Bay Skipper Program – David Kunselman, Bay Skipper Coordinator

Click on the links below to: Enroll in the Bay Skipper Program Sign Up for Bay Sails Download the Bay Skipper Qualification Checklist (PDF doc) Download a Sailing Log Form (Word doc)

Bay Skipper Coordinator David Kunselman

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Congratulations to Kevin Kremer and Lisa August for successfully completing
the ASA-104 Bareboat Chartering Course on S/V Kristina Marie. BZ!

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The PSC Bay Skipper Program

The Bay Skipper Program is designed to train and certify members to confidently and competently skipper an offshore capable sailboat, > 30’ in length, with a keel and live-aboard accommodations. We sail and train mainly on the Chesapeake Bay out of Annapolis, Maryland, and occasionally sail around the Delmarva Peninsula. 

If you want to get more involved in the actual sailing, navigation, and eventual skippering of mid to large size sailboat, then some additional training from the Basic Sailing Course is required; that is where the Bay Skipper Program comes in. The Pentagon Sailing Bay Skipper Program is designed to be a natural progression from the Basic Sailing Course offered by the club at the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling Capitol Cove Marina. 

Our Bay Skipper Program will get you the skills and qualifications necessary to command a large (>30’) offshore-capable, auxiliary powered sailboat. Skills you will learn are:

• Organize the logistics for a Bay sail;

• Work up a piloting and navigation plan;

• Provide instructions and safety/weather briefings to the crew;

• Assign crew duties and get the boat underway;

• Provide direction, guidance and training to the crew while underway;

• Return the crew and boat safely to the home port safely; and,

• At the end of the day, have a crew that has had a great day on the water, and is ready to go sailing again. 

Pentagon Sailing is both a U.S. Naval Sailing Association (USNSA) branch member, and an American Sailing Association (ASA) certified training facility. The Bay Skipper qualifications we are able to award are the USNSA Senior Crew (SC), Watch Captain (WC) / Local Area Skipper (LAS), and D-Cruising Skipper (D-CS) qualifications.  In 2010, Pentagon Sailing became an ASA certified facility to teach ASA sailing courses. We currently train and certify club members to ASA 101, ASA 103, ASA 104, ASA 105, ASA 106 and ASA 118 standards. We offer these courses periodically throughout the sailing season.

Our Bay Skipper program consist of the following elements:

• Self-paced, but sequential completion of an extensive “checklist” of Bay sailing skills or Bay Skipper Qualification Checklist;

• Documentation of sailing hours underway, under sail and at night;

• Current CPR and First Aid certifications;

• Recognized NASBLA-approved boating safety certificate;

• Successfully pass 3 written examinations - General Knowledge, Rules of the Road, and Piloting & Navigation; and,

• Two on-the-water (OTW) sailing evaluations with the final one being from a Senior Bay Instructor. 

If you would like to enroll in the Bay Skipper Program, all you need to do is declare yourself a Bay Skipper Candidate with the Training Commodore, and then sign up for a Bay sail or two. Any Bay sail supervised by a D-CS or ASA-106 qualified skipper will count towards your total time on the water required for certification. This includes our annual Memorial and Labor Day raft-ups, flotillas, and club sponsored sailing events (e.g., BVI trip).  The Bay sails are advertised in the early spring for the entire season that runs from April through November.  Don’t put it off signing up as the Bay sails fill up fast.  For more specific details on our sail training programs, please refer to the PSC Training Policy and Procedures.

David Kunselman
Training Commodore

This page updated January 23, 2013

© 2013 Pentagon Sailing Club