Everything you
want to know

Not at all. The Barcelona Sailing Week is designed for complete beginners – no experience whatsoever is required. Our liveaboard weeks (Costa Brava, Costa Daurada, the Barcelona ⟷ Mallorca Passage, Alcúdia-Menorca, Ibiza-Formentera, and Canary Islands) are also open to beginners, but some prior sailing experience is recommended – the pace is faster, days are longer, and the week doesn’t return to the same marina each evening. We start from scratch: what the ropes do, how the wind works, how a sailboat moves.

If you’ve sailed before, we’ll assess your existing skills and make sure your time on the water is spent where it’s most valuable. Experienced sailors can sometimes challenge ASA certifications directly – ask us about this.

We’ve taught complete beginners aged 18 to 72 to sail. The only thing you need is a genuine desire to learn.

No special fitness is required. Sailing on a cruising boat is not physically demanding – you don’t need to be an athlete. You’ll be pulling some lines, moving around the deck, and occasionally hauling a sail, but nothing that requires particular strength or conditioning. You do need to be comfortable on and around water, able to move around a boat deck safely, and capable of spending a day outdoors in sun and wind. If you have any specific physical considerations, contact us before booking and we’ll advise honestly.

ASA has no age limit on certifications, and neither do we. We’ve taught students in their teens and in their seventies. For younger students we assess readiness case by case before booking – the course is physical and the days are long, so maturity and comfort around water matter more than a specific age.

Our Sailing Vacations (non-certification weeks) especially welcome families with children – small kids can share cabins comfortably (up to 3 per cabin for Young families). Contact us to discuss family options.

Absolutely — and many of our students do. Solo travellers join group courses alongside other students of mixed backgrounds and nationalities. It’s one of the most social ways to spend a week: shared experience, shared learning, and usually a very good group dinner or two along the way.

For the liveaboard vacations each cabin is priced per cabin — solo travellers get their own cabin and never share with a stranger. For the Barcelona Sailing Week you return to your own Barcelona hotel each evening, so you have full independence outside of sailing hours.

Some of our best course reviews come from solo travellers who came not knowing anyone and left with new friends and a sailing certificate.

Yes – and it’s a wonderful thing to do together. Couples and groups of friends are welcome on all our courses. We keep group sizes small (maximum 3 cabins per course) so everyone gets real time at the helm regardless of group composition.

One practical note for couples: learning to sail together can test a relationship. Sailing requires clear communication and the occasional firm instruction. The good news is that every couple who has ever sailed together comes out the other side laughing about it. Usually. Couples share a cabin at the two-person rate of €3,995 – just note it at booking.

You will sail. This is not a sightseeing charter with some sailing theory bolted on. From day one you’re at the helm, trimming the sails, executing tacks, and learning by doing.

We keep our courses at a maximum of 6 students specifically so that every student gets meaningful time at the helm every day. In a smaller group you’ll spend even more time actively sailing. Our teaching philosophy is simple: the tiller in your hand is worth an hour of classroom theory.

By the end of ASA 101 you’ll be sailing the boat solo. By the end of ASA 104 you’ll be skippering passages independently.

If you have real sailing experience but no formal ASA certification, you may be eligible to challenge one or more ASA courses – bypassing the coursework and demonstrating your skills directly in a practical and written exam.

The most common challenge is ASA 104 (Bareboat Cruising) – the certification most charter companies require. To challenge ASA 104 you’ll need to pass the written exam and complete a three-hour on-water practical assessment with our instructor.

Contact us before booking to discuss your background. We’ll give you an honest assessment of which courses you should take and which you might challenge directly.

Pick any of our week-long courses – Barcelona Sailing Week, Costa Brava, Costa Dorada, the Mallorca Passage, or either of the Balearic weeks all include ASA 101, 103, and 104. Within a day on the water your 101 fundamentals Will come back. The 101 content isn’t filler – it’s the week’s foundation, so a refresher is baked into every course.

If it’s been a very long time and you’re genuinely uncertain about your skill level, contact us before booking. We can discuss your history and recommend the right starting point.

Barcelona Sailing Week – you sail during the day and return to Barcelona each evening. You choose each night whether to sleep aboard the vessel at the marina or stay in a Barcelona hotel. You coverASA 101, 103, and 104 – suitable for complete beginners, no prior experience required. Ideal if you want the full certification pathway and the freedom of Barcelona in the evenings.

Liveaboard Vacations (Costa Brava · Costa Daurada · Barcelona ⟷ Mallorca Passage · Alcúdia-Menorca · Ibiza-Formentera · Canary Islands) – you live aboard the vessel for the entire week, sailing from port to port. You coverASA 101, 103, and 104. A more immersive sailing experience – everything happens on the boat. Ideal if you want to experience what extended cruising actually feels like.

• Barcelona Sailing Week: ASA 101 + 103 + 104 – three certifications, one night aboard in Sitges
• Liveaboard Vacation (Costa Brava or Costa Dorada): ASA 101 + 103 + 104 – full week living aboard along the Catalan coast. No prior experience required.

Maximum 3 cabins per course for week-long liveaboard and Barcelona Sailing Week courses – that’s up to 6 people if all cabins are shared by couples, or up to 3 solo travellers each in their own cabin. This is intentional – not a marketing line. With 6 students on a cruising sailboat, everyone gets meaningful helm time every day. There’s no waiting around while someone else practices.

We require a minimum of 2 cabins to run week-long courses, and a minimum of 2 students for ASA 101. If your course doesn’t reach minimum enrollment we’ll contact you well in advance to offer a reschedule or full refund.

We sail modern cruising monohulls — the type of boat you’ll encounter at any charter company in the Mediterranean. Our vessels are fully equipped, well-maintained, and sized appropriately for the course level.

ForASA 101 day courses we use smaller keelboats.

For week-long courses (Barcelona Sailing Week and all liveaboards) we use cruising sailboats in the 35–46 ft range. Our home-fleet boat is S/V Surus (2 student cabins). For destination weeks in the Balearics (Alcúdia-Menorca, Ibiza-Formentera) and any week where demand supports a bigger boat, we charter a 46-footer with 3 student cabins — the same class you’d charter independently after certification.

We also offer catamaran sailing (ASA 114) on the Bali 4.2 — a 2-day weekend course, minimum 2 students to run. Register your interest here.

It happens, and it’s not the end of the world. ASA certifications require passing both a written exam (80% minimum) and a practical on-water assessment. If you don’t meet the standard in one or both components, your instructor will tell you honestly which areas need more work.

The best way to ensure you pass first time is to read your textbook before the course begins. Students who arrive having read the textbook pass their written exam comfortably. Students who haven’t sometimes don’t.

We recommend completing the free ASA Online Intro to Sailing course before any on-water instruction, and purchasing your ASA textbook well in advance. Both are available at the ASA store.

The American Sailing Association (ASA) is the leading sailing education organisation in the United States with over 400 affiliated schools worldwide. ASA has certified more than 500,000 sailors since 1983.

ASA certification is recognised by major charter companies around the world including The Moorings, Sunsail, Dream Yachts, and Navigare. In the Mediterranean specifically, ASA 104 (Bareboat Cruising) combined with the IPC gives you the credentials to charter independently in Greece, Croatia, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Turkey.

ASA certifications are yours for life — they don’t expire. The IPC has a 5-year validity and must be renewed.

The International Proficiency Certificate (IPC) is a document issued by the American Sailing Association that serves as proof of bareboat charter competency for Mediterranean charter companies. It was created specifically because many European countries – including Greece, Croatia, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Turkey – require documentary proof of sailing competency that goes beyond just showing your ASA logbook.

If you plan to charter a boat independently anywhere in the Mediterranean, you almost certainly need an IPC. Charter companies in these waters will ask for it alongside your sailing resume.

To be eligible for an IPC you need to hold ASA 101, ASA 103, and ASA 104 certifications and be an active ASA member. The IPC is valid for 5 years from date of issue.

If you’re completing your ASA 104 with us – whether on a liveaboard vacation or Barcelona Sailing Week – you’re IPC eligible the moment your certification is signed off. Both our liveaboard vacations (ASA 101 + 103 + 104) and Barcelona Sailing Week (ASA 101 + 103 + 104) qualify you for the IPC.

Yes – this is something we take seriously and handle personally. The moment your ASA 104 is signed off on the final day of your course, we sit down with you and walk through the IPC application step by step.

The application requires:

• ASA 101, 103, and 104 certifications (we record these)
• Active ASA membership (we’ll help you check or renew)
• A passport-style photo (square, at least 600x600px, plain background)
• The application fee – approximately $45, paid directly to ASA online

The application is completed entirely online at americansailing.com. Most students receive their IPC within two weeks of application.

Bring a digital passport-style photo on your phone. It’s the one thing people forget, and it’s the only thing that slows the application down.

With ASA 101, 103, 104 and an IPC, you are qualified to bareboat charter with major charter companies across:

• Mediterranean – Greece, Croatia, Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, Portugal
• Caribbean – BVI, USVI, Grenada, St Lucia, Antigua – logbook and sailing resume usually sufficient
• Pacific – French Polynesia, New Zealand, Australia – similar requirements to Caribbean

Charter companies will also want to see a sailing resume showing your sea time and experience. We generate your sailing resume automatically at the end of your course – a professional document you can present directly to any charter company.

The most popular first charter destinations for our graduates are the Greek islands and the BVI. Both are exceptional sailing grounds for newly certified bareboat skippers.