Our boat for ASA 101, a Merit 25’ named “Mr. Miyagi”

I already have too many hobbies, so it would be ridiculous to take up something as time-intensive as learning to sail——That’s what I said to myself when the thought of learning to sail first crossed my mind. In recent years I had developed an interest in sailing, through meeting and joining friends on several sailing/cruising trips in the Mediterranean. As ultra-exclusive as you might think sailing in the Mediterranean sounds, it’s surprisingly accessible and affordable to do (that is if you have someone with the knowledge and experience necessary to charter and operate the boat, and then you bring along a few friends to split up the costs). Naturally, I was interested in learning about becoming certified myself to captain or “skipper” my own yacht charter and plan my own sailing adventures… but it seemed like a lot to take on when I already have so many hobbies, and so little time for them all (it’s been months since I’ve surfed, and years since I’ve ridden my dirt bike or used my scuba diving equipment).

Fast forward to 2020. Travel is limited, and we’re all staying home. My daily activities consist of long walks around the neighborhood, binge watching Netflix, and assembling puzzles. For the first time ever, I find myself with more time on my hands than activities I can fill it with. I have a sort of philosophy “If you’re bored, learn something new”. By the end of 2020, I was very bored and eager for new experiences— it was the the perfect time to reconsider the idea of learning to sail.

I Googled sailing schools in the Los Angeles area, and found a school/yacht chartering company with good customer reviews, Blue Pacific Yachting. The beginning sailing class is called ASA 101, and consists of two 8-hour days of classroom learning and hands on sailing on a small 25-foot sailboat, after which you get certification through the American Sailing Association. Blue Pacific offered a combo class of both ASA 101 and 103 for a slightly discounted but still hefty price of $950. The cost of sailing classes was another thing that deterred me in the past, but post 2020 I decided that the price was totally worth it… for both the sailing education, and for five days of something really fun and unique to do. Five days of vacation would probably cost more money than that, and after a year without travel I hadn’t been spending any money on trips. To sweeten the deal and make learning to sail even more fun; my boyfriend Jason, and our good friend Kitao decided to take the courses with me!

ASA 101

We started our sailing education in February of 2021, without the slightest knowledge of sailing terminology, knots, or the slightest idea of how a sailboat even works. Before our class even started, we were supposed to read the ASA 101 textbook cover to cover, and learn and memorize stuff like the parts of a sailboat and “points of sail”. The vocabulary was a lot to commit to memory, and the “points of sail” was hard to grasp at first. I like learning through apps, so I downloaded and used the app “ASA's Sailing Challenge” to help memorize the names of sail positions and understand how moving the sails relative to the wind makes a boat move. I highly recommend playing with the app if you’re learning to sail, or are just curious to know how sailing works!

As I anticipated, our ASA 101 class was a lot of fun! Because the boat boat we were learning on is so small, the class only accommodates 3 students to one instructor, so it was like a private lesson for Jason, Kitao and me. Once we got out on the water and learned how to get the sails up, the physics and mechanics of sailing was surprisingly easy to understand. After two easy, breezy days sailing out in Marina Del Rey, I passed my written 101 test, scoring 98/100!

Our instructor said that he was confident that Jason and I were ready to take a sailboat out on our own and could sail it. I was hesitant to believe that after just two days we’d be competent enough to undock, sail around, and return the boat——and ourselves——in one piece to the dock. Fortunately we had our next course, ASA 103, beginning the next weekend. We’d have another 3 days on the water with an instructor before having to consider the idea of sailing alone.

ASA 103

Asa 101 teaches you the basics of sailing on a 25’ sailboat, and then ASA 103 teaches you how to sail and cruise along the coast on a larger, 36’ sailboat. From what I understood (at the time), the ASA 103 class would give me the qualification needed to operate a similar sized sailboat internationally; so I could maybe take my 103 certification and charter a boat in the Mediterranean.

Sailing the larger boat was actually easier in a lot of ways, not harder. It’s like with surfing how they say “If you can surf small waves, you can surf anything (*which may be true up to a certain size)”. Smaller boats move faster in the wind, and require quick thinking and handling. Our 36’ Beneteau (named “Yoda”) had a wheel to steer, and an inboard engine, rather than a finicky outboard motor… both which made operating and handling the boat significantly easier. In Asa 103 we worked on sharpening our sailing terminology, knot tying, sail trim (positioning of the sails to most efficiently move the boat). Additionally, we learned how to read navigational charts and plot a course, the oceanic “rules of the road”, and all about the internal systems of the boat, including the anchor and how to use it. We learned a valuable lesson about the weather and wind, when the final day of our 103 class had to be postponed due to very strong wind. We showed up to class to see what were nearly gale-force gusts of wind blowing through the marina, creating white caps on what are ordinarily calm, and protected waters. The wind in Los Angeles is usually very mellow and predictable (making it a great place to learn to sail), but we had a few weekends with unusually intense wind. On days like that, it’s better to postpone sailing than it is to subject oneself, their crew, and boat to a stressful day at sea.

Following ASA 103, Jason and I decided to why not keep our sailing education going, and enrolled in ASA 104 & 114 in April (again with our bestie Kitao). ASA 104/114 was a 3 day/2 night course and trip to Catalina Island where we learned all about the preparation and logistics for overnight chartering, and doing it all on a super-luxe catamaran (that’s the 114 portion). I’ll make another post about our catamaran Catalina trip, because it felt more like a vacation than a class, and I was able to take a lot more photos that weekend.

Since taking our first sailing classes, Jason and I have successfully gone out on the boat from ASA 101, Mr. Miyagi, on our own twice, and chartered a slightly bigger, but much more comfortable Catalina 275 Sport. Sailing is a lot like learning to drive; you don’t learn everything you need to know in Drivers Education— that’s just the beginning… then it takes a lot of time behind the wheel. After feeling out the sailing scene in Los Angeles’ Marina Del Rey, I applied to become a member of a Yacht Club— and I’m happy to say that they let me join! Through the yacht club (once I can demonstrate that I know what the heck I’m doing) I’ll be able to take out boats for free through the club! I’m super excited to become a better skipper, and see where in the world sailing will eventually take me!

Learning to Sail in Los Angeles!

ASA 101

ASA 103