Asa Course Advice Please

[06HARLEYULTRA]

I am going to register for the Basic Keelboat cert at either Lanier Sailing Academy on Lake Murray, or Charleston Sailing School.
Pros vs Cons:
Lake Murray is 15 min away, and Charleston is 1.5 hrs.

Charleston's course is 16 hours over 2 days. ($550)
Lanier's course is 24 hours over 3 days. ($535)

I am looking at registering for October...good decision or wait?

I have only sailed once, 25 plus years ago but am determined to learn. I have decent power boat experience and skills in a variety of area's. My dream is to one day be able to sail area lakes and limited coastal areas, but not blue water.

Is one school better than the other?
Is their something else to consider i've not thought about?

Thanks for reading....

Rich

 

[Joe]

I'd go to the closer one.... learn where you'll be sailing and you'll make some good contacts.

 

[Allan12210]

Check on class size. You want to maximize your time with the instructor...crowded boat, less personal attention. I like the 3 day program..sounds like a better value. Having good skills is of primary importance. Its great you are going for comprehensive instruction.

 

[CaptJake]

Gotta go with Joe and Allan on this one. The more "me" time you can get with the instructor, the more it will all make sense. And the less time you have to travel to and from classes is all the better. You only get one chance to start off right.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Lake Lanier has a lot of sailboats and a few of them I know. Go for home.

 

[mcrow33]

The ASA school that I teach at we do a two day class, eight hour each day or a 5 day, 4 hour class. I find that my students as better prepared and have a higher comfort level after the five day class. I there is more chance for different wind conditions, more time to review previous day discussion and drills. The other thing is that by the end of a 8 hour day on the water, everybody is worn out. The other thing to look for beside class size, is to see if you can do the written test at a latter date, so you don't have to waste sailing time to take the test. I will advise my students that are local to come back later to take the written test, once they are sure they know the book inside and out. We never shorten sailing time for testing. They get all the water time as possible and either test after the class is over or come back at a later time.

 

[woodster]

just a thought here ....I was told by a well experianced sailor to find out where there is weekly evening races and make yourself available at those events....he said that the best way to learn on the cheep is to crew on race night...he also said that it makes no diff if you have little or no experance that they always come up short on full crew and are glad to have the extra help....not sure how this will turn out but sounds about right..i remember back in my flat tracking days that was the way i learned by crewing in the pits...ad it was great fun as well....as Cpt Ron said " If its going to happen its going to happen out there"

regards

woody

 

[Steve Kamp]

My wife and I took Basic Keelboat with an ASA instructor on Lake Hartwell. We met with one other couple on Friday evening for class work, Saturday morning for more class room time, afternoon for boat time on a 26 pearson, then repeated the schedule on Sunday, applying class/book knowledge and hands on skills by practical proficiency demonstration, and finished with a 135 question multiple choice test at the end
of the day. Very intense and satisfying experience.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Learning to sail ls learning a new set of skills. As with most such learning, repeat exposure over a length of time facilitates learning best (i.e., it has to have time to "sink in"). So, a longer course with more repeat meetings is a better learning format than an intense couple of long days. That said, I don't even think the 3-day, 24-hr option is a particularly good format. A five or six day, 4-hr per day, format would be much better. But schools have to structure it that (short, intense) way to keep the cost per student down, and keep it short so students don't lose interest or develop schedule conflicts and quit coming after a couple of weeks, etc., or fail to commit to it in the first place (too many weekends to "give up"). If there is an ASA instructor nearby, then you might be able set up something w/ him or her for a personal course on your schedule. Of course, it would cost more unless you had a couple of friends to do it at the same time (i.e., a boat load), but do you want to learn how to sail or merely take a preliminary swipe at it? Also, if the student-instructor ratio is > 3:1, then you're going to spend a lot of your time watching others trying to sail the boat. However, if you really want to learn how to sail, really sail, in my opinion, get yourself on as a regular crew (i.e., one who shows up all the time and on short notice) on a race boat in your area to start with. It won't cost you anything except your commitment to it.

 

[Stu Jackson]

And regardless of where you go, you might, if you haven't already, do some reading. "Sailing for Dummies" is a pretty good start.

 

[06HARLEYULTRA]

Greetings,
Thank you for each and every response. I learned something, or considered something with each response. I now have a clearer picture of how to proceed to maximize my learning.
Kings Gambit: Fully agree with your opinion. I teach in my profession, and "muscle memory" is invaluable/ingrained. Shorter peroids, reflection, learning..repeat.
I am also going to make myself available on short notice for crewing, as to gain experience, but also new friends.
Thanks to all.

Rich

 

[OldCat]

And don't do what the new owners across the way from me did. Buy a boat nearly unseen and without experienced advice. Standing rigging was bad, droopy spreader bar, & they did not know how to tune it or set it up. Mast came down. They still have inadequate spring lines and 100mph gusts that can come out of the mountains behind them. Another boat down the way has a chewed up bow from failed dock lines. These things don't have to happen. Listen to locals and ask for advice.

If you can, charter for a while first. Our local sailing school has a program for that, check around your area. The learning curve exists anyway you go, but it is a lot less anguish the more classes you take, the more you read and ask questions from those with more experience.

OC

 

[Stephen K]

I would go for the closer location and you will also have more "tiller time" to reinforce your learning. I also like the point somebody added about meeting other local people and maybe even getting exposed to Wed night racing at Lake Murray. I know the LSA at Lake Lanier has some good instructors and would bet that they also do at Lake Murray.

If you decide to do more advanced ASA courses like Coastal Nav and Bare Boat Cruising you will have the opportunity to go the Charleston for those.

 

[06HARLEYULTRA]

Greetings,
I signed up for ASA basic keel at Lake Murray today. As of right now the student to instructor ratio is 3:1, but only 1 other person has signed so far. Hope it stays that way, as 2:1 is cool by me. It was also explained to me that having other students is better as you can then watch and understand/digest a concept without being involved in that task.
I'll post again in October my thoughts.

Thanks,

Rich

 

[PrincessoftheLake]

I don't want to get flamed here. I have a lot of friends who are ASA instructors and they do a fine job. However, when I started sailing it was with a friend and after a couple of years of hanging out on his boat and reading what I could I also started racing with him. Best thing I ever did. Racing will quickly teach you a lot about your boat and how to trim besides giving you access to other racers and sailors who have tons of knowledge and experience. I have been sailing for almost (yikes) 20 years and never had a lesson but am considered by most people I sail with to be extremely competent either as crew or on the helm.
Again, not dissing the school-just saying it is hard to beat just getting out there and doing it.

 

[Du4salr!]

I agree with the princess. Racing is one of the best ways to learn sailing, especially on a smaller boat where one can do many crew tasks whether it be foredeck work, cockpit, mast,etc.... Of course it can also be a curse as it is hard to sit back and not tweak for more speed.

DB