Florida Keys Sailing Adventure
ASA Certifications 101 & 103
We decided that we wanted to try sailing for real. Not just attempting to go on little lakes with friends (which is a really fun time), but REAL sailing. Jake found out that there are sailing vacations that are also schools, to teach you the basics of seamanship, all about sailboats, and how to successfully maneuver them on large bodies of water.
We thought, what better way to see if we like sailing. An intensive learning scenario very quickly shortens the learning curve. So, we booked it. Jake found Sunshine Coast Adventures online, and we quickly realized that it would be the best for us. The captain, Jen, is one of the most renown woman in sailing, and she was also a kick!
We received a bunch of study materials, books and maps/charts about 4 months before the trip. This was meant to help with the learning curve, so that when we got there, it wouldn’t be as daunting to learn everything. Of course, Jake was all about it. I didn’t really care so much at the time, so I did not really spend a lot of time looking through things (though I wish I had in retrospect).
The first day we got to Florida, we stayed in a hotel about 4 blocks from the marina (where our boat was). The trip was a 5-day live aboard, so we could live and breathe sailing the entire time. Day 2 in Florida was our first day on the boat. We spent about 2 hours getting acquainted with the boat and captain on the dock, doing some basic overview of sailing skills, boat functions and the names for each and every item on the boat and how it works (this is where the studying beforehand would have really helped!). We took the boat out of the marina to an inner harbor and pretty much just watched our captain do everything and explain how it all worked. It was quite beautiful and enjoyable (And the weather was perfect).
Days 2-5 were basically a combination of studying, practical application (sailing), and more studying. The class went from 9 to 4 every day, and our captain did all the cooking, so all we had to do was learn the basics of sailing. I wish it was as easy as that sounds, but it is actually quite a lot of information. Both Jake and I got sea sick on day 2, because we went below deck for too long, and were not acclimatized to the moving boat yet. Jake got over his sickness in about 20 minutes, because he hurled overboard, whereas I just felt nauseous for about 5 hours until it passed. Sea sickness is every bit as horrible as it sounds, and I would highly recommend taking Bonine or some kind of medication if you have any issues with it. I took a Bonine every day after that (just as a precaution), and didn’t have anymore issues with it. I’ve never been prone to motion-sickness, but it is very different at sea.
Every evening we did something really fun, like sea kayaking in the moonlight, or through private mangrove islands. We snorkeled one day, but it was really cold and kind of rough-water, so it was short-lived. Jen, our captain, was a hoot. She had a guitar on board, which of course we had to play! Jake wrote a song called “Wayne-to-Jayne” and it was HILLARIOUS. Jen got it on video, but didn’t know how to save it properly, so we haven’t seen it yet.
The trip was amazing, hard, strenuous, and extremely adventurous. We had so much fun and were very challenged by what it takes to actually sail a large yacht (40-foot). We also got our official ASA certifications to charter and skipper a 40 ft keel boat and learned coastal navigation in the FL Keys. It was amazing living aboard our beautiful vessel with our wonderful and wacky captain and being at sea for a week…it was not enough time.
Life is good…can’t wait for more!
