Advanced Coastal Cruising

Class Location:  Lake Superior. Most courses start at Pikes Bay Marina in Bayfield, Wisconsin.

Directions to Bayfield: Four hours north of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Take 35W to Duluth. Take Hwy 2 East for approximately 55 miles to Hwy 13 and then proceed north to Bayfield, WI.  If you turn on Hwy 13 just east of Superior, Wisconsin you will take a very scenic route, although it is about 20 miles longer.

Advanced Coastal Cruising - ASA Course 106

This might prove to be one of your favorite courses because it brings together everything you’ve learned before plus many new skills such as night sailing and the rigors of a 24-hour transit. This course teaches more advanced sailing skills for the sailor with weekend cruising experience. The course is held on an auxiliary sailboat. Students will navigate out of sight of land, maintaining a watch schedule while underway day and night, preparing meals aboard during our crossing. Students will use navigation skills learned in Coastal Navigation and utilize radar and/or advanced navigation techniques for nighttime, restricted visibility, and will be prepared for heavy-weather sailing. Nighttime crew overboard (COB) and emergency procedure drills are conducted underway.

Students maneuver the boat under power, dock and anchor in an unfamiliar harbor. Safe nighttime approaches are taught and practiced when possible. Upon successful completion of the course, students will receive ASA’s Advanced Coastal Cruising certification. Lead instructors are Captain Thom Burns, retired U.S. Navigator/North Atlantic Crossing Navigator, and Captain Steve Burns, North Atlantic and North Sea Navigator.

This is a challenging course which prepares you for longer overnight passages. 

Many students have repeated this course as a refresher and for the challenge and fun. All are welcome to repeat the class.

3 Day Advanced Coastal Cruising (ACC) offshore versus 5 Day
Three day ACC courses meet the basic requirements of Advanced Coastal Cruising: night sailing, approaches, departures, night crew overboard and limited watch standing. Destinations often considered based on weather are: Cornucopia, WI; Saxon, WI; Black River Falls, MI and Silver Bay, MN. Because of the shorter length, three day courses do not include common five day destinations such as Grand Marais, MN; Houghton-Hancock, MI or Ontonagon, MI. The five day ACC travels further generally doing a loop of western Lake Superior from Bayfield Wisconsin to Grand Marais, Minnesota then back across the Lake to Saxon, WI or Black River Falls, MI. Isle Royale is weather dependent and a plus which means it is not part of the course. An alternative route based on weather is Houghton-Hancock, Ontonagon, MI and either Bayfield, WI direct or Madeline Island prior to Bayfield. The five day course covers more miles with more watch standing and more than meets the requirements of the advanced coastal cruising offshore class. It is great preparation for Offshore Passagemaking or Chartering your own bareboat to Isle Royale.

Every other year we offer a special “Delivery” ACC which starts in Bayfield, WI and transits the Houghton-Hancock ship canal (usually with a stop); typically we then proceed to either Marquette, MI or Munising, MI before passing by “Pictured Rocks” and stopping in Grand Marais, MI; we then often stop at Whitefish Harbor (home of the Edmund Fitzgerald Museum) before proceeding across Whitefish Bay, up the St. Mary’s River and through the locks at Sault Ste. Marie. The boats generally compete in the Trans Superior Yacht Race back to Duluth, MN after some crew changes.

Course Materials:  Annapolis Book of Seamanship (Students should review their Basic Coastal Cruising and Bareboat Chartering texts.)

Class size is limited to four people.

Skills Covered:

*** Flexibility is the key to cruising.  Other than pre-underway items, everything is always subject to weather and other safe seamanship concerns. ***

3-Day Singles Course Fee:   $749, includes three days of instruction, all meals underway, textbook and ASA certification, upon successful completion of the course.

3-Day Couples Course Fee:   $1,395, includes three days of instruction, all meals underway, shared textbook and ASA certification, upon successful completion of the course.

5-Day Singles Course Fee:   $1,095, includes five days of instruction, all meals underway, textbook and ASA certification, upon successful completion of the course.

5-Day Couples Course Fee:   $1,995, includes five days of instruction, all meals underway, Shared textbook and ASA certification, upon successful completion of the course.

TransSuperior 2017 Fee:   $650, includes all meals underway.

Meals are provided underway; meals ashore are the responsibility of the participant.  Students should bring clothing for all weather conditions, sleeping bag, towel, and navigation instruments they received in Coastal Navigation.

2017 Season:  Lake Superior.  Students should plan to be onboard the boat the evening before the first day.

AC1 - 5-Day • June 15-19, 2017. See above description. Itinerary is weather dependent.

AC2 - 5-Day • July 31-Aug 4, 2017 Delivery to Sault Ste. Marie. See above description. Itinerary is weather dependent.

Trans-Superior Race • Aug 5-10, 2017 Sault Ste. Marie, MI to Duluth, MN. Great experience for ACC graduates, but not a prerequisite.

AC3 - 5-Day • Aug 17-21, 2017. See above description. Itinerary is weather dependent.

AC4 - 5-Day • Sept 21-25, 2017. See above description. Itinerary is weather dependent.  

• Additional Sections of this course are often added. If you have a group, please contact us. See Family & Friends, Advanced Coastal Cruising. •

Link to "Our Marina," at Pike's Bay, two miles south of Bayfield, Wisconsin: Pike's Bay Marina

Links to Articles written by your Instructors: Instructor Article Links

2017 Caribbean Schedule:  Courses will be conducted in Sint Maarten, St. Martin, St Barts, Stacia, Saba, Anguilla.  See Caribbean Vacation Courses for more information and dates.  Advanced Coastal Cruising Caribbean

Call Northern Breezes Sailing School at 763-542-9707 to register or with questions.

Prerequisites for this course:  ASA Bareboat Charter Certification (ASA 104) and ASA Coastal Navigation (ASA 105)

• Prerequisites may be waived on a case-by-case basis for students with extensive experience without ASA Bareboat Charter certification (ASA 104) and ASA Coastal Navigation (ASA 105).

Northern Breezes Sailing School
3949 Winnetka Ave. N.
Minneapolis, MN  55427
Call For Free Brochure (763) 542-9707
American Sailing Association Sailing School

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