Cruising Boat Courses & Clinics

SF Bay's famous wind, strong currents, and heavy shipping traffic offer sailors one of the most challenging and exciting sailing venues in the world. With the Bay Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, and Alcatraz in the background, learning to sail in ASA 101 will give you the experience and skills you need to enjoy sailing in a variety of conditions - with confidence.

Treat your friends and family to a premier bay adventure with a sail to Angel Island and an overnight stay moored at Ayala Cove -- but first, prepare yourself for the fore and aft mooring, shallow waters, and tidal currents that can make mooring at Ayala Cove a unique challenge.

Our Angel Island Mooring Clinic prepares you to successfully conduct a bow-and-stern mooring as required by the California State Park Angel Island Harbor Master. Additionally, you will become proficient at utilizing one or two buoys for overnight mooring situations in many worldwide cruising locations.

Have you completed ASA 101, Basic Keelboat Sailing? Now that you have a solid understanding of sailing fundamentals under your life vest, you're ready to refine and expand your skills in ASA 103, Basic Coastal Cruising. This course will prepare you to skipper daytime sailing expeditions in San Francisco Bay. The course curriculum includes:

Learning how to control the shape of your sails will greatly enhance your sailing experience. Whether you are a competitive racer or an efficiency-minded cruiser, this course will teach you the skills to maximize speed and balance on every point of sail within a variety of conditions. After a short discussion about the art and science of sail trim, you will receive hands-on practice and learn when and how to adjust sheets, traveler position, jib lead, halyard tension, cunningham, outhaul, vang, and backstay to optimize your boat's performance under sail.

The more you sail in winter or make long passages, the more likely it becomes that you’ll eventually encounter foul weather. This one-day clinic will introduce you to heavy weather sailing equipment, preparation, and techniques. Taught aboard our Spencer 44 Coho II, your instructor will cover topics such as personal safety equipment, high wind line handling techniques, setting up storm sails and running rigging, types of drogues and sea anchors, and steering in large following seas.

Are you ready to discover ocean sailing and explore the coast? Our ASA 106, Advanced Coastal Cruising course will give you the skills and confidence you’ll need for safe and successful coastal expeditions.

The dynamic California Coast provides the perfect setting for training at an advanced level. This 7-day course combines ASA 105, Coastal Navigation and ASA 106, Advanced Coastal Cruising certifications. Discover ocean sailing and benefit from the wealth of knowledge that our instructors have gained from their own extensive cruising adventures.

Are you dreaming of taking your sailing experience to a whole new level, far beyond the sight of land and over the breathtaking open sea? Do your biggest sailing ambitions include nonstop multi-day passages, crossing an ocean, or sailing around the world? If so, Modern Sailing’s ASA 108, Offshore Passagemaking course will help prepare you to meet the challenge. 
 

The winds and tidal currents of San Francisco Bay can be challenging to sailors not only when sailing out on the bay, but especially when maneuvering in and out of dock slips. Join us for this one-day course in which you will learn strategies and techniques to safely and efficiently dock a 30' - 32' auxiliary-powered sailboat in a variety of conditions. Hands-on practice will increase your overall boat handling confidence while you gain knowledge of basic auxiliary power theory, engine and steering controls, proper use of dock lines, crew communication, and safety.