Dyess Maritime Consultants: ASA Courses

NOTE: THE REMAINDER OF THE 2008 ASA CLASSES ARE CANCELLED BECAUSE OF HURRICANE IKE DAMAGE. THIS WEBSITE WILL BE UP-DATED WITH OUR 2009 SCHEDULE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Dyess Maritime Consultants teach, in association with the American Sailing Association and Bay Area
Sailing Center of Kemah, Texas, sailing certifications at every level – from basic sailing
fundamentals to off-shore, all-weather sailing instructor.

ASA SAILING CERTIFICATIONS: All of our sailing courses result in American Sailing
Association (ASA) certifications that are recognized worldwide. The courses are as follows:

BASIC KEELBOAT SAILING: Prerequisites – None.

Graduates will be able to sail a boat about 20 feet in length in light to moderate wind and sea conditions
in familiar waters without supervision. A preparatory course with no auxiliary power or navigation
skills required. This course consists of approximately six hours of classroom and examination
time plus approximately 12 hours of on-the-water instruction. Taught in the Arlington, Texas area.

BASIC COASTAL CRUISING: Prerequisites – Basic Keelboat Sailing Certification.

Graduates will be able to cruise safely in local and regional waters both as a shipper and
crew on an auxiliary powered sailboat of about 20 to 30 feet in length, in moderate wind and sea
conditions. This course is taught in combination with the following Bareboat Chartering Course.

BAREBOAT CHARTERING: Prerequisites – Basic Keelboat and Basic Coastal Cruising Certifications.

This is an advanced cruising course, Graduates will be qualified to act as skipper or crew on a vessel
30 to 50 feet in length by day, on inland and coastal waters. The course includes knowledge of
boating systems and maintenance procedures. This course is taught in combination with
aforementioned Basic Coastal Cruising Course. It is taught on a vessel greater than 30 feet in length
on Galveston Bay, the Houston Ship Channel and the Intercoastal Waterway. It is a live-aboard
course of three to four days in length.

COASTAL NAVIGATION: Prerequisites – None.

Graduates will be able to safely navigate a sailing or power driven vessel on coastal or
inland waters. This is a classroom course with no on-water skills required. It is taught in the
Dyess Maritime Consultants classroom in Arlington, Texas.

ADVANCED COASTAL CRUISING: Prerequisites – all previous ASA certifications including Coastal
Navigation.

Graduates will be able to safely act as skipper or crew of a sailing vessel 30 to 50 feet in length,
day or night, on inland or coastal waters, in any weather. It is taught on a vessel greater
than 30 feet in length on Galveston Bay, the Houston Ship Channel, the Intercoastal Waterway, and
the Gulf of Mexico. It is a live-aboard course of three to four days in length.

ASA SAILING INSTRUCTOR CERTIFICATIONS: Prerequisites – three years of sailing experience.
However, previous ASA sailing certifications are not prerequisite.

Instructor certifications are issued for each of the courses described above during an ASA Instructor
Qualification Clinic (IQC). An ASA Instructor Evaluator (IE), who is responsible only to ASA, provides
the instruction. Our lead instructor, Captain Jack Dyess, is a certified ASA Instructor
Evaluator thus it is he who conducts all of the IQCs taught by Dyess Maritime Consultants.
These clinics are taught on Galveston Bay using the facilities of the Bay Area Sailing Center
of Kemah, Texas.

The objective of the ASA Instructor Qualification Clinic is to provide certification of sailing and
instructional skills of potential professional sailing instructors. During this clinic the candidate
will be introduced to basic teaching concepts and instructor ethics. The candidate will
also receive instruction on the purpose and history of ASA. However, the purpose of the clinic does not
include basic sailing instruction. It is assumed that someone wanting to become a professional
sailing instructor already knows how to sail. Therefore, the clinic emphasis will be on evaluation of
sailing skills as opposed the teaching of these skills.

Approximately five hours of instruction will be provided by the IE to impart information concerning
teaching techniques, instructor ethics, ASA background, and safety considerations and set the instructional
standards expected of candidates during their practice teaching sessions.

Each candidate will be required to present, on board a vessel, an impromptu lesion of approximately
five minutes on a subject assigned by the IE for each level of certification. Candidates
will have no time for research or preparation. Each candidate will also be required to present a
formal lesson of approximately ten minutes on a subject assigned by the IE in advance.
Candidates must then successfully perform a number of sailing skills maneuvers
as directed the IE for each level of certification.

Please click on each of the red tabs at the top of this page for additional information.

To contact us, please email us at jd@dyessmaritime.com
or call us at 817-946-2099.