Making a sailboat go is far easier than most folks think. In fact we will have you sailing around the harbor adjusting the sails on the first day! What takes more time is to learn how to make the boat stop… how to get away from the dock and back again, navigating, who has the right of way, what to do in strong winds, and so on.

There are two broad categories of sailing; racing and cruising. It‘s sort of like the difference between longing for a sports car or a camper. Racing is the sailing you see on TV with lots of adjusting of sails, and a team focused on speed. Cruising is messing around on the water with a lay back attitude, cooking a good meal, and a tranquil night at anchor. We are cruisers. We focus more on anchoring techniques, docking procedures, and family safety on the water; rather than sail trim and speed.

Our class size is kept very small, and our course length is one of the longest in the business. We give students individual attention and lots of time at the wheel. We also include practice time on the boat after course completion. It's all about finishing with a good foundation, and enough repetition to make those new skills intuitive.

Everyone has their own vision of sailing and what they want to get out of it. Our staff has the knowledge base to guide you to the best option to get you safely on the water, enjoying the delights of sailing with your family.

Our Core Courses consist of ASA101 Basic Sailing, ASA103 Basic Cruising, and ASA104 Intermediate Cruising/BareBoat Certification.

ASA 101 Basic Sailing teaches you how to sail using a 20 foot boat. How to make the boat go, and how to make it stop; with other various sailing exercises to cement those skills. Sailing only, no motor!

ASA 103 Basic Cruising moves up to a 30 foot inboard powered boat, and we learn close quarter maneuvering under power, plus reefing, anchoring, and other cruising skills. LOTS of docking in this course.

ASA 104 Intermediate Cruising is where we get into boat systems; engine, electrical, and plumbing stuff, plus navigation. We take a multi-day trip navigating as we go spending two nights on the boat. This course gives you the BareBoat Charter certificate which is recognized by most charter companies.

Discounts!  Bring your spouse, or sign up for multiple courses...and you save!! Individual students get 10% off second and third course when committed to at the same time.

Couples get 20% off on the second person for all courses. This is to encourage both half’s of a couple to be skilled for safety.

   2012 Sailing Class Schedule

ASA 101 Basic Sailing No prerequisites. Taught on a Bristol 20. Three students plus instructor. This would be taught using three 7 hour classes.  All classes would be taught by a certified ASA instructor. Included is 8 hours of practice time on the boat after course completion.  $795

All course materials included.  Optional ASA certification is $50. 

Day One - Introduction to Sailing:

Classroom:

 Greeting, Course overview, basic boat, skipper & crew responsibilities, alcohol, federal requirements. Points of sail, and Rob’s five sailing rules. Sailing Rules of the road. Cleating a line.

On the water:

(1) Boarding, sailing checklist, raising sails, getting away from dock.

(2) Wind Direction, The five sailing rules, points of sail, and getting out of irons.

(3) Practice points of sail, Sailing commands and terminology

(4) Stopping the boat along side object

(5) Finish the sail and put boat away.

Day Two – Basic Sailing

Classroom:

Review and student questions. Then points of sail and what makes a boat sail, deck safety, Hypothermia, and Seasickness. Tying a clove hitch, tying a Bowline

On the water:

(1) Each point of sail with sail trim and sailing theory.

(2) Sailing Triangular course, and do figure eight

(3) Stopping along side a mooring, man overboard

Lesson Three – Safety and Seamanship

Classroom:

Review and student questions. Then charts, anchoring. Review of tying a cleat, bowline, clove hitch; and teach two half hitch. Time for testing

On the water:

(1) Sailing in confined area…(sail in mooring field.)

(2) Heaving to

(3) Picking up a mooring, docking under sail (upwind)

(4) Back to class for written test

 ASA 103 Beginning Cruising (Prerequisite ASA 101) Taught on a Pearson 30. Same basic formula as the 101 course.  Three 7 hour classes with three students and instructor. Included is use of the boat for 4 hours solo practice after course completion. About 20 hours instruction plus 4 hours practice for $795.

All course materials included. Optional ASA Certification is $50

Day 1 – Basic docking

Classroom: Greeting and course overview, Lights and rules of the road (power) Required and ASA recommended safety gear, Weather and fog, Knot review. Cleat, Bowline, Clove hitch. Round turn & two half hitch, figure eight, sheet bend

On the water: Engine operation, Vessel under power at the dock (sweet spot), securing boat to dock, Leaving and returning to dock up-wind, understanding and using prop wash and prop walk, spinning in place to starboard, Figure-eights forward and reverse

Day 2 – Basic Maneuvering under power, Cruising Skills

On the water: Docking, docking, docking. (break for lunch) Leaving dock with wind abeam. Backing into a slip, Transitioning from motoring to sailing. Anchoring, man overboard, reefing.

Day 3 – Navigation and Trip

Classroom: Navigation, Float Plan discussion, Grounding and tides, VHF and Emergencies. Taking a tow and salvage, knot review, test at end.

On the water: This is where he pieces are tied together with a short trip. With instructor observing; students take the boat out of slip, motor out to the bay, navigate to the anchorage, and anchor the boat. Grounding discussion, and sail back to classroom for test.

ASA 104  Intermediate Cruising/Bareboat Certification. $995 (Prerequisite ASA 103) Typically the course would start on Friday morning, with students staying aboard at the dock at the school. On the first day we would cover boat systems, docking, and meal planning. We would also go over the planned trip and navigation. In the afternoon we would practice docking and picking up the mooring; and anchoring if time permits. That evening the students would shop for food and stock the boat, then do the chart work for the trip. 

   Saturday morning we would review boat systems, and check the chartwork. Then we leave on our trip of about 6 hours navigating as we go. 

   Upon arrival at our destination we would review anchoring procedures, and then relax for a bit until dinner. Dinner would be on the boat at anchor.  After dinner we would cover basic chartplotter use, and do the navigation planning for the trip back.

   Sunday morning after breakfast we would review and practice anchoring, navigate back to our harbor using the chartplotter, and practice picking up a mooring. Exam after we get the boat squared away.

$995 for one, or $1795 for a couple.

Food not included. All course materials are included. ASA Certification optional for $50.

ASA 105 Advanced Coastal Navigation. $495 Learning to navigate using traditional methods. Taught in a classroom environment over six 3-hour sessions. Learn how to compensate for currents and leeway and allow for compass imperfections. Be able to navigate through fog using chart, parallel ruler and divider. You will be able to REALLY understand the information a chart is giving you, and be able to interpret your chart-plotter information better as well.

Course materials are $50 (Charts and books, and tests)  

ASA106 Advanced Coastal Cruising Priced by the cabin: $1495 for one and $1995 for two  (Three person Minimum)

  We have this course in two flavors this season. One is using the three cabin Mahe 36 Catamaran where we go to Martha's Vineyard area for four days, and the other is with our three cabin Catalina 40 and take a four day trip down Long Island sound through New York City ending up at an anchorage behind the Statue of Liberty. We will be stopping at various anchorages along the way, applying the advanced navigation techniques learned in ASA 105, and learning what sailing at night is like.

Folks often take this course more than once as every one is different. As in any coastal cruising trip we plan our next day's journey factoring in the forecast wind and weather...no two trips are the same!  

Food, and boat expenses not included, which usually run about $200 per person.

   We can add ASA 105 to this course for $395 per person with some evening classes beforehand to go over the theory, and practical applications on the trip.

 This course covers not only the diesel engine, but the entire system from motor to coupling to stuffing box to prop.

What makes a diesel engine go...and what to do when it stops. Plus how to do the normal maintenance to keep it happy. We have an actual two cylinder diesel in the classroom (on a stand) that we actually start up, cause it to fail, get it running again! We cover not only the fuel system, but the cooling system, injectors, charging system, and the like. We talk of engine alignment, stuffing box maintenance and cutlass bearing replacement; all with the parts and pieces in the classroom.

$495 for two six hour sessions

Basic Systems of a Boat $495 How do you keep the batteries charged? What pieces of a head need regular servicing? How does the steering work? What does a winch look like inside? This course goes over the basic systems of a boat including the electrical system, galley systems, mechanical systems and the plumbing system. We go into detail about how much battery storage you should have, how to keep them charged, and how much electricity you are using. We look at different kinds of pumps the boat uses for different applications. We have several boats available to look at for this course, so you can understand different approaches to solve different system challenges, as well as various system pieces disassembled to understand their workings.

Two 6 hour lessons. Three student minimum, Six maximum. $495 per person.

Course Challenge, $250  You may already know some stuff, maybe self taught, and don't know where your skill level is at. No Problem! We would take you out and have you perform the required exercises for a course and see how you do. You might need a few hours of private instruction to master the skills; or you may not. Take the written test, and with a passing grade you will be awarded the certification for that particular ASA course.

  We use that same pattern for the certification for all the  ASA courses. Evaluate skills, provide needed instruction, and then exam.

Cost is $250 and includes course materials, a bit of instruction, exam, and ASA course registration.

 Narragansett Sailing School Instructors:

At the helm is owner Rob Lawnsby. Over the years he has taught many folks to sail, and has developed a step by step approach breaking the complex activity of sailing to some straightforward fundamentals that is easily taught, and makes it all very intuitive. This has been passed down to his instructors who will demonstrate a skill and then you will practice, practice, practice!

Rob Lawnsby

Rob has been sailing for over 30 years, and holds a Coast Guard 50-ton Masters License, Rob has cruised extensively along the Eastern Seaboard, and lives aboard a Tanzer 35 year round with his wife Sandy.  

Regina Krieger

Regina has been around boats for 30 years and initially learned sailing on lakes in Europe where she grew up. Upon moving to Boston, she expanded her skills and has sailed coastal waters in New England as well as the San Francisco Bay. If you think it takes brute strength to sail a boat, watch this diminutive sailor manage the sails and dock the vessel. Regina likes to encourage women to take the helm and learn that sailing really is simple. The more you sail with her the more you will learn about boating, navigating, and how to handle the details of a day on the bay.  

Gregg Morash

Greg has been teaching sailing for 10 years, is a certified Emergency Medical Technician, and is a fire fighter as well. You really learn safety from Gregg, as well as a good foundation in the basics. Gregg holds his 100 ton master's license, and his teaching method is thorough. Gregg has sailed his Tartan 37 extensively, and is excellent in explaining the ins and outs of cruising and navigating
 

Peter Place

Peter started sailing as a boy with a beetle catboat, and taught Sailing at Edgewood Yacht Club. He has sailed the length of Lake Michigan, sailed in the Bahamas, and has even done some of the Mississippi River. A native of Rhode Island he owns a Freedom 36 which he sails all over New England. Peter has a quiet way about him and students like his thorough approach to teaching. Peter is excellent with boat systems as he does all his own work on his own boat, a Freedom 36.

Kathy Fuller

Kathy has been sailing for years starting with smaller boats and working her way up. She bought a Hunter 36 in 2005 perfecting her sail trim techniques racing at the Bristol Yacht Club. She is at home cruising around the bay, and is planning a more ambitious trip south before long. Women instructors have patience and understanding, and Kathy is a good example of sailing in harmony.

Jill Clement

 Jill learned sailing from her grandfather and father sailing the Maine coast while growing up, in Beetle Cats, Mercury's and her family's O'Day 19 and 25.  Later she sailed the Chesapeake Bay on a Sabre 30.  Sailing is in her blood, and it shows!  Since moving to Rhode Island, Jill has owned several boats, including a Pearson 30 and currently a Catalina 320, on which she loves to cruise to and show others her favorite anchorages in Narragansett Bay. 

 

Mike McKenna

Mike is a Massachusetts Maritime graduate with his 50-Ton Coast Guard Masters License. He has taught American Red Cross swimming, first aid, CPR, and basic water rescue. He has also taught boating, sailing, and safety training for colleges and boating clubs.