American Sailing Association
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| Website | http://www.asa.com/ |
The American Sailing Association promotes recreational sailing in the United States of America by administering a system of sailing qualifications. The ASA is an association of sailors, professional sailing instructors, sailing schools and charter companies. The ASA's education system consists of certification standards for students and instructors.
Sailing instruction
The ASA established the first national standards for keelboat sailing instruction in the United States, when it created its certification program in 1983. The ASA educational system was originally based on the Canadian Yachting Association's (CYA) "Learn to Cruise" program and was licensed by the ASA for use in the U.S. All ASA standards have a written exam that tests the student at the appropriate level. All standards, except the two navigation levels, require a practical on-the-water checkout as well.
The American Sailing Association has over 300 affiliated sailing schools in the U.S. and some more overseas.
The ASA has published three sailing instruction books to accompany its certification courses: "Sailing Made Easy" (for ASA 101 Basic Keelboat Sailing), "Coastal Cruising Made Easy" (for ASA 103 Basic Coastal Cruising) and "Bareboat Cruising Made Easy" (for ASA 104 Bareboat Cruising). It has also published several other books to accompany it's courses in the past.
Certification standards
Sail Training Courses
- ASA 101: Basic Keelboat Sailing
- ASA 103: Basic Coastal Cruising
- ASA 104: Bareboat Cruising
- ASA 105: Coastal Navigation
- ASA 106: Advanced Coastal Cruising
- ASA 107: Celestial Navigation
- ASA 108: Offshore Passagemaking
- ASA 114: Cruising Catamaran
Endorsement Courses
- ASA 117: Basic Celestial Endorsement
- ASA 118: Docking Endorsement
- ASA 119: Weather Endorsement
- ASA 120: Radar Endorsement
Online eCourses
- Your First Sail
Flotillas
The ASA sponsors sailing flotillas around the world. Frequent destinations include the Caribbean, Greece, Croatia, the San Juan Islands, and Tahiti.