Learn To Sail in Michigan - Lake St Clair Sailing School

Your Journey into Sailing Starts Here

Whether you dream of chartering a sailboat in the Caribbean, purchasing your own boat for new adventures, or turning a passion for the water into a professional career, your journey begins with the right education. The mission of Lake St. Clair Sailing School is to help you achieve those dreams by providing comprehensive, personalized, and fun sailing instruction. We are dedicated to transforming aspiring mariners into skilled sailors, one course at a time.

Our core value proposition is simple: to provide sailors of all experience levels with the opportunity to become more competent and confident in their abilities. We achieve this through high-quality, hands-on training delivered by our team of American Sailing Association (ASA) Certified instructors. Every lesson is designed to be practical, safety-focused, and tailored to help you succeed on the water.

The ASA Certification Pathway: From Novice to Confident Sailor

The American Sailing Association (ASA) provides the industry’s most comprehensive and internationally recognized set of standards for sailing education. Earning an ASA certification is your passport to the world’s waterways, giving you a proven way to demonstrate your knowledge and skills to charter fleets and rental companies worldwide. This commitment to professional standards ensures that every certified sailor is prepared for safe and competent sailing.

ASA 101: Basic Keelboat Sailing

- Objective: This foundational course equips students with the fundamental skills required to sail keelboats up to 30 feet. The curriculum covers essential sail theory, maritime terminology, on-water safety procedures, basic chart work, rules of the road, and critical man overboard recovery drills.

- Format:

Feature	Details
Price	$545
Schedule	A Two-Day Class From 10am – 4pm
Prerequisites	None. No previous experience is required.
Required Reading	“Sailing Made Easy” book. Note that booking at least two weeks in advance is required to allow time for reading. Once you book, the manager will send you a link for an online detailed course and a book.
Instruction Method	All instruction is hands-on and conducted aboard the boat.
Certification	Successful completion earns ASA 101 certification.

ASA 103: Coastal Cruising

- Objective: This course builds upon the ASA 101 foundation, teaching the fundamentals of coastal cruising on an auxiliary sailing yacht during daylight hours. Subjects include federal and state required equipment, engine operation and basic troubleshooting, weather observation, heavy weather tactics, and basic navigation.

- Format:

Feature	Details
Price	$595
Schedule	A Two-Day Class From 9am – 5pm
Prerequisites	ASA 101 Certification
Required Reading	“Coastal Sailing Made Easy”
Instruction Method	On-board instruction with a written exam.
Certification	Successful completion earns ASA 103 certification.

ASA 104: Bareboat Made Easy

ASA 104

ASA 104: Bareboat Cruising Certification $1,250 Three-Day Course | (Includes Overnight Training) Take the next step toward independent cruising with this advanced, hands-on course aboard 30–45 ft sailboats. ASA 104 builds on your existing skills and prepares you to confidently skipper a vessel on multi-day trips. Training includes cruise planning, advanced navigation (chart plotting, dead reckoning, and course calculations), anchoring techniques, docking and maneuvering in tight quarters, reefing and sail management, weather awareness, and emergency procedures including Man Overboard (MOB) drills. This course includes liveaboard experience, allowing students to gain real-world knowledge of systems management, provisioning, and onboard living. A written exam is required. Students who successfully complete the course will receive official American Sailing (ASA) 104 Bareboat Cruising Certification.

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