ASA Courses
Want to learn from the ground up?
Start with BK1: Afterguard’s Competent Crew / First Mates course. For those new to sailing, combining BK1 with ASA 101 over 4+ days leads to better retention of skills and knowledge compared to jumping straight into ASA 101.
If you’ve actively sailed before, begin directly with the 2+ day ASA 101 course.
1 Evening Lecture + 2 Full Days
Learning to sail starts with ASA 101. Learn to skipper a 20' to 27' sloop-rigged keelboat in light to moderate winds and sea conditions. Get familiar with basic sailing terminology, parts, and functions, as well as helm commands, sail trim, points of sail, buoyage, seamanship, and safety including basic navigation rules to avoid collisions and hazards.
4 Full Days
ASA 102 is a new addition to the ASA curriculum, filling a long-standing gap between ASA 101 and ASA 103 after 40 years. Designed for sailors looking to strengthen their core skills, ASA 102 focuses on improving sail trim, close-quarters maneuvering, and effective teamwork on board. You’ll gain confidence and proficiency in making your vessel move efficiently and safely through the water.
2 Evening Lectures + 4 Full Days Sailing
Prerequisites: ASA 101, 103
ASA 103 builds on the fundamentals of ASA 101 and opens the door to independent day sailing in the San Francisco Bay. In this course, you’ll learn to skipper a 25–35 ft sloop-rigged keelboat in moderate wind and sea conditions. Upon successful completion, you’ll be certified to charter Afterguard boats as far as the south side of the Bay Bridge.
3-day Live Aboard Trip
Prerequisites: ASA 101, 103
Preparation for this course begins with group coordination around provisioning and developing a shared sailing plan. During the course, students complete a two-night trip: one night spent at anchor with a rotating watch schedule, and a second night at a destination selected by the class.
4 Days or Multiple Evenings
While GPS and plotters are useful tools, they aren’t always accurate and can fail when batteries run low. This course teaches you how to validate electronic data and navigate confidently without it. You’ll learn how to quickly set a course in low-visibility situations such as fog, heavy rain, or nightfall, and what to do when the horizon disappears.
5 Days
Prerequisites: ASA 101, 103, 104, 105
Over five days, you’ll gain real-world skills in coastal passage-making while encountering incredible marine life along the way. Perfect for aspiring cruisers, open-water sailors, or anyone with offshore ambitions or ocean dreams.
4 Days in the Classroom + Field Trip for Sextant Practice
Prerequisites: ASA 105 Coastal Navigation & ASA 117 Basic Celestial Endorsement
Master the timeless art of celestial navigation, the same method used by explorers before and after Columbus to cross the world’s oceans. You’ll learn how to calculate your position using the sun, moon, planets, and stars, then test your accuracy by comparing it with other navigation methods, including GPS.
7 Day Live Aboard Trip
Prerequisites: ASA 101, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 117 + Offshore Supportive Trips
If you’ve dreamed of sailing beyond the horizon, this is the course that brings those dreams within reach. ASA 108 is your introduction to distance offshore sailing, requiring all prior certifications, along with pre-course preparation and homework. Over the span of a week, you’ll plan, provision, and prepare both boat and crew for an extended offshore passage. The course includes sailing to 100 miles from shore, beyond the reach of reflected coastal waves, to experience the rhythm of open-ocean swells.
ASA 110 Small Boat Sailing
2 Days or as a Weekday Summer Camp
This fun, hands-on course is open to kids of all ages and is a great introduction to the fundamentals of sailing, including how to trim both the boat and the sails for optimal performance. You’ll learn on our fleet of El Toros and other small boats, with the chance to try out different types and styles.
ASA 111 Sailing Review
Has it been a while since you were certified? Take a sailing review as part of a course or as a separate course. The cost and time is based on your remembered skills and knowledge. The cost is a percentage of the certification course depending on how much can be reignited from prior experience.
3 Full Days
Catamarans offer a smooth, stable, and elegant way to sail—and they’re increasingly popular in top charter destinations around the world. Afterguard’s ASA 114 course is designed to transition monohull sailors to the unique handling and systems of a catamaran.
ASA 116 Dinghy and Outboard Endorsement
Introduced by popular demand, this new ASA course offers a structured curriculum focused on the safe and confident use of dinghies and outboard motors. Whether you’re using a rented yacht’s tender or managing your own, this course helps you avoid costly mistakes and gives you the practical skills to operate small craft with ease, from launching and landing to maneuvering in tight spaces.
1 Evening and 1 Full Day
This basic celestial navigation class teaches the theory and practice to determine latitude and longitude at sea using the noon sun and the star Polaris with just a small eleven-page booklet, a sextant, a watch, and simple arithmetic.
Options of 2 or 3 Full Days
Prerequisites: ASA 103 Course (+ Grad Sail), 104 recommended
This course focuses on the critical skills and techniques needed to dock safely and confidently, in a variety of conditions and boat types. You’ll learn practical tips and tricks used by professionals to manage wind, current, and momentum with ease. New book now available.