# New to sailing - where to go?



## amills1210 (Feb 21, 2018)

Hello Everyone. My fiance and I are taking our first ASA 101 course this June in Phoenix. We fell in love with sailing on a small 4-person hobie cat that we rented at an all inclusive resort a couple years back. We are looking to go on our honeymoon in August and most likely will not have the experience or certification to charter a boat ourselves overnight. 

What we are trying to do is find a location, preferabbly in the Caribbean, that does offer daily sailboat rentals and not the ones that have a crew and take tourists sightseeing. Are there companies and/or locations in the caribbean that offer this? What are some reputable companies that do?

Thanks in advance.


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

Most resorts down here have Hobie cats for rent on the beach, but I can't think of anywhere you could rent anything over about 16 feet on a daily basis. Why not rent a bareboat for the week and just hire a company supplied skipper? It would allow you to enjoy your honeymoon w/o bothering yourselves about the anchoring, navigation, etc. and he'll know the area and help plan a trip tailored to your wishes.
You could get lucky and he'll be a great cook, on top of everything else.


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## eherlihy (Jan 2, 2007)

Welcome to SailNut!

Most bareboat charter companies will gladly set anyone without certification up with a captain for an additional fee. Unfortunately, I don't know of any charter companies that will let you rent a boat for less than three days. I know of several schools that will allow you to charter with an instructor as your captain so you can kill two birds at once.

The weather for chartering/sailing in New England (CT, RI, MA, ME) is GREAT in August - and even better in September! There are a bunch of ASA schools in New England too.


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## eherlihy (Jan 2, 2007)

ASA 101 in Phoenix - as in Phoenix, Arizona - AKA the desert?


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## cb32863 (Oct 5, 2009)

eherlihy said:


> ASA 101 in Phoenix - as in Phoenix, Arizona - AKA the desert?


Learn to Sail in Arizona - ASA Certification & Tours on Lake Pleasant

https://www.visitphoenix.com/blog/post/greater-phoenix-lakes/


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

If you’ve both completed 101, think about weaving a liveaboard learn to sail course into your honeymoon! I think 5 days and you’d be fully bareboat qualified. Spend some alone time on land, either before or after.

You’re final exam is usually to take the 40ish ft boat overnight, without the instructor, and bring it back in the morning. I recommend Offshore Sailing School, where my wife learned to sail.


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## amills1210 (Feb 21, 2018)

HA! Yes...we actually have 2 sailing schools out here at a lake on the north end of Phoenix. I was surprised myself.


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## amills1210 (Feb 21, 2018)

Thank you all for the information...super helpful.


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## eherlihy (Jan 2, 2007)

Minnewaska said:


> If you've both completed 101, think about weaving a liveaboard learn to sail course into your honeymoon! I think 5 days and you'd be fully bareboat qualified. Spend some alone time on land, either before or after.
> 
> You're final exam is usually to take the 40ish ft boat overnight, without the instructor, and bring it back in the morning. I recommend Offshore Sailing School, where my wife learned to sail.


Personally, I'm not a fan of the 7-day "Fast-Track" courses. They do not provide the student with enough time to really become competent with anything other than the boat that they use for the class. Also, Offshore Sailing School is a US/Sailing affiliate, and not an ASA affiliate, so ASA 101 won't count.


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Lots of people have weekend play boats in Rocky Point/Pto Penasco...but mas in San Carlos.
Maybe look/search San Carlos, Mazatlan and Pto Vallarta. 

Maybe shoot over to Cali and do a nice easy Catalina weekend thing...


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

eherlihy said:


> Personally, I'm not a fan of the 7-day "Fast-Track" courses. They do not provide the student with enough time to really become competent with anything other than the boat that they use for the class.


I'm sure the success of the experience has something to do with the individual student's aptitude. My wife went from absolute zero to a competent fair weather keel boat sailor in those 7 days. While not ready to take on anything more, she could certainly successfully manage a bareboat of similar size.



> Also, Offshore Sailing School is a US/Sailing affiliate, and not an ASA affiliate, so ASA 101 won't count.


Got me there, I didn't properly recall that. However, if the OP already passed ASA 101, they may be able to self assess their aptitude.

The only caveat I would give the OP is the course is all day, every day. Little to no playing until the course is over and they hand you the logbook. Not sure everyone would consider that a great honeymoon, but I bet some would.


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## eherlihy (Jan 2, 2007)

amills1210 wanted to know where to take an ASA certification course, and we (I) tried to help with that question.
@Sebastian#2 - May I suggest that you start another thread on the merits, if any, of sailing certification.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

eherlihy said:


> amills1210 wanted to know where to take an ASA certification course, and we (I) tried to help with that question.
> 
> @Sebastian#2 - May I suggest that you start another thread on the merits, if any, of sailing certification.


I think the OP's question was where they could rent a boat, after having taken ASA101. Serval of us took the opportunity to suggest more training.

Being able to bareboat, with relatively little on one's resume, is a merit of a sailing certification. Either ASA or USS.


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## Sal Paradise (Sep 14, 2012)

amills1210 said:


> HA! Yes...we actually have 2 sailing schools out here at a lake on the north end of Phoenix. I was surprised myself.


I went there once and rented a Catalina 22 years ago. The people are the rental office were so impressed that we had sailed on Long Island Sound, which to them seemed like we had gone around Cape Horn with Slocum. LOL


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Sebastian#2 said:


> thank you, so looks like after asa 101 the suggestion is I will be qualified to take more training?


To be clear, after ASA 101, one is qualified to daysail a small keelboat in fair conditions. You'll know how to make a boat move and stop. That's a simplification of the course and it's a good course. There is substantially more to renting a bareboat.



> & the merit of a sailing cert. is the ability to rent a boat with not much to show for the know?


Not sure I follow your point. As I've said, I am extremely impressed with how much my wife learned in her 7 day liveaboard course. Perhaps it went unsaid, but there are a few books the student is expected to have read and taken some practice quizzes prior to arrival.

These certifications aren't intended to make skippers qualified to cross an ocean. But, they do provide a reasonable education on how to bareboat in the Caribbean.

I think one of the biggest problems with the "credit card captains" in the Caribbean (beyond some likely being drunk at the helm) is they don't actually sail much between charters. What one learns, especially in a condensed short course) must be practiced or lost. Getting certified, followed by little to no sailing, until the next season is not sufficient.


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## 22catcapri (Feb 21, 2017)

My wife and I got into sailing in a similar way. But we got our basic keelboat cert from Offshore Sailing in Captiva, FL, (10.16). It was a solid class and ocean (well Gulf) sailing is way more representative than lake sailing (where our Capri is slipped). If you go the AZ route, you might check if Offshore Sailing has it's Beef Island school up and running (hurricane hiatus) for Basic Cruising and Bareboat sailing by August.

Anyhow, best of luck. We just got off a Sunsail flotilla in the BVI. Loved it.

https://www.scrubisland.com/experiences/sailing-school/


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