New York's only "Gold Star" ASA School.  How did we do in the ASA Student Survey? CLICK HERE

Presentation & Raffle: Friday, March 7

Our Director, Steve Card, will give a presentation on two topics at the next Westchester/City Island Sailing Group Meetup:

Sail Trim;
Cruising in the British Virgin Islands (with video)

Plus, there's a raffle for a free certification course at the school!

When: Friday, March 7, 7:15
Where: City Island Yacht Club
What: the Westchester/City Island Sailing Group of Meetup.

Meetup is both an on-line and on-location resource for people to socialize and get involved in a wide array of activities.  Use the link above to check it out.

Who: anyone can join Meetup for free on-line, and RSVP to attend.  Some meetings require a small fee, depending on what is being offered, to offset the costs.  Friday's meeting costs $15 if you want a raffle ticket and food, but is free if you wish to just check it out.  You can buy drinks from the very nice pub at the City Island Yacht Club.

Pick-ups from the #6 train are being provided.  Use the link above to coordinate through the group organizers.

As well as a good time and a learning experience, this is also a great way to meet the Director of the school and learn more about the programs.  

NEXT BVI TRIP:  April 19-26 Almost full! CONTACT US NOW if you're interested, because there is not much time left. Or, if this doesn't panic you, just visit our BVI page.

It's on our 2006 Greece trip... and it's in the American Sailing Association's (ASA) member newsletter magazine.

If you don't get it, see it on line here.

ASA GOLD STANDARD and
ASA STUDENT SURVEYS

(ASA changed the "gold star" to a "green dot" in December 06 or January 07.  The criteria are the same.  This proram has been around for years now, yet we are the only NY School to earn this distinction!)

The ASA  Gold Standard: NY Sailing Center is the first Tri State school  to earn its "Gold Star"

ASA (American Sailing Association) has indicated on its web site those schools that have begun meeting stringent quality control standards for the safety of their vessels.  The Gold Standard program involves Vessel Safety Checks performed by qualified inspectors from the US Coast Guard Auxilliary or the US Power Squadron.  These inspectors check for federally required safety equipment and other recommended equipment and practices to ensure safe boating.  Vessels that meet all the requirements are registered as passing and receive a decal to be prominently displayed, as well as a copy of the VSC registration.

ASA wisely decided to offer schools the opportunity to be awarded "Gold Standard" status if its vessels are inspected and passed.  This way, ASA can help ensure quality control for affiliated schools and give prospective students another measure by which to gauge prospective schools.  New York Sailing Center  & Yacht Club was the first Tri-State Area school to earn a "Gold Star" listing, and is the only New York school with a gold star listing as of January 18, 2007.  (Actually, we've been the only school for years!)
Gold Standard schools are designated with this logo: (As of winter 06/07, it changed to a green dot.)

Vessel Safety Checks (also known as Courtesy Marine Examinations) are free to the boating public, and they're a friendly, informal way to ensure you haven't overlooked anything either required or highly recommended.  Even if you don't pass, the inspection cannot result in any penalty or citation.  You'll just be told what you'd have to correct to comply with the federal requirements, and/or exceed them to be awarded the VSC decal.

If you have the decal, and you've maintained the vessel to the same standards present at the time you passed inspection, any boarding by the Coast Guard should go very smoothly.  The decal may even help to prevent stopping and boarding, as it indicates your serious intention to comply with the law and operate your vessel safely.
 
 

Click on the VSC shield logo for more info on safety checks, or the ASA logo for info on the Gold Standard program or to verify our status (or that of other schools)! If you need help in arranging a VSC for your vessel, contact us.

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How have we been doing in the ASA STUDENT SURVEY?

Each year, the American Sailing Association (ASA) sends newly certified students a survey to fill out about their experiences at sailing school.  The survey is confidential, so schools can never find out who said what about them.  But they can find out how the students' responses broke down over the questions asked of them, which is how ASA determines the School of the Year and Oustanding Instructor Awards each year.  (Our family is a 4-time former winner with our first school.)

The survey is now adminstered by e-mail, and the questions have been revised to better reflect what is most important in getting a proper sailing education.  ASA has put a lot of thought and effort into this.

Our grades:

The vast majority of survey answers fell under 'Excellent,' and most of the the rest under  'Good!'
Here are the breakdowns for years for which the data is available.

LAST 6 MONTHS (as of February 25, 2008):

Our average rating from students 
was 3.52 out of 4.

Our Director, Captain Stephen Glenn Card, scored
3.91 out of 4
in the Instructor evaluations!
 

Prior Years:

2000 Excellent 146 (70%) Good  51 (24%) Fair    8 (4%) Poor   5 (2%) Totals: 210 (100%)

2001 Excellent 166 (92%) Good  16 (8%) Fair    0 (0%) Poor   0 (0%) Totals: 182 (100%)

2006 Excellent 41 (72%) Good 9 (16%) Fair   6 (11%) Poor  1 (1%) Totals: 57 (100%)

Grand totals: Excellent 353 (79%) Good  76 (17%) Fair   14 (3%) Poor  6 (1%) Totals: 449 (100%)

How did we do in 2002 & 2005?  The responses were too few to be statistically significant.
2003 & 2004?  We haven't been able to get the data.  ASA has had some turnover in education coordinators, and the info has been harder to access. 
Prior to 2000?   When we requested the data, it was no longer available.

Have a question about the data above, or the ASA Survey in general?  Contact us.  Or, contact ASA.

To learn more about ASA and US Sailing in general, click here to go to that page.

Peter Schorr & Steve Card step up their Instructor Certifications

Our own Peter recently attended Instructor Qualification clinics for Multihull Cruising and Advanced Coastal Cruising, run back to back in tough conditions in San Francisco.  Large swells, strong winds, and typical Golden Gate fog and current made this a very challenging set of clinics.  Multihull was exhilirating while getting a cruising multihull to act like a beach cat.  Advanced coastal had one added difficulty: it's largely done at night, including anchor setting, MOB (man overboard drill), and traditional navigation on a chart.  This is a very advanced standard, done in some of the toughest conditions available, and we're very proud of Peter.

Update: Mihai Cosereanu also upped his certs to Advanced Coastal Cruising, and is off to the Boston REC of the Coast Guard to upgrade is Coast Guard License as well.

Director & Dockmaster, Steve Card, squeezed in a Basic Coastal Cruising IQC and got his Coastal Navigation credential as well.  He's been putting the advanced certifications off for awhile as he's busy running the business, but had an opportunity and took it.  Card also got his US Coast Guard license recently: a Masters license for inspected (and uninspected) vessels to 50 gross tons, near coastal route (versus inland or open ocean), with endorsements for Radar Observer Unlimited, Commercial Assistance Towing, and Auxiliary Sail vessels.  Card found an error in the Coast Guard exam for the Auxiliary Sail endorsement, proved it to Sea School's satisfaction with a vector diagram, and Sea School forwarded it to Coast Guard, who corrected the exam.  Kewl!

Update: Steve is in the process of upgrading his instructor certs to include Radar, a new endorsement level offered by ASA.  Students must have 101 through 104 under their belt before taking this, and instructors must have 203 and 205 (but not 204 for some reason).  We will be offering this course to students shortly.  (Steve already has an unlimited radar endorsement on his Coastie license, which is not in fact unlimited, as a separate endorsement is required for Western Rivers.  That's some very tricky business.)

Update: Radar on hold as it's very time consuming, but Card did his Bareboat instructor clinic in May; this was done in the Hudson on a Beneteau 43.

Anywho, the BCC clinic was done locally in conjunction with another school.  They needed to borrow a suitable boat due to boring logistical reasons, and we were able to supply our Columbia 32, "Morning Star."

Here's the group in "action"  (or, on its way to lunch during a break in maneuvering drills).

Dockmaster is in the dork hat, lower left.

 

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Archives...
 

See us on NY1 NEWS!
part of Bronx Week

Reporter Jill Scott of NY1 News came over to the Sailing Center this summer to interview some of our students and us, and film us all in action.  This short piece first aired in June and is still in re-runs.  The entire clip (2 1/2 minutes) is posted on NY1's site.  You can see the video in your choice of dial-up or broad band, or just read excerpts. Click here to see what sailing school is all about in a couple of minutes!  For other videos of NY Sailing Center in action, including the cable shows "Back to Basics" and "Third Date," click here.

NY SAILING'S DIRECTOR EARNS
RADAR OBSERVER UNLIMITED CERTIFICATION

Director and "Dockmaster," Steve Card, recently completed the Radar Observer Unlimited course and examinations conducted at the Center for Maritime Education near the South Street Seaport in Manhattan.  CME is part of the famous Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey, a seafarers' advocacy organization that evolved as a temple and haven for sailors, and has evolved and grown since its inception in the 1834.  (Visit them at www.seamenschurch.org).  Other organizations offering this certification include S.U.N.Y. Maritime and Sea School.

Coast Guard approved Radar Observer courses are five days long, consisting of general radar theory, specific safety and operational guidelines, and extensive application of plotting radar targets and simulator practice.  While there is no official prerequisite, it is quite difficult to pass the course without a fair amount of navigational background that includes understanding of vector triangle solutions for determing speed and direction.

Certification is awarded upon successful completion of a theory exam, a rapid radar plotting exercise from a simulator, and a plotting exam with multiple components, including evaluating multiple "target" vessels or objects to determine which pose the greatest risk of collision, and what action to take to mitigate that risk.  Once that is determined, the effect of any course or speed change on all other targets has to be assessed.

The Radar Observer, Any Waters, Unlimited Certification is accepted by the US Coast Guard for endorsements on Captain's Licenses and must be renewed with a three-day course every five years.  Card has completed license and endorsement exams for OUPV (Operator of Uninspected Passernger Vessels), Master of Inspected Vessels up to 100 Gross Tons (in Card's case, 50 tons), Radar, Commercial Assistance Towing, Auxiliary Sail, and Marine Radio Operator.  After application paperwork is processed, LOOKOUT!  Newly licensed menace...  :-)

See us cookin' - literally - on "Rosemary, Queen of the Kitchen."
This show airs on Discovery Home Channel (114, Time Warner, Manhattan - 172, Cablevision, Bronx).
See the Dockmaster (Steve Card, Director of the Sailing Center) along with Bob and Shaun.  We prepare a gouirmet meal for Steve's girlfriend, Heather, under Rosemary's guidance, then serve and dine at water's edge.  Filmed entirely on location at the Sailing Center premises.
Get a glimpse of some of us sailing bums, as well as the Sailing Center itself and the waterfront.

NEW: VIDEO PAGE CLICK HERE to see everything from our Obstacle Training course to cable shows and the Virgin Islands.

Two short clips of the gang aboard "Sunbow," Mihai's Pearson 30, on January 1 2005.  Mihai is one of our instructors.
These videos open with Real Player; possibly with others (didn't work in my WMP for some reason).  Click on the links below to download.  Both videos by Steve Card.

One of the true "must see" spots in the Virgin Islands.  This spot features several groups of huge boulders along the beach at the western end of Virgin Gorda.  Walk through clear shallow pools of water surrounding by cave-like formations.  Snorkel around the perimeter or through the smooth boulders.  Climb on and around the boulders for spectacular panoramas.  Here's a preview...

Opens with: Windows Media Player and RealPlayer  (click on either one to download if needed)
File Size: 3.3 MB
Movie length: around 2 minutes 
Download time: around 20 minutes with good dial-up; small fraction of that with high-speed.
Shot & edited by:  Steve Card

OBSTACLE COURSE^SM
Take a ride around the Obstacle Course, our exclusive training aid that makes sure you don't go to sailing school to just "sail around!"

See a class do a lap around the Course, and perform all four fundamental sailing maneuvers: heading up, bearing away, tacking and jibing.  Then see assorted other clips of students doing their thing on the Obstacle Course.

This is a great video: it shows you what you'd be doing at our facility.  Our Obstacle Course is the most fun and effective way to learn essential sailing skills, and you won't find anything even close at other schools - regardless of what they might call it.
 

And now for the official particulars...

Opens with: Windows Media Player and RealPlayer  (click on either one to download if needed)
File Size: around 2.9 MB
Movie length: 1minute, 43 seconds
Download time: 15 - 20 minutes with good dial-up; small fraction of that with high-speed.
Shot and edited by: Steve Card

BACK TO BASICS
This recent addition features highlights from an episode of Back to Basics.  The show, which airs on the Fine Living Network, featured one of our students from 2002 (Aylin Bumin) and her experience at our sailing school.  It's a great preview of going to sailing school in general and ours specifically.

And now for the official particulars...

Opens with: Windows Media Player and RealPlayer  (click on either one to download if needed)
File Size: around 3.6 MB
Movie length: two minutes 
Download time: around 20 minutes with good dial-up; small fraction of that with high-speed.
Edited by: Steve Card

3^rd DATE
Our latest video is from the Metro Channel's show, 3rd Date.  As the name implies, couples on their third date are profiled doing some activity plus a nice dinner.  Brian and Sejal appeared in this episode.  They're recent law school graduates who were friends for years but then decided to try the romantic angle.   3rd Date follows up with each couple to see how their relationship fared, and posts the verdict on their web site.  Brian and Sejal were still going strong as of their follow-up!
 

Opens with:Windows Media Player and RealPlayer  (click on either one to download if needed)
File Size: around 2.5 MB
Movie length: one minute, 25 seconds
Download time: around 10 minutes with good dial-up; small fraction of that with high-speed.
Edited by: Steve Card

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS SERIES

THE BATHS, Virgin Gorda
This new addition takes you on a tour of the famous Baths at the western end of Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands.  These boulder formations on fine sand beach form intricate caves and tidal pools that are fantastic for snorkeling, walking barefoot in the warm water, or hiking on and around the boulders themselves for spectacular views.  This is one of the "must see" spots in the Virgin Islands.

Here are three videos from the first full day of our January 2003 trip to the BVI.  This one day really captures so much of the tropical bareboating experience that instead of making one montage, we made three different movies.  Highlights from the rest of the trip will be added in the near future, so check back sporadically.
 

BVI: DEPARTURE
See us clowning around at dockside, then getting down to some serious chart briefing.   Then, departure under power and setting sails one by one.  We finish with our first tack, and and obviously tired Captain Jim Pinno, "Head Bozo" of this trip, taking a breather.  Jim's "Able Bodied Seaman" assistant on this trip (okay, Co-Captain) was Steve Card, director of the Sailing Center.

Opens with: Windows Media Player and RealPlayer  (click on either one to download if needed)
File Size: 2.5 MB
Movie length: 1 minute, 21 seconds. 
Download time: around 12 minutes with good dial-up; small fraction of that with high-speed.
Shot & edited by:  Steve Card

BVI: PLAYING AT PETER ISLAND
This one show us playing at Little Harbor, Peter Island, our first destination.  This was shortly after the Departure scenes from the video above.  Great footage of us relaxing in the water (literally, as you'll see), dinghying, and snorkeling.  This is what it's all about!

Opens with: Windows Media Player and RealPlayer  (click on either one to download if needed)
File Size: 3.8 MB
Movie length: around 1 and one-half minutes
Download time: around 18 minutes with good dial-up; small fraction of that with high-speed.
Shot & edited by: Steve Card

BVI: FIRST NIGHT AT ANCHOR
Dusk and dinner.   A very scenic sunset with numerous volcanic Virgin Island peaks, and Peter Island's Little Harbor at dusk.  We discuss dinner, observe jumping fish, and settle down for the actual spread in the cockpit with music.  A proper end to a complete day.

Opens with: Windows Media Player and RealPlayer  (click on either one to download if needed)
File Size: around 3 MB
Movie length: a little over one minute
Download time: around 12 minutes with good dial-up; small fraction of that with high-speed.
Shot & edited by: Steve Card

Click on the following link to download a short video filmed by one of our students in 2001, Derek M. Davis.  Derek was inspired to shoot this on one of his practice sails with his classmates (who appear in the video).  New York Sailing Center gives students 2 half-day practice sails after they complete their basic course, and Derek captured the essence of his first sail without an instructor quite nicely!

Opens with: QuickTime. (You can download it here.)  If your Quick Time doesn't pop up to download the video, just cut and paste this URL into your QuickTime's go to/search window (click on File first on the top bar):

File Size: around 3.2 MB
Movie length: 58 seconds 
Download time: 15-20 minutes with good dial-up; small fraction of that with high-speed.
Shot & edited by: Derek M. Davis