The ASA 104 is the certification to allow you to obtain the SLC certificate which are used for chartering a boat especially in the Mediterranean.
The ASA 114 is the certification for cruising with the Catamaran.
The Program
The class consists of 3 days and 2 nights which is usually scheduled on a Monday until Wednesday with Naos Yacht.
The Book
ASA 104, Bareboat Cruising
The book will prepare you for the bareboat charter cruising with about 212 pages.
You will need this book to prepare yourself for the class and also to help you answer the questions for the examination.
ASA 114, Cruising Catamaran Made Easy
The name of the book pretty much sum up on what it is. There are about 90 pages to the book.
The Boat
For the class, we got to sail on a Lagoon 40 Catamaran.
The Students
My class had three students and an instructor.
The Instructor
We had a great instructor by the name of Lori and based on what he told me that he has been teaching for a while.
What do I need to bring for the class?
- Lots of water as you will be on the water for at least 6 hours before returning back to the dock.
- Lunch as you be eating on the boat.
- Gloves. I would highly recommend getting one as you will be physically pulling the line (sheet).
- Non-Skid white sole shoes. I found this shoe to be great on the boat as it did not skid. I saw a few people had issues with their shoes. Note that they prefer you to have a white sole shoe so that it does stain the boat with black skid marks.
- Hat. The bigger the better and you will need one with some sort of string attached to your chin or it will end up on the ocean.
- Sunscreen. You will need lots of it as I got sunburnt on my first day. Yuck!!! and Ouch!!!
- Medication for seasickness if you are not sure. I didn’t take any but i had ginger in my water just in case.
- Lastly, Have fun!!!!
THE CLASS – DAY 1 of 3
We spent the first few hours learning how to drive with two engines and how to dock a catamaran
Then we are off the Santa Catalina Island. The journey took about 36 nautical miles and ran about 4 hours at 7.5 knots.
We learned how to dock the boat on a mooring ball and moored overnight by Indian Rock on Emerald Bay. We all took turn making our dinner and shared some of it with everyone.
Some images from the mooring by Indian Rock in the morning.
THE CLASS – DAY 2 of 3
We ventured around the island and then anchored at Cat Harbor. We learned how to drop anchor overnight and then learn how to use the anchor alarm apps.
We took our ASA 114 Certification exam and then we got to use the dinghy to take us onshore.
We had dinner at the Harbor Reef Restaurant. Checkout the Buffalo Shake.
THE CLASS – DAY 3 of 3
In the morning at the Cat Harbor and it was a pretty quiet morning.
We spent some time in the morning studying and then complete the ASA 104 exam which took over an hour. We set sail about an hour later and head back to Marina Del Rey.
Back in Marina Del Rey. We got back late around 8pm.
The Certification Exam
- What do I need to study?
The ASA 104 and ASA 114, you will really have to read the book from front to back as this round they didn’t use any of the questions from the end of each chapter. For ASA 114, make sure to study the diagrams for the boat. - How many questions?
There are about 100 multiple choice questions and you need only 80 to pass the ASA 104 exam.
The ASA 114 exam has only 50 multiple choice questions and you need to pass 40 questions. - How long is the exam?
It’s about 1 hour long but the instructor will give you more time if needed.
Examination Study Help
- ASA has provided some study help guide which you can review on
ASA 104, Bareboat Cruising
ASA 114, Cruising Catamaran
What’s Next
- I might work on ASA 105 Coastal Navigation and perhaps ASA 106, Advanced Coastal Cruising.
- However, I am going to look into SailTime so that I can charter a boat and get my water time.
