Boating Instruction & Charters
Keel Boat Sailing Lessons
Boat Handling Skills and Safety Drills
Coastal Piloting & Charting – Instruction in Navigation
Navigation Rules of the Road – Memorization Made Easy
Boat Deliveries
Pet Memorial Ceremony
Scout Badge Activities
Whale Watching
Pacific Ocean Cruises off Southern California and to the Channel Islands
Group Team Building Activities
Women Only Cruises – Mermaid Adventures
Sunset Cruises
Ocean Sailing Experience
Day Trips
Keel Boat Sailing Lessons
Learn to sail a cruising sailboat. Instruction will take place on board the boat and newly acquired skills will be put to practice on the water.
Boat Handling Skills and Safety Drills
Practice docking, maneuvering in tight quarters, line handling, anchoring, overboard recovery drills, picking up a mooring, and reefing. Rehearse using safety and rescue equipment including PFDs, tethers and harnesses, jacklines, ring buoys and heaving lines, and emergency signaling equipment. Learn to use a VHF radio to summon help.
Coastal Piloting & Charting – Instruction in Navigation
Do you depend on modern navigational technology like GPS and computer navigation systems to find your way on the water? Many of today's boaters either never learned or have forgotten how to use a paper chart and coastal piloting skills. Learn to plot a position on a paper chart, lay out a course, measure distance, compensate for variation and deviation in order to correct or uncorrect the compass, solve speed, time and distance problems; determine speed or course made good, estimate time of arrival, determine position by bearings, deviation from a range, set and drift, and course to steer for a known set and drift. Know what to do if your electronic navigation systems fail.
Many people who regularly depend on a calculator or computer to solve simple mathematical calculations, cannot perform even simple, let alone complex, arithmetic computations without an electronic aid. Although you may have learned to do so in elementary school, when's the last time you figured out a square root problem without the aid of a calculator? Similarly, many of today's boaters only learn to navigate using electronic aids to navigation, and are lost when the systems inevitably fail. Participants will leave this workshop having learned several valuable, and possibly life saving skills.
Workshop participants will learn fundamental skills needed for coastal piloting of a boat. The workshop will include some hands on practice of charting and dead reckoning skills. Basic navigational concepts and navigational tools will be introduced. Participants will gain the confidence needed to perform routine piloting tasks in the event of electronic navigation systems failure.
Navigation Rules of the Road – Memorization Made Easy
If, like most recreational boaters, you find it impossible to memorize the 38 rules of the road and 5 annexes included in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security / United States Coast Guard Navigation Rules International – Inland you are not alone. If two sailboats are on a collision course, do you know which one of them has the right of way? No idea if a fishing vessel has the right of way over a vessel restricted in her ability to maneuver? Do you know what signal you must sound if you run aground? Would you recognize the identifying light signal of a submarine running on the surface at night? Participants in this workshop will leave with an understanding and knowledge of the rules of the road that will impress a professional mariner.
Although automobile drivers assume other licensed drivers know the rules of the road and understand the meaning of highway sign and traffic signals, boaters do not have the same reassurance. Most states do not require boaters to be licensed. In many areas of the country, anyone, regardless of age or previous boating experience can rent a boat and take it out onto the crowded waterways. Due to the difficulty in memorizing the myriad of complicated international and inland water boating rules, even many experienced boaters never attempt to learn the rules. Whether the goal is personal knowledge and safety, or whether you are responsible for teaching units in boating safety, you will gain a sense of confidence in your understanding of Navigation Rules.
Boat Deliveries
Please call to determine availability.
Pet Memorial Ceremony
Say goodbye to your "furry friend" with a brief ceremony prior to disposing of his ashes at sea.
Scout Badge Activities
Is your troop working on a badge that involves navigation, water safety or boating skills? We can help you complete many of the required activities.
Whale Watching
Spend an afternoon on the ocean observing and following California Gray Whales as they make their annual migration south to the warm Baja lagoons. (Seasonal – Mid December through early March)
Pacific Ocean cruises off Southern California and to the Channel Islands
Cruises lasting from 2 to 14 days can be customized to meet your desires and goals. Trips can be ambitious covering lengthy legs of sailing, night crossings and visits to a half dozen islands, or more relaxed with days spent ashore in more leisurely pursuits. We can anchor in remote, isolated anchorages and explore semi–deserted islands and caves, or moor in crowed harbors near shops and restaurants. Please call to schedule in advance.
Group Team Building Activities
Come join your colleagues for an afternoon of active ocean sailing. Assist with sail handling, drills and steering. Limited to 6 participants. Call for reservations.
Women Only Cruises – Mermaid Adventures
Disappointed you didn't get picked as a crew member aboard America3? Tired of being First Mate, but you don't have the experience or confidence to be Captain? Need to spend some quality time with your mother or daughter? Just want to get away with "the girls"? Daysails, weekend cruises to Catalina Island, or one to two week long all–women offshore voyages can be arranged. Limited to 6 participants. Beginner sailors welcome.
Sample week long cruise – approximately 200 miles:
| Sunday | Sail from San Diego to Dana Point. Spot pods of dolphins as you sail north along the Southern California Coast. Anchor for the night in Dana Point Harbor. Dinghy to shore at the yacht club for dinner. |
| Monday | Sail from Dana Point to Santa Catalina Island. Moor in Avalon Harbor. Eat an early dinner of just–caught sand dabs at Armstrong's looking over the busy harbor. Go on a night–time kayak trip with an astronomer. |
| Tuesday | Day ashore on Catalina. Eat breakfast at Eric's on the Pleasure Pier. Go on island tours. Shop. Get a massage at the Island Breezes day spa. Play 9 holes of golf at the famous Catalina Island Golf Course. SCUBA dive in the Casino Point Underwater Park. Meet for appetizers and margaritas at a sidewalk café. Go to the movies at the historic Casino building theater. |
| Wednesday | Sail from Avalon up to the Isthmus at Two Harbors. Fish along the way. Moor at the Isthmus. Dinghy to shore. Hike to Cat Harbor. Explore the Isthmus. |
| Thursday | Spend the day in Two Harbors. Snorkel with the leopard sharks at the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies. Eat a "cheeseburger in paradise" lunch at the Galley snack bar. Spend the afternoon in a hammock reading and napping under a palm tree. Sit around on the boat after dinner watching the stars, and the glow on the horizon from Los Angeles. |
| Friday | Sail from Two Harbors to San Clemente Island. Anchor for the night at Pyramid Cove. Spend your last night aboard surrounded by seals and sea lions. |
| Saturday | Sail home to San Diego from San Clemente Island. |
Sunset Cruises
Sunset cruises depart from the marina approximately 2 hours prior to sunset and return with the afterglow within an hour of sunset. You can join in, raise sails, take a turn at the helm, handle lines, or just sit back and enjoy the ocean breezes and watch the sun sink below the horizon.
Ocean Sailing Experience
Have you always wanted to learn to sail, but live a thousand miles away from the ocean? Does your previous sailing experience consist of floating around in a tippy Sunfish on a calm, flatwater lake? Whether a landlubber or experienced sailor, come enjoy a half day of sailing with a licensed captain on a cruising sailboat on the Pacific Ocean.
Learn the basics of ocean sailing: sailboat terminology, boat handling skills, boating safety, docking, and wind awareness. Trips will leave from San Bay. After a brief overview of the boat and a safety orientation, we will sail off Point Loma in the vicinity of the America's Cup race course. Limit: 6 participants. No previous sailing experience necessary.
Day Trips
Half day trips, including ocean sailing experience, sunset cruises, group team building activities, and whale watching trips typically last 3 – 4 hours, and one to 6 passengers may participate. Additional hours on the water may be scheduled.
For day trips leaving from San Diego Bay, please schedule through:
Ken Cohen
California Cruisin' Yacht Charters
1450 Harbor Island Drive
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 296–8000
www.californiacruisin.com
For all other services, please call Aquatic Consulting Services for a price quote.
Alison Osinski, Ph.D.
Aquatic Consulting Services
1220 Rosecrans Street #915
San Diego, CA 92106
(619) 602–4435
www.alisonosinski.com
Note: You are welcome to bring children as part of your group, unless the activity is advertised for adults only. However, you will need to provide properly sized PFDs for the children, and per California law, the children must wear the PFDs at all times while aboard the boat.
All groups are limited to a maximum of 6 participants. A licensed captain, and depending on the activity, a crew member will also be aboard.
