ASA Instructors

Cap10 Tom and I set out in 2004 to get ASA (American Sailing Association) certifications, mainly for the knowledge. There are many levels.


















We selected a school in Florida, quizzing out of the "ASA 101 Keelboat", taking "ASA 103 Coastal Cruising" and "ASA 104 Bareboat". And PASSING them all!


















KC Sailing opened in our area so one cold, wintery March we took "ASA 105 Coastal Navigation"- what a mind bender that was for this little sailing chick on the prairie! Irrigation lakes and itty bitty state park lakes in Kansas don't have a lot of ATONS (Aids to Navigation System).
























As we built on our sailing skills officially through ASA, we continued to build through practical experience on our C30 Distant Drum as well as bareboat trips, deliveries and on various friends boats ( s/v Stolen Child and s/v Gratitude). "ASA 108 Passage Making" (Norfolk to Bermuda) was a big jump, a leap really in our sailing education and skills.



















Then we begin to think about teaching sailing. ASA seemed like the logical place to start. Bruce at KC Sailing was gun-ho and an instructor class was scheduled. It was intense. Three hardcore days of classroom and on the water instruction to become instructors. The written test was a bitch! We passed!



















We started teaching "Intro to Sailing", "ASA 101 Keelboat" as well as Private Lessons all for KC Sailing. We are now well into our second season teaching sailing. The reward has been terrific. We have met so many interesting people. Many students start with the" Intro to Sailing" class and go on to the next level, getting their "ASA 101 Keelboat" Certification with us. Some students already have sailboats. Others buy their first boat after sailing with us. It's so much fun to be able to share our passion and excitement for sailing with others. In turn, our students get fired up about sailing and we feed on that excitement. Several past students have dropped us emails to update us on their continued learning through on the water sailing as well as boat purchases, boat projects and upgrades. Oh yeah, and we get paid to go sailing! That is NOT why we do it but I do find myself giggling (on occasion) on the drive home after a day of sailing instruction - "we just got paid to sail all day! How kewl is that!"


















s/v Bossa Nova - a C22 is our teaching vessel

Commodor's Cup Lake Perry Yacht Club

THE big event of the season for some Lake Perry and regional sailors is the Commodore's Cup Open Regatta. This year was the 30th year for this event.















Strong winds (20-25 knots with gusts higher) lead to some exciting racing and plenty of equipment failures. Tales of the carnage were rampant at lunch on Sunday after all the racing concluded.
















No, we did not take home any of the trophies. We are cruiser - not racers. We just happened to schedule a private lesson on the last day of this event. Our students (Dale and Tom) were concerned that the winds might be too high but we assured them it would be fine. The C22 was reefed down with just the storm jib and we had a rip snorting good time zooming back and forth across the lake with all the racers in the background. Both students did great although I am a tad worried about Dale. Every time I looked at her she was grinning ear to ear. I am concerned that her teeth may have dried out with all that smiling. :)

Updated Blog Disclaimer

I have changed the look of the blog somewhat. That seems to have affected alignment of past postings. It was iffy before and with the changes is completely off in some cases. Deal with it! I am not going back and re-align past postings. Those skewed posting probably have a similar "formatting" as emails you get from you parents so some of you should be used to that look and feel. HA!