Panhandle · Pensacola
Downtown Pensacola ASA school at Seville Harbour Marina, teaching since 2001 with a roster of USCG-licensed captains. Capri 22s for the fundamentals; the cruising courses run as multi-night liveaboards on a Beneteau 393, meals and bunks included.
The academy has taught from downtown Pensacola since 2001, founded by John and Kathy Struchen, who between them hold seven ASA Outstanding Instructor of the Year awards. Current owner Captain Earl Page came up through the school himself, student to instructor to owner, and the roster now runs about nine USCG-licensed instructor-captains.
The pathway is one of the few in Florida with a real Keelboat Sailing 2 (102) between the basic course and the cruising track: 101 and 102 teach on Capri 22s out of Seville Harbour Marina, next to the Fish House on Pensacola Bay. The signature course is the combined 103/104, six days and five nights living aboard the school’s Beneteau 393 with meals included, and Advanced Coastal Cruising (106) adds a night passage out into the open Gulf. Coastal Navigation (105) runs as self-paced home study with a proctored exam.
The boats keep working after the certificate: Capri 22s and a Catalina 25 rent to certified sailors, a monthly sailing club covers the boatless, and two-hour intro lessons and sunset sails handle the not-yet-committed. Pensacola Bay does the rest, protected water with a long season and the pass to the Gulf when a course earns it. The school participates in ASA’s Veterans Sailing Education Program, discounting the 101 for veterans, active military, and reservists.
Panhandle · Gulf Breeze
Pensacola Beach school built around live-aboard ASA classes for couples, families, and small groups, with extended at-sea time and the full coastal-cruising pathway.
Panhandle · Pensacola Beach
One-captain ASA school and charter operation at Sabine Marina on Pensacola Beach, teaching private lessons capped at two students aboard a 32-foot J Boat. No-test leisure lessons for vacationers alongside the full certification track.
Panhandle · Niceville
ASA school, charter, and rental operation at Bluewater Bay Marina on the north shore of Choctawhatchee Bay. J/80s for the fundamentals, cruisers to a Jeanneau 389 for the liveaboard courses, and a founder with a run of ASA Outstanding Instructor awards.