Whew!! Is really how I feel about achieving my ASA (American Sailing Assoc) certification for levels 101 (basic sailing), 103 (day sailing/cruising) & 104 (bareboat coastal sailing/cruising). That probably doesn’t mean much to you, but to me it means passing three tests with 100 questions each, covering about 325 pages of material!!

I didn’t realize that this was an immersion course and that I was supposed to arrive at the dock ready to take three “final” exams.

The great news is that all ended well and I had a blast learning!!

We launched from Bellingham and were sailing within the hour. The first destination was Sucia Island. One of my favorites!

From Sucia we sailed to Stuart, Roche Harbor, Lopez, Orcas and finally back to Bellingham., spending a night at each place.

Our crew was the best!! Our instructor and owner of the boat, Bob Hathaway, ended up being someone I went to High School with. He remembers my older sister Cindy well, and fondly. we grew up on the same street. An amazing coincidence.

The rest of the crew was equally fun, enthusiastic, smart and eager. Stephanie is a NYTimes bestselling author, Megan and Chris are preparing for their sail around the world together.

It was gratifying to be learning with such interesting, motivated people. We were all so eager, I think we drove Bob a bit crazy. He kept saying things like “it’s only Monday…..we have all week, no one does (full in the blank) Monday!

The wind was mild for the first few days, but by Thursday, we had 15-20 knots which enabled us to sail the entire distance from Orcas to Chuckanut Dr. It was so fun!! Bob lets us “go”. We did it all, putting all of the skills we learned during the week to good use.

I was so stressed about the timing of this course. It just felt like too much all at once….but I hung in, because I knew it would be worth it in the end.

Boy was I right!!

I can’t wait to go sailing in another week-when I’ll be in Dubrovnik, Croatia on the Adriatic. A full 35 year wish come true.