Catamaran Cruising
US SAILING Catamaran Cruising Certification
Wahoo! has proved to be a huge hit since entering the fleet this summer. She is a Dolphin 460 – a 46’ performance cruising cat that not only has the benefits of a catamaran (stability, plenty of room, huge foredeck, twin-screw maneuverability) but is fast and tacks better than any other charter catamaran any of us have sailed. Wahoo! is currently the largest and fastest catamaran available to charter on San Francisco Bay. She has daggerboards to help her track and reduce leeway, and a rotating mast to make her main more efficient. The owner replaced all of the standing and running rigging, bought new sails, new electronics, among a host of other improvements.
Description
We run two certification classes on Wahoo! as follows:
Option 1: Two-day Cat 460 Class
Club Nautique’s Catamaran class will prepare you both to charter our Dolphin 460 (46’) Performance Cruising Catamaran here on the Bay, and also to charter a catamaran on a vacation charter elsewhere in the world. This 2-day, 16-hour class, designed for those who have US Sailing BBC certification and Club Nautique’s Big Boat Motoring Clinic, will lead to US Sailing Catamaran Endorsement for successful students. This class is not guaranteed.
Topics covered include:
- Boat systems, including daggerboards & rotating mast
- Close quarters maneuvering
- Anchoring
- Sailing
- Reefing
- Overboard drills
Format
- Two consecutive days, 0900 – 1700
- Offered several times each month in Alameda
Tuition
$1,325 per person
Prerequisites
- US Sailing BBC certification
- Club Nautique Big Boat Motoring Clinic
Option 2: One-day Cat 460 Orientation and Checkout
This day (9:00 – 5:00) is designed for those who have previously achieved US Sailing Catamaran certification, or those who can document experience skippering a similar size catamaran (this will be determined by sailing resume). This one-day class is not for those with no previous catamaran experience. This is a pass/fail class and is not guaranteed.
If a student has not previously passed the US Sailing Catamaran Endorsement and passes the one-day class, they may come back and take the short US Sailing written test to add the certification to their logbook.
Topics covered include:
- Boat systems, including daggerboards & rotating mast
- Close quarters maneuvering
- Anchoring
- Sailing
- Reefing
- Overboard drills
Format
- One day, 0900 – 1700
- Offered every other month in Alameda as needed
Tuition
$660 per person
Prerequisites
US Sailing Catamaran certification OR Catamaran Skipper experience
