Sailing School
Basic Keelboat (BKB - ASA 101)
 Learn to sail in only 3 days
Prerequisites
None
Schedule & Crew
This is a three-day, 9am to 5pm course, with three students and one instructor aboard. Check availability here: BKB Schedule
Description
Many students begin this course without first having stepped aboard a sailboat of any kind. Nonetheless, after three busy days, plus preparatory book study, those same students may expect to attain this competency: Able to sail a boat of about 20 feet in length in light to moderate wind and sea conditions in familiar waters without supervision.
About 20% of the course is spent in the classroom and the balance is taught aboard your Capri 22 sloop. New skills are introduced sequentially and continuously reinforced. This layering of knowledge allows students to gain and maintain confidence with each new skill.
This course is not “Sailing Lite”; it’s the real deal. Tradewinds Sailing encourages an active learning approach, so you may expect to see your instructor demonstrate a maneuver, followed by each student repeating that maneuver several times. Many of the techniques and skills that you learn in this course will be identical to those employed on larger cruising and racing yachts.
You’ll learn to operate the outboard motor, undock and dock your vessel, properly hoist and douse your sails, tack and jibe through the wind, head up and bear away, identify the points of sail, and trim your mainsail and jib. And that’s just your first day.
The importance of this first course is such that all of the Tradewinds Sailing instructors—less-experience as well as seasoned veterans—teach it each year. The structure of this course and the quality of the instructors support the Tradewinds method:
More experience.
More time on the water.
More fun.
Review the complete ASA course description with a knowledge and skills list.
What Boats are Used
In this class, you will sail our Catalina Capri 22s.
When You Complete this Course
Passing this course allows you to reserve the boats used during the
class for sailing in your designated area. You may also schedule checkouts
for the other boats in the Copper fleet.
These are the Catalina Capri 22’s that we use in class. This photo was taken just after the start of one of the summer Friday Night Races in Point Potrero Reach, looking west toward Mt. Tamalpais |
