings as the long sunset finally yielded to darkness.
An ASA flotilla is so much more than a gathering of boats sailing the same itinerary at the same time. When Yoh’s engine overheated on the way into anchorage at Sucia Island, Roger and Charles hopped over from another boat, replaced the impeller, and tightened the exhaust hose, fixing the problem for him in less than 30 minutes. A flotilla is a place where there are many helping hands at the ready, and boatloads of unique perspectives share common experiences together. As even this record-breaking solo circumnavigator will attest, there’s something for everyone, no matter how experienced, to discover. 