Previous Class < ASA 104 > Next Class
ASA 104
Bareboat Chartering
Learn to skipper a sloop-rigged, auxiliary powered keelboat of approximately 30 to 45 feet in length during a multi-day cruise upon inland waters with coastal conditions in San Francisco Bay. Will sail mild, moderate up to heavy winds (up to 30 knots) yet mostly flat sea conditions. Learn about provisioning, galley operations, boat systems, routine maintenance procedures, advanced sail trim, coastal navigation from base line to GPS and apps. Will use single and multiple-anchor mooring, spring and running line docking. Discuss health & safety concerns for skippers, emergency operations & weather interpretation.
ASA 104 Course Description
We start the course communicating by emails to plan the provisions. Friday, we meet in the morning to prepare the boat and sail the Bay to a the chosen destination for the first night. The 2nd day use C.O.N. skills to sail to the destination for the 2nd night. Students are given aid but they decide on the destinations for anchoring and for aq marina to visit. In Bareboat Chartering, all students learn and try 5 ways to anchor, 4 ways for C.O.B. Pre sail and evening have a plumbing and diesel system overview. This is the most looked-for certification by charter and insurance companies. Passing this course allows the holder to rent/charter boats from our fleet to enjoy sailing anywhere in SF Bay and travel anywhere they wish to sail and rent yachts with confidence.
Before the Course
Purchase the ASA 104 textbook, Bareboat Cruising Made Easy. Available at our office or through the ASA website as an ebook or to be sent to as a hardcopy. Read the book and complete the quizzes throughout to prepare for the course and the terminology used.
Advise at least one weekend of ASA 105 prior to the course due to the emphasis on performing navigation underway.
What's Included
ASA 104 Multiple Choice Test
After successfully demonstrating 100% of the required on-the-water skills, you’ll take a written exam, which requires a minimum score of 85% to pass for SF Bay.
If you do not pass either the on-the-water or written evaluations, you’ll be invited to repeat the necessary portions.
Life Jacket and Safety Equipment
By the time you take ASA104 we recommend you own your own inflatable or comfortable lifejacket. It is an essential part of water safety. Suggest an inflatable with a built in harness plus a tether. Although we can loan foul-weather wear most who take ASA104 have tried several kinds and purchased what fits and is best for them.
ASA Certification
Once you’ve passed the course, your ASA instructor will sign your logbook which is valid for 3 months but soon after ASA will mail you a permanent non-expiring certification sticker to add to your logbook.
What to Expect
Schedule and Crew Information:
-
Meeting Location: Afterguard Sailing Academy, 1285 Embarcadero, Oakland, CA 94606
-
Course Duration: This is a three-day weekend course, starting on Friday morning at 9am. If go to a harbor the first night may end the day at 5-6pm. Anchor out night has anchor watch schedules. End the course on or about 4:30 Sunday. run from
-
Crew Communication: Students will be contacted in advance to coordinate provisioning and trip planning..
-
Exam: The written exam takes place at the end of the third day of class. Students must demonstrate proficiency in hands-on skills before being permitted to sit for the written test. If local, can take the test at a later date after reviewing the book.
-
Crew Limit: Maximum of four students per boat with one instructor. Can add a second 104 boat when a month or date set is requested.
-
Costs for fuel used, berthing or mooring fees and provisions are shared by the students
What Boats are Used:
These ASA104 course uses a choice of boats. The boat used is based on student enrollment, sail plan draft considerations and preference. "Dawn Treader" Beneteau Oceanis 321, 4.5 draft - 2 double and 2 single sleeping areas 1 head, "Renaissance" Targa 10,1, 5.5 draft - 3 double sleeping areas 1 head 1 port-a-potti, "Nancy II" Hunter 35.5, 5' draft - 3 double and 1 single sleeping area 1 head w/shower, "O'Hana" - Beneteau 45f5, 8' draft - 3 double and 1 single sleeping area 2 heads 1shower.
ASA 104 can be combined during a Destination Sail in warm waters. Can include ASA 114 on Destination sails or can be combined in SF Bay over either a 4 or 5 days period depending on skills/sailing background. If combine will include use of "Angel" Fountaine Pajot 35' - 3.2 draft - 3 double cabins, 1 single sleeping area, 1 head w/shower.
When You Complete this Course:
Afterguard, as all San Francisco charter companies, look for ASA 104 as a minimum to rent yachts for full SF Bay access. This certification makes insurance companies breathe a sigh of relief. It's a boon for new boat owners.
The ASA 104 course has a wealth of information, many new skills plus higher level of proficiency of the skills gathered to date. If thinking of buying a boat, chartering internationally, or living aboard, ASA 104 is a fun way to prepare for those goals. ASA 104 Course provides a live-aboard experience, immersion learning and a chance to explore by boat. Glamping - Boat camping - no ants.
ASA requires 1 overnight at anchor with a rotating student watch. The ASA minimum is 48hr. Afterguard courses are 3 days and sometimes more. We include a night at moorings or a marina of students choice, working with the instructor. Students stay aboard both nights, but the teacher may leave when at a marina and return in the am -- teacher's choice. It's a thing to get to know how to have a boat accepted into to a marina that is not the boats. Requires a call and maybe paperwork to make the reservation.
Sail planning includes: prior weather watch for forecasts of for wind predictions, strength and direction. Look at tidal heights for narrow passages and anchorages. Consider current directions (tides and currents do not start and max at the same times). Time of sunrise and sunset matter too. All influence choices of how far the boat can go and when to leave dock each day for 4-5 hr of sailing per day. Navigation skills are needed to plan and are used continuously pre-prepared meals. Need to learn to cook aboard. Costs for dockage or mooring fees are shared by the students.
The skills and knowledge you gain in ASA 104 will serve you well for years and many happy sailing days to follow.
After ASA 104, grads can rent boats for independent sailing charters from Afterguard or most any charter company worldwide.
Extra Details:
Sail plan: If the destination location is off the beaten path, and the instructor does not choose to stay aboard, yet the instructor agrees to the extra time they will spend commuting, the student group splits the instructor's transport cost. Students can choose a local restaurant and make reservations in advance. In popular places like Sausalito or SF, call ahead to see if open, or if take-out only or if the restaurant has outdoor or indoor service. If eating at the restaurant, suggest getting reservations before the class starts. Option, can go ashore to walk about and visit what is available for next time when chartering independently and choose to eat aboard (picking a chef or chef team who provision and prepare that meal - would turn into a shared effort & expense for dinner).
If a double class, two boats going, may raft up for a progressive dinner or shared appitizers. Might also share anchor watch. Clipper Cove is a calm snug harbor that is great for rafting.
What to Bring: Pack clothes in layers to suit the weather of the class days and something to sleep in that can work if you have to go on-deck. Weather sometimes changes the plans. Each participant can bring aboard 1 duffle bag for clothes, 1 'sea' bag with sailing gear, a sleeping bag w/sheet to line the bag. a pillow and towel.
'Sea Bag': Gloves, Hat, Windbreaker, Croakies for glasses, Red light head lamp with a white light option, Rigging knife' (Davis?), Foul weather top and bottoms plus waterproof shoes or boots. If none - bring two pairs of shoes. Inflatable life-vest with harness and a 6' tether. Suggest a power pack for electronics. Can borrow some items if reserve ahead.
Provision: need to share information about and by all participants regarding allergies and food preferences.
Meals are: bring your own sandwich for 1st day lunch. Pick a chef for: 1 dinner. 2 Breakfasts, 1 lunch. Destination dinner may be eating out or not? see above. Last lunch is usually snacks or that famous french dish, 'Left O'derves'. Check the final menu to see: if more than one meal might require common elements. I.E. olive oil, butter, salad greens... Define common item volumes for a needed total. The refrigeration and/or ice boxes have limited space. No coolers - take too much space - hard to stow. Will not cook underway. Lunch needs be made before leaving a dock or anchorage or be one that can be assembled (sandwiches...) If something needs marinating, use zip lock bags and put in marinade before you head out for the day. Plastic containers may be aboard for leftovers.
Mal de Mer - Bring ginger snaps, ginger dried fruit, ginger capsules, ginger ale, ginger is a natural anti-nauseate that works. Sea Bands or the watch work great. Medical sea-sick medications are 92% tranquilizers. They dull your brain and vision, give you dry mouth, make you sleepy. Good for passengers, maybe, but not for students learning to skipper a boat. Take if needed only.
Prep for Class: A thorough pre-cruise sheet is used for this course. It takes 1.5-2 hr to get through it. Full boat inventory check. Boat pre-trip load up includes: deciding on which boat if a dinghy and outboard engine or 2 person Kayak are used. Testing and putting the choice on the boat. Anchor gear check. Galley and head supply check. Can start this longer pre-trip load up on the evening before the course if 2 or more of your class group attend.
Alcohol. Walking on docks, getting on and off a boat, or getting into and out of a dinghy if use a mooring, in the dark: takes balance and spatial judgement. Once snug in a slip or on a mooring - all are aboard and the boat is settled - on a mild night, might choose to have 1 beer or 1 glass of wine. Remember: This is a class. Zero hard liquor! No exceptions. Wine and beer are allowed only after 'class time' is fully over for the day/evening. Alcohol hits everyone on a boat with double impact due to dehydration from sailing all day. If one is your usual limit - drink half a glass.
Marijuana may be legal on land but not only can you can get a DUI or the boat, the boat can be confiscated by USCG if partaking on the water. Waterways are Federal. Anyone buzzed by any substance during class time will be excused at the nearest dock. Will need to find their own way home.
Dismissal: Excusing a student at the nearest dock has happened three times in 35 years: 1st marijuana, 2nd alcohol, 3rd refused instructors direction resulting in wrapping prop leaving the boat and all aboard in a bad situation. Safety first. A dismissed student will forfeit their fee. The full course cost would again be required IF allowed to reschedule after full debrief of all reports written by the instructor and all aboard.
Student rights: Another view, if a student does not work well with an instructor, before leaving the dock day one or durning the course, either can ask the office for a reschedule or, if two boats are running in tandem for a double ASA 104, can ask to change boat assignment. Again not common, but easy to resolve without any damage, hardship, or hard feelings = happier boats.