American Sailing Association Offering Covid-19 Era Webinar Series

The American Sailing Association (ASA), America’s sail education authority, is launching a new webinar series. Presented by two-time America’s Cup winner Peter Isler, the three-part series is designed to help sailors keep learning and getting their feet “wet” while they are sheltering in place during the Covid-19 pandemic. Sponsored by North Sails, the cost is $20 per webinar for ASA members in good standing, which is 33% off the regular $30 fee (fee includes access to the webinar recording for 30 days for replay). For those unable to catch the webinars’ premiere episodes, ASA will be rerunning the series throughout this period of social distancing and staying at home.

“These new webinars are designed to help people grow as sailors by providing a deep dive into important topics such as safety, cruising and sail handling, among others,” said Lenny Shabes, ASA’s chairman. “They will also allow our sailing friends to continue to enjoy their sport while social distancing and staying at home during these unprecedented times.”

The series kicked off on Thursday April 2 with “Sailing Safety: A Personal Perspective.” In this one-hour webinar suitable for sailors of all levels, Isler shared some harrowing sea stories and lessons he learned from those experiences. He also covered several important safety-related topics, some of which would be found in a formal safety at sea course and others which Isler has gleaned from a lifetime of “messing around in boats.”

On deck and premiering on Saturday, April 4, 2020 at 6 p.m. PDT / 9 p.m. EDT will be “A Busman’s Holiday: A Mediterranean Cruise Around Ibiza with Peter Isler.” In the second installment, which also runs one hour and is appropriate for all levels of sailors, Isler will share his experiences chartering a 50-foot sloop in Ibiza, Spain. As most of Isler’s hundreds of thousands of miles on the water have been aboard racing boats, he will share the different perspective of sailing he gained on this week-long cruise in the Balearic Islands, in addition to the many important lessons he learned.

Rounding out the web series, “Cruising Easy: Sail Handling Tips from an Expert” will premiere on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at 6 p.m. PDT / 9 p.m. EDT. In this one-hour webinar suitable for all levels of sailing experience, Isler will share his expertise in making sailing, as well as sail handling, easier by using the wind’s force to help do the work. He will also discuss the “hard way” and the “easy way” to perform skills like trimming in a large genoa in strong winds or preparing a halyard for easing. This class will also include video footage from both a 50-foot charter sailboat and a 135-foot J-Class yacht.

The links to register and more information on the upcoming Peter Isler webinars are available on the webinars page of the ASA website. The new series is part of ASA’s growing library of webinars; after their premieres, all seven ASA webinars will be available to watch on demand.

About Peter Isler 

Emmy Award-winning sailing broadcaster and ASA co-founder, Peter Isler, is the primary host of ASA’s new series of webinars on a wide variety of sailing subjects, both informative and entertaining. A best-selling author and chairman of ASA’s educational committee, Isler shares his vast knowledge about the sport of sailing in these online courses.

About the American Sailing Association

The American Sailing Association (ASA) has been the leader in U.S. sailing education for 37 years. The Association has grown to include an international network of more than 400 professionally accredited sailing schools. More than one million certifications have been awarded to over 535,000 people who have been introduced to sailing through ASA schools, clubs and programs since 1983. For more information, visit www.asa.com.