The inspiring crescent of our city’s shoreline is one of the signature symbols of Santa Barbara; a great week of sailing instruction at the Santa Barbara Sailing Center turned my mental image of the waterfront upside down and inside out. Participating in one of Santa Barbara Sailing Center’s rigorous American Sailing Association (ASA) certification courses also taught me something new about the joy of encountering excellent instruction and the thrill of acquiring difficult new skills.
Skipper and Crew
In order to earn the ASA certification that allows you to charter from Santa Barbara Sailing Center, along with many other such centers around the world, you have to take at least 20 hours of in-person instruction and pass both written and “road” proficiency tests. In practice, this means devoting three full days to learning to sail — two six-hour instructional days followed by an eight-hour final with the written test in the morning, the “road” test at noon, and your group solo sail from 2 to 5 p.m.