AMERICAN
SAILING
Winter 2005
THE JOURNAL OF THE R ASSOCIA TION
AMERICAN
SAILING
FEATURE STORY: SO YOU WANT TO BE A PIRATE?
Adventures in the World of an ASA Instructor by Nathan Lowe
A
s the fastidious English costumer
doffed me with a three-corner hat
and deemed me the rank of
warrant officer, the responsibilities of my
position came upon me, and I realized I
had a job to do. Johnny Depp seemed
like a nice enough fellow, but pirates
were now my enemy.
Travel may broaden the mind, but every
time I go to the Caribbean, life seems to
come about onto a new tack. Thirteen
years ago, those warm trade winds
brought the first internal yell of “hard a
lee” when a day sail from St. John to
Jost Van Dyke aboard a pretty little yawl
named the Hirrondale juxtaposed so
strongly with my life, then owning and
managing a nightclub. When coursing
over those blue wave crests, it became
clear to me that working for three years
straight without weekends off to get
Nirvana, Widespread Panic or Country
Dick Montana to play before four
hundred drunks might not be the best
life has to offer.
I bought a twenty-seven-foot sailboat two
weeks later. Four years later, I moved
aboard my Pearson 39, had my captain’s
The author stands alongside Pirates’ star Johnny Depp in their
respective “British officer” and “pirate” costumes.
license and was working as an ASA
instructor. That new plan worked well
and my worry lines turned to smile lines
The sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's as the years slid by on a beam reach
Chest, is slated to appear in theaters Summer 2006.
continued on page 10
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
>> Book Review >> Featured Sailboat
Blue Latitudes American 14.6
>> Sailing Destination >> Nautical History
Lake Huron Portolan charts
>> Safety at Sea >> Instructor Tips
Float Plan Optimizing Sail Power
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