Learn to find your position by reading the sky.

ASA 107 Celestial Navigation is an advanced course for sailors who want to move beyond electronic navigation and understand one of the oldest and most rewarding skills in seamanship. Using the sun, moon, stars and planets, you’ll learn how mariners have crossed oceans for centuries and why these traditional skills still matter today.

This course combines practical sextant work with the core concepts of offshore navigation. You’ll learn how to take celestial observations, reduce sights, use time accurately, work with the Nautical Almanac, and plot lines of position to determine where you are. Along the way, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of direction, latitude, longitude, apparent motion, and the relationship between your vessel and the world around it.

Celestial navigation is not just a backup to GPS. It is a discipline that sharpens your awareness, builds confidence, and connects you to the art of ocean sailing in a way no screen ever can.

This course is an excellent next step for sailors preparing for offshore passages, bareboat cruisers looking to expand their knowledge, or anyone who has ever looked up at the night sky and wondered, “Could I navigate by that?”

Format: This four-day ASA 107 Celestial Navigation course is held over two weekends. See the scheduled course dates and times for details.

Click the REGISTER button to view complete course information and reserve your place.

Step up to true offshore sailing with Sea Safaris’ ASA 108: Offshore Passagemaking course, departing from South Shore Yacht Club in Milwaukee.

This advanced five-day liveaboard course is designed for experienced sailors who want to confidently plan and execute multi-day, nonstop passages while sailing day and night away from the comfort of the marina.

You’ll stand watches, sail through the night, and rotate through the roles of skipper, watch captain, navigator, helmsman, and crew. Along the way, you’ll gain real-world experience with passage planning, weather routing, nighttime navigation, heavy-weather preparation, emergency procedures, and managing a vessel underway.

The passage is planned to include at least 72 continuous hours and 100 nautical miles without touching land, providing genuine offshore passagemaking experience, not simply a series of day sails. Students who successfully complete the course requirements will earn the ASA 108 certification.

Prerequisites: ASA 106 Advanced Coastal Cruising and either ASA 107: Celestial Navigation or ASA 117: Basic Celestial Endorsement.

Format: Five-day liveaboard course departing from and returning to South Shore Yacht Club in Milwaukee. The exact route and passage schedule will be determined by weather, lake conditions, and the captain’s judgment.

Click the REGISTER button to explore the complete course details, tuition, and to reserve your place aboard.

Learn the navigation at home. Then cross Lake Michigan and put it to work.

The ASA 105/106 Lake Michigan Advanced Coastal Navigation and Cruising course combines the convenience of online ASA 105 instruction with an intensive five-day advanced cruising passage across Lake Michigan.

Before departure, you’ll complete the ASA 105 Coastal Navigation course online at your own pace. You’ll then apply those skills aboard a fully equipped cruising sailboat by helping plan, plot, and navigate a real passage from Port Washington to the Michigan shoreline and back.

Throughout the voyage, you’ll rotate through the responsibilities of skipper, navigator, helmsman, lookout, and watchstander. Training includes traditional chart plotting, electronic navigation, passage planning, day and nighttime sailing, watchkeeping, weather analysis, advanced sail handling, heavy-weather preparation, emergency procedures, vessel systems, and crew leadership.

By the end of the course, you’ll have experience applying advanced navigation and seamanship skills during an extended Great Lakes passage. Students who successfully complete the required knowledge examinations and practical skills assessments will earn both ASA 105 Coastal Navigation and ASA 106 Advanced Coastal Cruising certifications.

Prerequisites: Students entering ASA 106 should hold ASA 101: Keelboat Sailing, ASA 103 Coastal Cruising, and ASA 104 Bareboat Cruising certifications.

Format: Complete the online ASA 105 learning portion before departure, followed by a five-day onboard passage from August 16th through August 20th, 2027. The planned passage departs from Port Washington, crosses Lake Michigan to the Michigan shoreline, and returns to Port Washington. Weather, wind, and sea conditions will determine the exact destination and passage schedule.

Click the REGISTER button to explore the complete course details, passage plan, tuition, and available dates, or to reserve your place aboard.

Five Days. Two Advanced ASA Certifications. One Lake Michigan Passage.