ASA to host West Coast National Meeting
by Event PR on 9 Nov 2007

Yoh Aoki SW
World-renowned sailor Yoh Aoki, the first Japanese sailor to circumnavigate the globe, will be the keynote speaker at the American Sailing Association’s West Coast National Meeting from Nov. 9-11, 2007 at the Santa Monica Windjammers Yacht Club.
Aoki was just 22 when he sailed a 21-foot boat around the world alone, in a voyage that took three years and two months. While today’s sailors can rely upon the modern technology of GPS systems and satellite phones, Aoki used only a sextant to calculate his position on the water. Today, Aoki is an ASA-affiliated instructor and owner of the Aoki Sailing School in Japan.
Owners of ASA-affiliated sailing schools, ASA-certified sailing instructors, sailors and representatives will attend the three-day ASA West Coast Meeting, which will focus on teaching best practices that promote safety and high quality in sailing education. More than 270 professionally accredited schools worldwide are affiliated with ASA, which has established levels of expertise for the operation of sailboats and defined the skills and knowledge required for certification at each level. ASA produces educational courses, training manuals and exams and manages certification programs for sailing students and instructors.
Two new American Sailing Association endorsement courses will make their world debut at the West Coast national meeting. Starpath Navigation founder David Burch will speak about a new ASA weather course, while Captain Tom Tursi, founder and owner of the Maryland School of Sailing, will demonstrate the new ASA Docking Endorsement course.
Well-known experts in several facets of sailing, including weather, navigation, technology, advertising, public relations and web-based marketing, will speak at the ASA West Coast National Meeting, including:
• John Connolly and Paul Miller, two nationally recognized experts on crew overboard recovery methods, will hold on-the-water demonstrations and testing to share their knowledge and experience of the best crew overboard recovery methods testing.
• Richard Wesson, a leading software developer in the sailing industry, will discuss how to use technology to improve office efficiency for sailing schools and charter companies.
• Wanda Kenton Smith, president of Kenton Smith Advertising & Public Relations, an award-winning and leading marine agency, will discuss effective and innovative marketing, public relations and web promotional techniques for sailing school owners.
American Sailing Association Executive Director Charles Nobles said ASA meetings bring together ASA-affiliated sailing school owners and instructors from throughout the West Coast region for a mix of lecture-style seminars and on-the-water practice teaching exercises demonstrating the best methods for teaching children and adults.
'These meetings are a great opportunity for us to continue to work with our ASA-affiliated sailing school instructors to introduce them to new weather and radar courses and to give them strong, easily implemented ideas for building their sailing schools,' said Nobles. 'Plus, our members enjoy the chance to meet and learn from one another.'
Nobles said the ASA East Coast National Meeting will be held in Jacksonville, FL, from Jan 18-20, 2008 at the Rudder Club of Jacksonville.
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