American Sailing School – Classes at AYC
Austin Yacht Club offers American Sailing–certified courses taught by experienced, professional instructors. Our programs combine classroom instruction, on-the-water training, and competency-based standards using official American Sailing materials, leading to internationally recognized certification.
Courses range from 101: Basic Keelboat to 103: Coastal Cruising and 104: Bareboat Cruising, preparing sailors to confidently skipper charter boats in destinations like the British Virgin Islands. The 102: Keelboat 2 course focuses on sail trim and boat handling for improved performance and efficiency.
With over 35 years of global recognition, American Sailing has certified more than 536,000 sailors worldwide. At AYC, our instructors bring decades of sailing and racing experience to deliver high-quality, hands-on instruction for every student.
ASA101
Basic Keelboat Sailing
Fee: $499 member and $599 non-member
Prerequisites: None
ASA101 gives you up to 18-hours of training most of which is on the water doing drills. Successful completion of the course leads to your Basic Keelboat Sailing Certification. You will learn to skipper a sloop-rigged keelboat of 20′ to 30′ in length by day in moderate winds (under 14 MPH) without supervision.
ASA103
Coastal Cruising Certification
Fee: $545 member and $699 non-member
Prerequisites: around 30-hours of keelboat sailing after completing your ASA101 certification or 2-years of keelboat ownership.
Step up to a larger boat by learning to cruise safely in local and regional waters as both skipper and crew on an auxiliary diesel powered wheel sailboat of about 30 to 40 feet in length, in moderate winds and sea conditions.
ASA104 / ASA114
Bareboat and Cruising Catamaran Certification
Prerequisites: ASA101 & ASA103
ASA104 / ASA114 is a blue water learning experience sailing in one of our Caribbean Flotillas.
International Proficiency Certification
Greece, Croatia, and many other European ports of call now require an International Proficiency Certificate. As an ASA104 certified sailor, you qualify for the issuance of an International Proficiency Certificate.
ASA105
Coastal Navigation Certification
Prerequisites: none
Learn practical navigation on inland and coastal waters, including chart reading, piloting, rules of the road, tides and currents, and more. Includes both echart and paper chart training. This course is a prerequisite for ASA 106, Advanced Coastal Cruising. This home self-study course prepares you to navigate safely and confidently in all conditions of visibility.
ASA 107, ASA 120, ASA 119
Celestial, RADAR, Weather
These courses are available through the ASA. By special arrangement, Starpath has made their ASA-approved online courses available to all. All the courses allow students to study at their own pace and include opportunities to interact with instructors. At the end of the course all graduating students earn official ASA certifications. You can contact Ed Pierce if you would like to certify in one of these courese or to receive mentoring prior to sitting for the exams.
Click to checkout these courses and sign up on the ASA website
