Sail Channel Islands - Oxnard, California

heidi

My friend Laura and I took the ASA 101 class. We had to split up the class because of work and we live in Monterey. We finished it in March. I can say Captain Dan is the best instructor! I had taken the class before elsewhere, but did not take the test to be certified. He teaches so much more than any other instructors. He gave us more confidence in our sailing skills. He is a lot of fun to sail with, he has a lot of interesting stories. We had a blast while learning. I highly recommend taking a class or chartering a sail.

Karena T.

How can I add 6 stars? It was better than 5 stars! Truly. We went out for 4 days, 3 nights. Captain Dan helped us through American Sailing Association's (ASA) level 103 and 104. We learned not just from his teaching but from his stories/experiences. Dennis was on board to cook, but they both have so much experience that we feel we both learned as much from the stories as the actual "learning" portion. Our goal with taking 103 and 104 was to be able to sail a bareboat charter in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand for our honeymoon. Mission accomplished! Thank you Captain Dan and Dennis. You really are the best. And after sailing in NZ, we can't wait to be back at the Channel Islands.

Shana M.

Captain Dan is the man! He's a fantastic teacher that takes what could be a very daunting experience and makes sure you feel comfortable, learn a lot, and have fun. My partner and I started with him for ASA 101, and went back to him for 103 and 104. When we continue our sailing journey, we will make our way back to Captain Dan.

Elena R.

My friend and I were looking for a nice adventure and after no avail we found Dan!! Captain Dan!! We had the most amazing experience!! Dan is also such a wonderful captain and made sure we had a great trip. I definitely will be booking again and enjoy some ocean time!! Thank you Dan!!

Mallory L.

Initially my cousin and I took up sailing to combat the boredom of the pandemic. First I fell in love with learning how to sail, then I fell in love just with spending time with Captain Dan (he’s hysterical)!

My cousin returned back to her regular life on the east coast after getting her 101, I continued all the way through my 104!

I continue to sail regularly with Captain Dan and, because of the skills he taught me and the confidence with which he imbued me, my husband and I have now taken two bareboat charters (no crew) down in the British Virgin Islands!

Sailing will be a lifelong hobby, and Captain Dan a life long friend!

Emily B.

TLDR: We received ASA101, ASA103, ASA104, and ASA106 certifications in five days, sailing with Captain Dan at Sail Channel Islands. Our biggest learnings: anchoring, driving backwards, using the chart plotter in case of man overboard, and I’m not as bad at docking as I advertise. Captain Dan and Dennis are great hosts and company. For us this was a good way to get certified while spending time in a National Park.

Finding ourselves recently sailboat-less, we wanted to take this opportunity to charter in places around the world. Our sailing resumes include over a decade of sailing and sailboat ownership, but no ASA certifications. Without at least the ASA104 certification, we cannot charter in most places.

The beginning ASA courses are for people new to sailing. I was not excited to pay a bunch of money to identify a genoa. I did some web searching and found Captain Dan at Sail Channel Islands. I called Captain Dan and explained the situation. I’ll be damned–we weren’t the first folks to learn to sail without ASA instruction! We came up with a plan. We’d charter for 5 days and get certified through ASA106. Note, we did take ASA105 in advance (don’t get me started on Tom Tursi, ASA105 instructor). We set dates to sail in January, as the weather is on par with our June in Seattle.

Prior to departure, we:
- Studied and took ASA105
- Ordered paper charts for the Channel Islands and plotted our course.
- Signed up with the Nature Conservancy to be able to hike the islands.
- Worked with Dennis to craft a menu that met our particular preferences.
- Asked Captain Dan a bunch of random questions.

We flew to Santa Barbara and took the cheaper ride sharing option to meet Captain Dan at the marina in Oxnard, CA. We got a brief intro to Sancerre and discussed trip goals together. My husband and I stayed on Sancerre that night, and Dennis and Captain Dan joined us the next morning to depart.

Sailing Highlights:
- We had decent wind. Sometimes too much, gale, and sometimes too little.
- Dolphins!!! playing in the bow wake when we left the marina and when we returned the last night.
- We ate good food and drank good wine thanks to Dennis, took teacup showers, kayaked, hiked, and learned to anchor.
- The scenery is beautiful.

Our last day in Oxnard, Captain Dan gave us a tour of the Channel Islands museum and garden and took us back to the airport.

If you have experience and you’re looking to get appropriate ASA certifications, I recommend calling Captain Dan. If you don’t have sailing experience and want to enjoy the most bougie glamping experience in a National Park, call Captain Dan. If you just want to be on a sailboat, call Captain Dan.

Nicole A.

Captain Dan & Mark took us out on a 6 hour sail that was so much fun! We got a great safety briefing - which is great for a neurotic person like me. They answered all of our questions about the boat, the area, and sailing in general and let us hoist the sails and even steer! Anchoring at Anacapa Island for lunch was so much fun! Lots of wild life and beautiful weather made for a great trip. The lunch provided was perfect - sandwiches, fruit, cookies and chips. The highlight was seeing a pod of humpback whales. It was a #sundayfunday for the books.

Ryan E.

Dan is one hell of a Captain and an all-around great guy! I chartered a day sail to Anacapa island with my parents... Dan was a gracious host, easily made - and exceeded at - accommodating dietary preferences. My family looks forward to our next sail with Captain Dan.