American Sailing Certifications
We are an American Sailing–accredited sailing school offering clear, practical instruction built around real experience on the water. Our focus is on developing confident, capable sailors through hands-on learning.
Core curriculum:
ASA 101: BASIC keelboat
Learn the fundamentals of sailing in this focused 2-day course taught aboard Galene, our 36’ training sailboat. Students can arrive the afternoon before for the optional Intro to Sailing session and gain extra practice with knots, terminology, and basic boat handling.
ASA 103: COASTAL CRUISING
This 3-day course aboard Galene, our 36’ training sailboat, builds on your foundational skills and introduces intermediate seamanship, preparing you for confident, independent day sailing on the Bay.
ASA 104 / 114:
bareboat catamaran cruising
Ready for the next step? This 4-day liveaboard course aboard our 58’ catamaran Pisces immerses you in multi-day cruising and real-world coastal skills, preparing you for international bareboat chartering. Students can also opt to earn their ASA 114 Cruising Catamaran certification during the course.
Course Availability & Minimum Enrollment To ensure a realistic and hands-on crew dynamic, all Sail and Surf Adventures courses require a minimum of two students to run. Our system makes it easy to see if a course is already confirmed:
If the date shows "4 spots left": You are the first to claim a spot! The moment a second student registers, we will reach out to officially confirm the course.
If the date shows "3 spots left" or fewer: The minimum enrollment has been met! Your booking is instantly confirmed and the course is guaranteed to run.
What if no one else signs up? If you are the first to register and the course hasn't met the two-student minimum by 14 days prior to departure, we will contact you immediately. You will have the option to roll your reservation to a future date, receive a full refund.
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We pride ourselves on providing the highest quality student experience, with clean, comfortable facilities and an immaculately maintained training vessel that is fun to sail and held to the highest standards of safety.
Our class sizes are intentionally limited to just 2–4 students, ensuring personal attention and abundant time at the helm. It is our mission to foster a supportive learning environment where every student feels confident, prepared, and safe to develop new skills. With more than two decades of experience, owner and lead instructor Clay Dingledine is both professional and personable—and has been recognized by the American Sailing Association as an Outstanding Instructor, an honor awarded to the top 1% of ASA instructors worldwide based solely on student evaluations.
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American Sailing is the worldwide standard in sailing education, giving you credentials recognized by charter companies and sailing programs everywhere. Our courses combine hands-on training with clear instruction, and we prepare you fully for the ASA exam so you earn a certification that proves your skills and supports your next steps on the water.
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It’s an optional small-boat and racing-focused course that isn’t part of our core cruising-based program. Captain Clay is certified to teach it and can offer it by request.
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Sailing is a team effort! We require at least two students to run a course. If you are the first to register and the course hasn't met the two-student minimum by 14 days prior to departure, we will contact you immediately. You will have the option to roll your reservation to a future date, receive a full refund.
“Sailing isn’t about escape—it’s about competence, confidence, and clarity.”
other american sailing course offerings…
ASA 105- coastal navigation
The ASA 105, Coastal Navigation course is a comprehensive online certification program—offered by an ASA-affiliated provider (not through our school)—designed to teach sailors the essential skills for safe navigation on inland and coastal waters in all weather conditions. Spanning approximately 40 to 60 hours with no prerequisites, the curriculum blends traditional and modern methods, allowing students to practice on paper charts while also utilizing OpenCPN electronic navigation software. Key topics include deciphering chart symbols, mastering dead reckoning and fixes, correcting courses for current and leeway, and interpreting tide and current tables. Suitable for beginners and experienced mariners alike, the course ensures graduates can navigate confidently with or without GPS, culminating in an official ASA certification. Learn more
ASA 106 - Advanced Coastal Cruising
Duration: 4 days, liveaboard
Price: $2,500 per person (private cabin)
Couples Rate: $3,300-3,800 per couple (shared cabin)
ASA 106 takes your training beyond bareboat-level skills into true advanced coastal passagemaking. In this course, you’ll learn how to provision and manage a vessel for extended cruising, plan and execute longer routes, and make informed decisions using tides, currents, weather systems, and advanced navigation techniques. Students gain experience sailing after dark, including night navigation, light recognition, watch rotation, and maintaining situational awareness when visibility is limited.
Training also focuses on handling a wider range of weather conditions—reefing strategies, heavy-weather considerations, and maintaining control and comfort underway. You’ll learn how to troubleshoot and manage onboard systems during longer passages, as well as how to respond effectively to emergency situations such as loss of power, steering failure, man overboard recovery, medical issues, and unexpected weather changes.
ASA 106 is ideal for sailors preparing for offshore cruising, passagemaking, or more challenging coastal routes where planning, seamanship, and decision-making are critical. Courses are scheduled by request and may be customized based on seasonal conditions, and individual goals.
asa 118- docking
Full-day private instruction aboard your own vessel — $850
Learn how to dock like a pro—and earn a certification while you’re at it! This no-prerequisite course is designed for sailors of all experience levels who want to gain confidence maneuvering in close quarters. You’ll learn how to approach and depart docks under various wind and current conditions, use spring lines effectively, control speed and position, manage crew communication, and recover from misaligned approaches. By the end, you’ll understand the techniques and judgment needed to execute smooth, safe dockings in a wide range of real-world scenarios—all while earning a nationally recognized ASA docking endorsement.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We look forward to seeing you on the water!