Below is the break down of the pricing cost (March to September 2021) of the sailing school in Marina Del Rey.
Schools Comparison
| Items/Schools | Marina Sailing | Blue Pacific Yacht | Naos Yachts |
| ASA 101 | 795 | 849 | 645 |
| ASA 103 | 795 | 1140 | 645 |
| ASA 101/103 (member) | 1195 | 1475 | N/A |
| ASA 101/103 (non-member) | N/A | 1675 | N/A |
| Number of Days | 10 lessons | 2 days (ASA 101) 3 days (ASA 103) (ASA101/103)5 weekdays or Sat/Sun 2.5 weeks | 2 days (ASA 101) 2 days (ASA 103) |
| Instruction Time | 1-5 – 2hours (ASA 101) 6 – 3hours 7/8 – 3hours 9 – 3 hours | ASA 101 (14 hours) + 1 confidence sail ASA 103 (25 hours) + 1 confidence sail 9:00am-3:30pm | 16 hours (ASA101) 16 hours (ASA103) |
| Total Hours (ASA 101/103) | 19 hours | 35 hours | 32 hours |
| Confidence Sail | 1 (include instructor) | 2 (include instructor) | 1 (boat only) |
| Boat Size | 28 foot | 25-38 foot | 20-27 (ASA 101) 30-40 (ASA 103) |
| Boat Rental | 149.25 | Included for confidence sail | 1 free rental |
| Log Book | Included | Included | Included |
| ASA registration | $39 | Included | Included |
| Number of Students | 3 to 6 | 2-4 | |
| Books | Included | need to buy sailing made easy and coasting cruising made easy | Included |
| Membership Requirement | Yes | No | N/A |
| Initial Membership cost | Included | $125 but not required | N/A |
| Membership Quarterly | 135 or 1.50 per day | $45 Monthly | N/A |
Even though I listed three schools, there are however more schools available in the Marina Del Rey area but I found these three schools more comparable to my budget.
Which School did I pick?
I ended up choosing Naos Yachts as they have the best facilities. I mean to say that their boats are brand new and the one which I sailed on was like 3 months old. Naos Yachts is also a dealer for Beneteau.
I also took the ASA classes as a group classes versus individual as I prefer to learn in a group. The more people the better. I found that with a total of 3 students are the best and 4 is just OK.
As for the instructors, they all rotate around different schools and I would say most of them are great.
Below is a brand new Beneteau 30.1 which we sailed on for the ASA 101.
If you want to learn more about my ASA experience, visit ASA 101 Basic Keelboat Sailing
If you want to learn more about my NauticEd experience, visit NauticEd Small Keelboat Skipper.
I wrote a blog about what I think about the ASA and NauticEd program on the pro and cons. Check out the ASA vs NauticEd Blog.