Advanced Cruising & Seamanship: The Official Manual For The ASA Advanced Coastal Cruising Course (ASA 106)

American Sailing (ASA) was founded in 1983 with a simply stated mission: to teach people to sail safely and confidently. To achieve that goal, the ASA set out to establish standards against which to measure a sailor’s level of knowledge and skill, the first such unified standards in the U.S. to apply to sailors in keelboats.

Today, American Sailing is an association of sailing schools, charter companies, professional sailing instructors, and sailors, with over 300 affiliated sailing schools located throughout the U.S., as well as in Europe, Japan, Central America, Taiwan, China, and other far eastern countries. These accredited schools offer ASA certification to individuals who meet the requirements for a given level. To date, ASA schools have certified over half a million sailors.

The ASA system has eight primary levels of student certification from Basic Keelboat all the way to Offshore Passagemaking. Whether your goal is to skipper a bareboat charter in the Caribbean or to crew confidently on a short weekend sail, the ASA’s sailing-education system will guide you as you learn the theory behind sailing, practice the skills needed to handle a sailboat, and build the foundation of knowledge that will enable you to navigate a vessel safely and within the law.

By establishing national standards for sailing education, the ASA has provided a way for more people to take part in the sport safely, with the proper training and respect for their responsibilities as boaters, ensuring that sailing will be safer, smarter, and more fun for everybody.

North U is the training division of North Sails. North Sails has been building the world’s best sails since 1957 and has been providing the world’s best sailing seminars since 1980. While you probably know North Sails is renowned for its racing sails you may not realize we are the world’s largest (and best!) producer of cruising sails as well.

We know there’s not just one way to learn how to sail. But I think we all know the best way to learn, is to get on a boat! Take what you learn here and apply it. Take on-the-water classes. Go sailing.

You can spend a lifetime learning to be a better sailor. Accelerate the process with North U. 

Bill Gladstone is the author and creator of the Performance Racing Trim and Performance Racing Tactics books and seminars. Bill has been teaching sailing and racing for nearly 50 years. In addition, together with John Rousmaniere, Bill created the North U Cruising and Seamanship Workbook and seminars. Graduates of Bill’s programs are sailing, cruising, and racing the world over.