Freedom to be Certified

American Sailing Courses

ASA Courses for Certification

Spinnaker Crew Sailing is proud to be an American Sailing Association accredited school. This allows students to feel confident that the American Sailing Association stands behind the education that he/she will receive.

Becoming ASA certified demonstrates your ability to act as skipper or crew of a sailboat to increasing levels of sailing proficiency that is recognized world-wide. Becoming ASA Certified is not only validation of your hard work and sailing skills; it also boosts your confidence on board and the confidence of everyone who sails with you. ASA Certification affords sailors recognized confirmation of their individual sailing ability by other ASA certified sailors, instructors and sailing entities around the world.

When you enroll in your first ASA course, you will receive an ASA logbook to record your accomplishments, ASA credentials and your sailing experiences. The logbook is an essential tool that should be used to record all of your sailing experiences as either skipper or crew. This becomes the basis for your sailing resume by building credibility and documenting your experience.

Beginner Courses

  • In this introductory course, upon completion of this course the student will be able to skipper a sloop-rigged keelboat of approximately 20 to 27 feet in length by day in light to moderate winds (up to 15 knots) and sea conditions. Knowledge of basic sailing terminology, parts and functions, helm commands, basic sail trim, points of sail, buoyage, seamanship and safety including basic navigation rules to avoid collisions and hazards will be taught. Auxiliary power operation is not required.

    Taught over 16 hours, the student will have the experience necessary to charter a 20-27 foot sailboat on his/her own for a day sail.

    There are no prerequisites for this course.

  • In this course, the student will be able to skipper and crew aboard a sloop-rigged keelboat of approximately 20 to 30 feet in length by day in winds up to 20 knots. Depart, sail, and return with control demonstrating teamwork.

    Taught over 16 hours, the student will have the experience necessary to charter a 20-27 foot sailboat on his/her own for a day sail.

    ASA 101 is a prerequisite

  • Upon completion of this course, students will be able to skipper a sloop-rigged auxiliary powered (inboard or outboard engine) keelboat of approximately 25 to 35 feet length by day in moderate winds (up to 20 knots) and sea conditions. Knowledge of cruising sailboat terminology, basic boat systems, auxiliary engine operation, docking procedures, intermediate sail trim, navigation rules, basic coastal navigation, anchoring, weather interpretation, safety and seamanship will be taught.

    The class is taught over 16 hours and will give students the experience necessary to charter a sailboat up to 35 feet on his or her own for a day / night sail.

    The prerequisite for this course is the ASA 101, Basic Keelboat Sailing.

  • We are proud to offer a combined ASA 101, ASA 102 and ASA 103 combination course over an intensive 4-day program that introduces participants to sailing. This combination course is ideal for those who are looking to sail on larger keelboats as their primary goal.

    The first part of the course (i.e., Basic Keelboat Sailing) will focus on the sailing fundamentals in order to build a solid foundation in terminology, points of sail, sail trim, safety, and seamanship.

    The Basic Coastal Cruising curriculum and will refine their newly acquired know-how while expanding on and improving these skills on areas like maneuvering, reefing, anchoring, docking, and heaving-to.

    The class is taught over 24 hours and will give students the experience necessary to charter a sailboat up to 35 feet on his or her own for a coastal day sail.

    Although there are no prerequisites for this course, ideally students will have some knowledge or sailing experience as this is an accelerated course.

  • We are proud to offer a combined ASA 101, ASA 102 and ASA 103 combination course over an intensive 4-day program that introduces participants to sailing. This combination course is ideal for those who are looking to sail on larger keelboats as their primary goal.

    The first part of the course (i.e., Basic Keelboat Sailing) will focus on the sailing fundamentals in order to build a solid foundation in terminology, points of sail, sail trim, safety, and seamanship.

    In the Keelboat 2 portion of the course, the student will gain additional first hand experience with sail trim, sail controls, boat handling, and sail trim for upwind and downwind sailing.

    And the third component, (i.e., Basic Coastal Cruising), the curriculum will build and refine their newly acquired know-how while expanding on and improving these skills on areas like maneuvering, reefing, anchoring, docking, and heaving-to.

    The class is taught over 30 hours and will give students the experience necessary to charter a sailboat up to 35 feet on his or her own for a coastal day sail.

    Although there are no prerequisites for this course, ideally students will have some knowledge or sailing experience as this is an accelerated course.

Intermediate Courses

  • Upon completion of this course, students will be able to skipper a sloop-rigged, auxiliary powered keelboat of approximately 30 to 45 feet in length during a multi-day cruise upon inland or coastal waters in moderate to heavy winds (up to 30 knots) and sea conditions. Knowledge of provisioning, galley operations, boat systems, auxiliary engine operation, routine maintenance procedures, advanced sail trim, coastal navigation including basic chart plotting and GPS operation, multiple-anchor mooring, docking, health & safety, emergency operations, weather interpretation, and dinghy/tender operation will be taught.

    The class is taught over 16 hours and will give students the experience necessary to charter a sailboat up to 45 feet on his or her own for an extended multi-day cruise. This class is a must for those interested in either buying their own boat or wanting to charter a boat for a vacation in a warm destination. In either of those cases, this course allows you to ability to have the know how on how to manage the operations and systems onboard a boat of this size.

    The prerequisite for this course is the ASA 103, Basic Coastal Cruising.

  • We are proud to offer a combined ASA 103 and ASA 104 combination course over an intensive 4-day program that prepares the sailor to act as skipper or crew of a 30 - 45 foot sailboat sailing by day in coastal waters upon conclusion of this course.

    The first part of the course will focus on the cruising sailboat, auxiliary engine operation, docking procedures, intermediate sail trim, and navigation rules. The bulk of the course focuses on provisioning, sailboat systems, coastal navigation, anchoring and cruise planning.

    The class is taught over 32 hours and will give students the experience necessary to charter a sailboat up to 35 feet on his or her own for a day / night sail.

    The prerequisite for this course is the ASA 101, Basic Keelboat Sailing and students ideally will have sailing experience as this is an accelerated course.

  • Upon completion of this course, students will be able to apply the navigational theory and practices for safe navigation of a sailing vessel in coastal and inland waters. Topics in this class include using tide and current tables, determining courses and bearings, plotting a dead reckoning position on a chart, calculating the effect of current and leeway, and charting position from terrestrial objects.

    The class is taught over 16 hours and will give students the experience necessary to chart a course of at least 20 miles and three course changes.

    There are no prerequisites for this course.

    This course may be taken on-line or in-person. Please contact Spinnaker Crew Sailing to learn more about current available options.

  • We are proud to offer a combined ASA 104 and ASA 105 combination course over an intensive 4-day program that will prepare the student to bareboat charter a sailboat. This combination course is ideal for those who are looking to charter a vessel in the USVI or BVI, Croatia, Greece, Bahamas, etc.

    The first part of the course will focus on provisioning, sailboat systems, coastal navigation, anchoring and cruise planning. The second part of the course will focus on the navigational theory and practices for safe navigation of a sailing vessel.

    The class is taught over 32 hours and will give students the experience necessary to charter a sailboat up to 45 feet on his or her own for an extended multi-day cruise and will give students the experience necessary to chart a navigational course of at least 20 miles and three course changes.

    The prerequisite for this course is the ASA 103, Basic Coastal Cruising.

Advanced Courses

  • Upon completion of this course, students will be able to safely act as skipper and crew of a sailing vessel about 30 to 50 feet in length in coastal and inland waters, in any conditions. Topics covered in this class include understanding the relationship between true/apparent wind with proper sail shapes and sail interactions, understanding and predicting marine weather, demonstrating proper seamanship in different situations, preparing for heavy weather, handling emergencies, responsibilities for being a skipper, and boat handling under sail including night sailing.

    The class is taught over 16 hours and will give students the confidence to plan, chart and sail an extended coastal cruise over an extended period of time in various conditions on sailboat up to 50 feet. This course builds upon and culminates the competencies in all knowledge and skills from the previous ASA coastal courses taken.

    The prerequisites for this course are the ASA 101, Basic Keelboat Sailing; ASA 103, Basic Coastal Cruising; ASA 104 Bareboat Cruising; and ASA 105 Coastal Navigation courses.

  • We are proud to offer a combined ASA 105 and ASA 106 combination course over an intensive 4-day program that prepares the sailor to safely act as skipper and crew of a sailing vessel about 30 to 50 feet in length in coastal and inland waters, in any condition. The first part of the course will focus on navigational theory, practical coastal navigation, and determining the DR route for the ASA 106 portion. After completing the basics on navigation, the students will then head out on an extended coastal sail (including overnight sailing) and learn new concepts as well as manage the extended sail and put into practice advanced sailing techniques and skills.

    The class is taught over 4 days and will give students the knowledge necessary for coastal navigation as well as the confidence to plan, chart and sail an extended coastal cruise over an extended period of time in various conditions on sailboat up to 50 feet.

    The prerequisites for this course are the ASA 101, Basic Keelboat Sailing; ASA 103, Basic Coastal Cruising; and ASA 104 Bareboat Cruising. This is an accelerated course, so students should have the practical skills and knowledge associated with past courses to ensure that one gets the most of the learning environment.

  • In this course, students will be able to skipper a sailing vessel on extended offshore passages requiring celestial navigation. Knowledge of long-term passage planning, offshore vessel selection, sail repair, offshore first aid, watch-keeping, emergency procedures, abandon ship protocols, safety and seamanship.

    The class is taught over 4+ days and will give students the confidence to act as skipper and crew on an offshore passage of no less than 72 hours and 100nm without touching land. The student will chart and sail an extended cruise in various conditions on a sailboat up to 50 feet. This course builds upon and culminates the competencies in all knowledge and skills from the previous ASA courses taken.

    The prerequisites for this course are the ASA 101 Basic Keelboat Sailing, ASA 103 Basic Coastal Cruising, ASA 104 Bareboat Cruising, ASA 105 Coastal Navigation, ASA 106 Advanced Coastal Cruising and ASA 107 Celestial Navigation courses. Students must be able to to demonstrate competencies in all knowledge and skills elements of those standards. Note: It is possible to fulfill the prerequisites with either ASA 107, Celestial Navigation or the ASA 117, Basic Celestial Endorsement.

Other Courses

  • In this course, students will be able to improve and/or refresh your sailing skills and knowledge. Students decide on goals prior to the lessons, seminars, or webinars. In classroom situations or on the water training, Instructors may provide students with a written personalized recommended plan and/or curriculum after the session or class is completed. The 111 standard may be taken multiple times, for multiple subjects. The ASA 111 certification is intended to be a permanent addition to your ASA student or instructor record.

    This course is designed by YOU. Related special topics and deep dives into content that was learned in prior ASA courses (for example, navigation, sail theory, on-water practice, sailboat systems). This is a custom course that will allow you to gain the extra skills and added knowledge that you are looking for… and allowing you to document your new level of achievement in your logbook

    There are no prerequisites for this course besides being an ASA member. Contact us to discuss and outline a course that meets your needs.

  • In this course, students will be able to apply basic celestial navigation theory and practice to determine latitude and longitude at sea using a sextant and a Nautical Almanac. Specifically, the student will convert standard time and zone time, determine times of sunrise/sunset, learn how to use a sextant, obtain latitude/longitudes using altitudes of the sun and Polaris, and translate all of the above into a position on a chart.

    The class is taught over 2 days and will give students the knowledge necessary to navigate at night via for celestial navigation

    There are no prerequisites for this course. This course satisfies the pre-requisite for the ASA 108, Offshore Passage Making course to allow the sailor to skipper a sailing vessel on an extended offshore passage and requires celestial navigation skills.

    This course may be taken on-line or in-person. Please contact Spinnaker Crew Sailing to learn more about current available options.

  • In this course, students will be able to safely and efficiently dock an auxiliary powered (single inboard or outboard engine) sailboat. Knowledge of basic auxiliary power theory, engine and steering controls, proper use of dock lines, crew communication and safety will be taught. This is the perfect course for students looking for additional practice and skills to address. Although docking is covered in other ASA courses that Spinnaker Crew Sailing offers, students continue to want more time to practice. This course satisfies that need where the entire focus is managing docking.

    The class is taught in over 4 hours and will give both theoretical but most importantly practical experience in docking situations to continue to build comfort and confidence in docking.

    There are no prerequisites for this course.

  • Spinnaker Crew Sailing is proud to take part in the ASA’s Veteran’s Program to help introduce veterans into sailing. Being a veteran owned company, we understand and recognize the sacrifices made and the commitment to serving your country. We invite the men and women who have served or who are serving in our country’s armed forces to sign up for the ASA 101 Basic Keelboat Sailing Course. This course is the first step on your sailing journey and will teach you the fundamentals of sailing as well as the other required skills to take the helm.

    As a token of our appreciation we will provide veterans, active military personnel, and reservists a discount of 10% off the course. It is the Spinnaker Crew Sailing’s and ASA’s way of saying thank you and show our appreciation!