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Bareboat Charter
Frequently Asked Questions.
FAQ
Table of Contents
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Why doesn’t Northern
Breezes include an inflatable Life Jacket with
your Bareboat Course?
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One of your competitors
stated that ASA can total $3,000 or more to
achieve Bareboat Charter certification whereas
their course costs $995.
Why doesn’t Northern
Breezes include an inflatable Life Jacket with your
Bareboat Course?
A. Life Jackets are a very
individual piece of gear. Their use is
critical in a sailor’s decision. For example
if you are going to sail offshore at night, a water
activated inflatable with a built-in harness and a
spare CO2 cartridge would be my recommendation. If I’m day sailing around the Apostle Islands most
people would consider it gross overkill. Many
would consider an inflatable fanny pack for comfort
and wearability. We have good life jackets on
all our boats. You can try various models and
pick yours based on comfort and use. Trust me,
nothing is “free,” it is built into the price of the
course.
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One of your competitors stated
that ASA can total $3,000 or more to achieve
Bareboat Charter certification whereas their course
costs $995.
A. Let’s
deal with that absurdly spun claim. If you are
a “newbie” to sailing, our first course is Basic
Keelboat which is taught on the “right” size boats. Basic Keelboat costs $449. This is generally
followed by our vacation course in Bayfield which is
really two courses, Basic Cruising (ASA 103) and
Bareboat Charter (ASA 104). This course costs
$995.00. The total cost is $1,444 not $3,000
or more.
Now let’s dwell into the real
differences. They are time on the water and
time on the “right” sized boats. In Basic
Keelboat you will spend four sessions on the water. You will be tested both on the water and with a
written test to national, and international
standards. Basic Keelboat is a nationally
recognized safe boating course. This is
followed by a four day live aboard “vacation”
course on a 34-37 foot yacht. With your Basic
Keelboat experience these are the right sized boats
when coupled with “four” days. The competition
is using a three day course to “Charter certify.”
The boat is too big to get a good sailor’s “feel”
for the wind and generally is smaller than our
Bareboat Charter vacation class boats. The
competition conveniently likes to blow off the Basic
Keelboat experience as unnecessary. Every
certification organization from the U.S. and British
Navies to ASA and U.S. Sailing agree with us, not
them.
If you are a “Newbie,” are four
sessions in Basic Keelboat and a four day vacation
course a better value than a 3-day uncertified
course? I believe it is. If you are a
person who could test out of Basic Keelboat, then
the comparison is pretty straight-up. Four
days versus three days for virtually the same cost;
certified nationally and internationally versus
uncertified. Watch for the hidden costs of
hotels (you stay on our boats), meals (we provide
several), etc. we are very upfront about these
costs.
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