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Pentagon Sailing offers two levels of sail training – Basic Sailing and Bay Skipper. These training programs encourage our members to pursue training at their own pace to meet their personal goals. Pentagon Sailing is both a U.S. Naval Sailing Association (USNSA) branch member, and an American Sailing Association (ASA) certified training facility.

Basic Sailing

The Basic Sailing qualifications we award are the USNSA Mate (A), Keel Boat Skipper (B-KBS), and Cruising Skipper (B-CS and B-CSN). As of 2010, Pentagon Sailing is recognized as an ASA training facility. Club members can take the Basic Sailing Course to attain the ASA-101 (Basic Keelboat) and ASA 103 (Basic Coastal Cruising) certifications. Pentagon Sailing also offers a club certification so members can checkout the club-owned sailboats. The Basic Sailing Course is designed to qualify members to skipper small to mid-size sailboats generally under 30’ in length and without live-aboard accommodations in local waters. We teach our Basic Sailing courses out of Capitol Cove Marina on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, DC.

Bay Skipper

The Bay Skipper qualifications we award are the USNSA Senior Crew (SC), Watch Captain (WC) / Local Area Skipper (LAS), and D-Cruising Skipper (D-CS) qualifications.  We also train and certify club members to ASA 104 (Bareboat Chartering), ASA 105 (Coastal Navigation), ASA 106 (Advanced Coastal Cruising) and ASA 118 (Docking Endorsement) standards. We offer these advanced sailing courses periodically throughout the sailing season on the Chesapeake Bay. The Bay Skipper program is designed to qualify club members to skipper larger sailboats, usually offshore capable, and generally > 30’ in length with keels, and live-aboard accommodations.

Winter Training

Winter Training is conducted every year from November through March. Classes are typically held in the Northern Virginia area. These short courses are designed to provide advanced classroom training beyond the Basic Sailing Course and in support of the Bay Skipper program. Any club member may attend the classes; however, these classes are structured for candidates pursuing their Bay Skipper qualifications. Course topics normally include advanced sail trim, heavy weather sailing, safety equipment, large boat systems, piloting & navigation, anchoring and rafting, first aid and CPR, rules of the road, and bareboat chartering. The piloting & navigation classes are part of our ASA 105 (Coastal Navigation) certification course.

Other Training Events

The club also periodically sponsors many other sail training-related events that include Delmarva circumnavigations, and sails from remote ports (i.e., Norfolk, Solomons Island, BVI).

Sailing Qualification Roadmap

Download our Sailing Qualifications Roadmap to assist you in determining the level of qualifications you may want to pursue over your sailing career.

Please contact the Training Commodore if you have any questions or just want to sign up for one of our sailing programs.

David Kunselman
Training Commodore