Did you know you could learn to sail St Vincent whilst enjoying a holiday in the sun? Horizon Yacht Charters Sailing School is an American Sailing Association (ASA) certified facility, where first-class tuition is available on first-class yachts in one of the most idyllic cruising grounds in the world: The Grenadines.
You will set sail from the beautiful, friendly island of St Vincent and visit several other islands and special locations in the Grenadines while at the same time earning your American Sailing Association certifications.
Over the course of a week when you learn to sail St Vincent you will gain the knowledge and experience to charter sailboats anywhere in the world, and embark on your own sailing adventure! The goal is to enjoy a learning vacation. The emphasis is on learning how to sail, through hands-on experience, in a beautiful part of the world. Mornings will be spent learning and practicing new skills. In the afternoons you will set sail with the backdrop of spectacular beaches and islands of the Grenadines, refining these newly learned skills along the way. Once anchored for the afternoon, there will be free time to spend exploring, snorkelling, fishing, and relaxing…
The American Sailing Association (ASA) program has structured levels of sailing standards, which are examined at progressive certification levels at our Caribbean sailing schools. Students who learn so sail with Horizon Yacht Charters receive a Logbook that lists the standards, certification and records sailing experience. All courses and examinations are run by ASA qualified instructors. When a certification level is successfully completed, your logbook is signed and stamped so that any charter or rental fleet operator can see your level of competency. The most popular American Sailing Association courses we offer are as follows.
- Basic Keelboat Sailing Standard (#101)
- Basic Coastal Cruising Standard (#103)
- Bareboat Chartering Standard (#104)
You can also watch some video tips from the ASA here.
If you have little or no experience, then we recommend that you start off with Course #s 101 and 103. If you are on a week’s charter, these two courses can be taught in 5 days, giving you a couple of days to practice your new-found skills at the end of the week or to simply relax!
Those that have cruising experience and basic seamanship skills should also add Course #104 to their instruction. The three courses can be taught in one week, but don’t forget you are on vacation too so you may want to extend a few days to fit in some R&R! Its always a perfect time to learn to sail St Vincent, but from July 10th to October 31st we offer 10 days for the price of seven on our yachts, which gives you three days at no extra charge on the weekly rate!
Contact us at 1 473-439-1002 or e-mail us at [email protected].
Meet your instructor
Brian Mascoll is an ASA certified instructor qualified to teach courses from the basic keelboat sailing course (ASA101) through to the Bareboat cruising course (ASA104) and the Catamaran cruising course (ASA 114).
From St.Vincent and the Grenadines, located in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean, Brian grew up in a small fishing village named Edinboro just outside of Kingstown, the capital of St Vincent. Being so close to the waterfront, he would spend most of his free time at the beach, snorkelling and spearfishing and being around boats with his older brother and dad.
He also got involved with helping the local fishermen, learning the many different styles of traditional fishing from the area. This is where he developed his love of the ocean. As a youngster growing up in St.Vincent, Brian first started off working with one of the local dive shops on the weekends or school holidays as an intern and achieved his PADI divemaster.
After becoming one of the youngest divemasters in the region, he did not stop there but then ventured on to achieve his sailing certifications and to work as a professional skipper. After about a year and a half, Brian started working with one of the local charter companies as an outboard mechanic.
An ambitious person, he then started to work in the rigging department, where he had the duty of evaluating the condition of the yacht’s rig and completing any tasks required to ensure the yachts are seaworthy and in good sailing condition. After achieving much more experience on and in the water Brian moved on to become a chief rigger for Horizon Yacht Charters in St.Vincent.
During this time Brian has achieved his ASA instructor qualifications and continued to perfect his skills as a sailing instructor, as well as developing and mentoring new staff, and briefing charter clients to explore the Grenadines, his beautiful back yard.
Here is what one of Brian’s many clients had to say:
“My husband and I chartered a catamaran for 9 days and arranged to have a certified ASA instructor to take ASA 101,103,104,& 114…
I have to say we feel really lucky to have Brian as our instructor. He is the only local certified ASA instructor in the Grenadines…I was incredibly impressed with his knowledge and his teaching styles.
We were able to complete all 4 courses and had a lot of fun in the process. I would highly recommend him as a hired Captain or Instructor. He was definitely was a huge part of what we loved about our trip!
We will be hiring Brian again for our next trip to the Grenadines.” — Natasha & Andi Marcher
Learn to Sail in St Vincent with Horizon!
