Instructors Articles

Ever find yourself fiddling interminably with straps and velcro, or tottering around feeling like the Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters 2? These may be signs that your life jacket is bulky, uncomfortable, inefficient, and irritating. The Boat U.S. Foundation is offering a $5,000 prize to the person who can make a significant improvement in life jacket design – and we think

American Sailing Week, ASA’s annual members’ event, took place on the beaches of Clearwater Beach, Florida, September 10-17. Captain Jean K Levine and Captain Jeff Grossman were the event’s gracious hosts. A week-long party of ASA educators and members with all skill levels, the event is always an excellent and fun place to learn. Member Kerrie Lynn Hartt from Montreal

We are currently in the throes of designing the next new ASA textbook–an accompaniment to the ASA 103 Basic Coastal Cruising course. Last week, the team flew out to Bristol, Rhode Island, for a photo shoot with world-renowned sailing photographer Billy Black. Prolific cruising writer Jeremy McGeary took care to coordinate the shoot to match the book’s text. During the first

Emerald Coast Yachts is located in Pensacola Florida, one of the coastal communities closest to the Gulf oil spill. But what started out as a horrible summer turned out to be . . . not so bad. Emerald Coast Yachts’ Peggy Van Sleen wrote to ASA to share the pictures from their recent children’s sailing camp hosted by the Pensacola

On a beautiful freshwater lake in Maine, James Rey has spent the summer trimming the sails of his new O’Day 25. He spends almost every weekend on Lake Sebago, basking in the pleasure of sailing his new boat. Mr. Rey has good reason to celebrate. His new 25-footer was his incentive for beating the prostate cancer he battled last year.

In this guest post, Captain Tony Wall of Biscayne Bay Sailing Academy recounts delivering a 46′ sloop–while managing the effects of a nearby hurricane. As a professional sailing instructor and USCG captain, I was contracted to sea trial a 46′ Bruce Roberts sloop named Harmony. Everything went satisfactorily, the deal went through, and the new owner, Veli-Matti Alho, asked me