Basic Cruising

Basic Cruising Certification

This course qualifies for both US SAILING & ASA Certifications!

Responsibly skipper and crew an auxiliary powered cruising sailboat during daylight hours within sight of land in moderate wind and sea conditions.

After successfully completing this course you will be certified to rent or charter a 30-35 ft. sailboat locally or in the Caribbean.

Prerequisites:
1) Basic Keelboat Sailing Certification (US SAILING and/or ASA)
2) Minimum of 20 hours sailing experience, as skipper, aboard a 20-25 ft sailing vessel.

Course Description:
This 3 day course includes one day of classroom and two days on the water (including the intervening night onboard, at anchor). The classroom seminar is in Dallas with the on-the-water portion aboard a 30-40ft sailboat. Based out of the famous Highport Marina (Lake Texoma), you will usually complete this course aboard the famous Beneteau sailboat. You will spend one night at anchor, onboard the boat. As with all of our private lessons, you may schedule this course on weekends or weekdays.

Our objective is to train competent skippers in the art of sailing and this course is no exception. We hold our students to the highest standards. We are not a certification factory. After completing this course, you will know what you are doing!

This course introduces the additional skills required to skipper a 30-40ft auxiliary sailboat on local lakes (such as Texoma) or in simple coastal waters (such as the Caribbean).

This course is a radically different from other North Texas sailing courses with a similar name. In fact, it is similar to most Bareboat courses offered locally in the Dallas/Fort Worth area! After completing this course you will be certified to charter a comparable vessel locally or in the Caribbean. We require you to charter at least three time prior to taking the next course (Bareboat Certification)!

Standards include:

	Sail Trim
	Balancing the Helm
	Heave-to & Reefing
	Figure-8 Over-Board Recovery
	Quick-Stop Over-Board Recovery
	Under Power, Confined Areas
	Under SAIL, Confined Areas
	Selecting an Anchorage
	Navigation & Charts
	Aids to Navigation
	Basic Boat Systems
	Safety Equipment
	Boat Inventory Checklist
	Minor Emergencies
	Intermediate Knot Tying
	Chart & Symbols
	Dock Lines (Spring/Breast)
	Docking Under Power
	Engine Failure Procedures

	Steering Failure Procedures
	Running Aground & Recovery
	Marine Weather Forecasts
	Basic Anchoring
	Right-of-Way Rules

	VHF Radio Procedures
	Sail Power Theory
	Apparent vs. True Wind
	The Ships Compass
	Introduction to Fire Fighting
	Boating Etiquette
	Use of Day Shapes
	Use of Sound Signals
	Navigation Rules (1-19)
	Introduction to Towing
	Dinghy Operation

Certification:
Upon successful completion of the course, you will be awarded the US SAILING Basic Cruising Certification AND the ASA Basic Coastal Cruising Certification.

Course Length:
This course spans a total of 3 days:
1 day classroom seminar,
2 days & 1 night aboard a 30 to 40 foot auxiliary Sailboat.

Private Lesson Pricing:
These Lessons are taught on a private basis to ensure a solid foundation of basic cruising skills. We allow a maximum of two students per boat.

$1599: Private lesson. Scheduled individually.
$ 999: per student, 2 students. Scheduled individually.

                    Price includes:
                            1) The Basic Cruising Course (as described above),
                            2) Text reference book,
                            3) US SAILING's Basic Cruising Certification,
                            4) ASA's Basic Coastal Cruising Certification, and
                            5) Morning & evening meals aboard the sailboat

Scheduling:
These are private lessons and are scheduled individually!

Telephone: 214-827-8990